S4C,
20 years on 聳 Gwynfor Evans speaks
Gwynfor
Evans - the former Plaid Cymru president who threatened to fast
to death unless a Welsh language TV channel were created - has expressed
his "deep concern" at the channel's falling viewing figures.
As
S4C celebrates its 20th birthday he blames a wider decline in Welsh
speakers for the decline in popularity, but says he is intensely
proud to see the channel reach this milestone.
"It
is a deep concern, but it has to be expected," he said. "People
are dying and Welsh-speaking people are dying at a bigger rate and
they are the chief viewers of the Welsh programmes."
In
a rare television interview, Evans told 大象传媒 Wales' Dragon's Eye
(Thursday, 31 October) that its political opponents have accepted
the fact of S4C's existence and it is now more politically secure
than ever.
He
adds that with the establishment of the National Assembly for Wales,
S4C should come under the jurisdiction of the Welsh Assembly Government
rather than be run by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport
at Westminster.
Asked
whether S4C should relocate to a North or West Wales - a key demand
of many Welsh language activists, Evans said it should remain in
Cardiff because the capital needed its institutions.
The
former Plaid Cymru president also talked about his threatened fast
and its consequences.
The
threat was made in April 1980 after the then Conservative Government
had gone back on its word and refused to establish a Welsh television
channel.
He
never actually started his fast. As a result of his stand, the Home
Secretary, William Whitelaw, announced in September 1980 that S4C
would be created.
"There
would have been a kind of revolution," said Evans. "I
don't think there would have been much force, but there would have
been a great movement in the country and that would have strengthened
the Nationalist movement."
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