We move on to the next item, which is: 90-second statements. And the first of the 90-second statements today is Elin Jones.

Aneurin Jones was the artist of his people, and his people were the characters of his youth in Brecknock and, later on, in the countryside of west Wales. His canvas was the second half of the twentieth century in these rural communities, and his characters can be seen standing and chatting in the mart, running Welsh ponies and cobs, singing or playing draughts, feeding the chickens or standing by the chapel gate. Personally, as for many others, I’m sure, I see my grandmother’s colourful apron and my grandfather’s square frame in these images.

Aneurin Jones was a popular artist with a stream of visitors coming to his home studio or his home in Cardigan to buy his work. Not many artists can sustain a high-street gallery, but he was such an artist, along with his son, Meirion, with their gallery in Awen Teifi in Cardigan. Aneurin was just as much of a character as all those depicted in his artworks. He was a teacher, leg-puller, kind-hearted and he was a proud Welshman. He was loyal to his people and his work neither aggrandised nor belittled his people, but recorded their lives in art. And that artwork was commended and praised by his fellow artists in Wales and beyond.

Aneurin died last week, one of our country’s great artists, an artist who knew his people and who belonged to his land. It is a privilege to acknowledge the art and feat of Aneurin Jones here today in our Senedd.

Diolch. Suzy Davies.

I agree with those comments too—I sympathise.

Yr wythnos diwethaf, cafodd cais Abertawe i ddod yn Ddinas Diwylliant y DU ar gyfer 2021 ei gyflwyno o’r diwedd. Mae mwy i Abertawe na’i diwylliant o’r gorffennol, er na ddylem anwybyddu etifeddiaeth Dylan Thomas, na Kingsley Amis, Peter Ham, Ceri Richards, ac wrth gwrs, seren yr wythnos hon, Vernon Watkins, na’r ffaith ei bod yn 160 mlynedd ers i rai o’r lluniau cynharaf o’r lleuad gael eu tynnu yn Abertawe gan John Dillwyn Llewelyn. Mae Abertawe yn cyfrannu at ddiwylliant y byd drwy gyfrwng rhai fel Karl Jenkins, Spencer Davies, Glenys Cour, Hannah Stone, yn ogystal â pherfformwyr adnabyddus fel Ria Jones, Rob Brydon a Catherine Zeta-Jones. Mae’r ddinas yn lleoliad ar gyfer digwyddiadau diwylliannol megis gŵyl a gŵyl ymylol Abertawe, yr ŵyl jazz, proms yn y parc y BBC a hyd yn oed sioe awyr Cymru. Er bod digwyddiadau tebyg mewn mannau eraill yn y DU, yn debyg iawn i ddull yr Elyrch o chwarae pêl-droed, mae Abertawe’n ei wneud yn ei ffordd arbennig ei hun.

Caiff y diwylliant unigryw ei adlewyrchu yn ei phobl, sy’n gynnes a doniol, a chyda’i gilydd, maent yn dangos dychymyg mawr yn ailddyfeisio’r ‘dref hyll a hyfryd’ a chreu dinas go iawn. O glwb busnes Abertawe a’r Gweilch i Ganolfan Clyne Farm, morlyn llanw Abertawe a’r prifysgolion, cyrff cyhoeddus a phreifat, mae hwn yn gais sy’n cynrychioli’r ddinas gyfan a Chymru gyfan. Ar ôl cael siom y tro diwethaf, mae Abertawe yn ôl ar ei thraed ac yn ymladd unwaith eto. Cafodd Gogledd Iwerddon ei chynrychioli yn 2013, a Lloegr yn 2017, felly gadewch i ni wneud yn siŵr mai tro Cymru fydd hi nesaf.

Thank you. Julie Morgan.

Thank you. Mahatma Gandhi—on Monday, a statue of Mahatma Gandhi was unveiled in Cardiff Bay, opposite the Wales Millennium Centre. This was the result of three years of hard work and fundraising by the Hindu Council of Wales, and I would like to pay tribute to that organisation and its chair, Vimla Patel, who’s worked tirelessly to make the statue a reality. Hundreds of people attended the ceremony to view the statue, which was made in India by sculptors Ram Sutar and his son Anil Sutar. The 6ft-tall statue, which many of you may have already seen, depicts Gandhi holding a stick and a Hindu scripture, and I think that this was a great day for India, a great day for Cardiff and a great day for Wales. And, for me, it was an honour to be a patron of this project.

I hope that the children and young people of Cardiff and of Wales will learn about Gandhi and his values, which are increasingly important in such an uncertain and violent world. I was privileged to sit next to the great-grandson of Gandhi at the ceremony, at what would have been his great-grandfather’s birthday. It was very fitting to be unveiling a statue of him at this time, 70 years on from the partition of India. Gandhi was committed to Indian independence and he was committed to non-violence. The statue also recognises the strong links between Wales and India. I’ll end with Gandhi’s words:

Nonviolence is the greatest force at the disposal of mankind. It is mightier than the mightiest weapon of destruction devised by the ingenuity of man.’

Thank you very much.