1st March 1989: Wales Today reported that
paramilitary troops of
Byddin Rhyddid Cymru (The
Free Wales Army), a paramilitary Welsh nationalist organisation, seized Broadcasting House in Cardiff and declared independence from England. Julian Cayo-Evans, the
FWA leader who had been imprisoned in for conspiracy to cause explosions in 1969, broadcast an appeal on
BBC Cymru Wales to the country appealing for national unity and independence to
"protect the Welsh nation and its peoples from the horrors that had engulfed England".
Unfortunately for Cayo-Evans whilst the
FWA did attract considerable popular support, notably from a number of police forces in the Principality, his plea for unity was not welcomed by all.
Cymru Goch (Red Wales) a left wing nationalist organisation with socialist and trade union support took to arms to resist the imposition of
FWA rule on Wales.
Additionally other nationalist paramilitary organisations such as
Meibion Glyndŵr (Sons of Glyndŵr), who had been waging a firebombing campaign since 1979 and
Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (The Movement for the Defence of Wales), an older nationalist group led by John Jenkins; opposed Cayo-Evans on a number of points of principle and made their own power plays often resulting in all out warfare between the nationalist groups.
The situation in Wales further worsened as militias such as the
The Welsh Army for the Workers Republic were formed (sometimes with covert English Republican or Royalist support), often on a regional or language basis, leading to the breakdown of the rule of law as alliances were formed (and often quickly broken) as the various paramilitaries attempted to control valuable resources such as the South Wales coalmines.
