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EDINBURGH, Scotland -- The sound of bagpipes has fallen victim to frosty relations between the West and Russia. British officials have banned three military bands from attending a tattoo in Moscow.
More than 40 musicians have been told that they won't be allowed to take part in the Kremlin Zoria in Red Square because of Russia's invasion of Georgia.
The Foreign Office said Friday that the decision was a demonstration that it is not "business as usual" between Britain and Russia.
The ban affects army pipe bands from the 2nd Scots Regiment, the Irish Guards and the 1st Royal Gurkha Rifles.
Brigadier Mel Jameson, former head of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, helped found the Kremlin Zoria. He said the action "just shows that music apparently does not cross all boundaries."
"This is an outrage. The organizers of the event have no direct links with the Russian military," Jameson said Friday. "This is wrong-headed by the British government."
Britain Sends Message by Pulling Pipers
08 September 2008
The Associate Press
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