Four charged after language rally

Cymdeithas is campaigning for a new language act

Four people have been charged with public order offences after a rally by The Welsh Language Society, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg.

During the Cardiff rally slogans and posters were placed on shop and bank windows in the city's Queen Street.

Around 150 members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith attended the rally and the group outlined its policy for the year 2001.

The group said it would be targeting banks and the private sector as part of its campaign for a new language act.

South Wales police confirmed four people were held in custody after the rally.

Slogans were daubed on shop windows

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg has conducted a campaign of non-violent direct action in support of the Welsh language for over 30 years.

Last year, the society targeted telecommunications companies - especially mobile phone companies - for their lack of action over Welsh-language policies.

Huw Lewis, a members of the Cymdeithas senate, said: "Every new development since the 1993 Language Act has been in English-only - in banking as in telecommunications.

"By increasingly centralising their activities, the banks are alienating themselves from Welsh-speaking communities and from the language itself," he said.