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Scottish government supports Catalonia's right to decide its future
Scotland's External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “The decision over Catalonia's future direction is a matter for the people who live there.” The people of Catalonia should determine its future, the Scottish government has said. The region's government has insisted a referendum on independence from Spain will go ahead on 1 October. Madrid has vowed to block the vote, saying it is unconstitutional.
Commenting on the ongoing dispute, Scotland's External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “The decision over Catalonia's future direction is a matter for the people who live there.”
In a statement published on the Scottish government's website, she added: “The Catalan and Spanish governments are perfectly entitled to take positions for and against independence.
”However, all peoples have the right to self-determination and to choose the form of government best suited to their needs, a principle which is enshrined in the UN Charter.
“The Edinburgh Agreement was an example of how two governments, with diametrically opposed views on whether or not Scotland should become independent, were able to come together to agree a process to allow the people to decide.
”It is essential that democracy and civil rights are respected in all countries.“
Catalonia's regional government has insisted the ballot will take place as scheduled despite a growing clampdown by the Spanish state.
On Saturday, Catalan separatists and supporters of the region's right to hold a referendum on independence held a rally backing more than 700 mayors facing the threat of arrest. The mayors have been called in for questioning by prosecutors for agreeing to facilitate the vote locally.
On Friday, the Spanish government gave the regional government 48 hours to abandon its ”illegal” referendum plans or lose budgetary powers. Attempts to block the official referendum website have continued.
Thousands of ballot boxes are said to have been hidden by referendum supporters.
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Read all commentsOh well that's Scotlands application to join the EU buggered. The wee munchkin has ensured that Spain will veto any application Scotland might make in the future, well done Nicola. LMFAO
Sep 19th, 2017 - 05:43 am +3Explain how Scotland can apply to join the EU as part of the UK .
Sep 19th, 2017 - 09:57 am +3Anyway, Spain has always said it would veto any proposal for Scotland to join the EU if it supported Catalonian independence. So, what's new ?
@Brit Bob. I'm curious. According to the limited research I've done on the history, the original Catalonia occupied a geographical position where it was partly in what is now France and partly in what is now Spain. At a time when “Spain” itself consisted of a number of separate kingdoms. More to the point, the “Spanish” area was feudal.The UN Charter would appear to enshrine the principle of self-determination. There can be little doubt that, although ethnically “similar”, Catalans are different from Castilians, Aragonese, Basques, Navarese, Andalusians and so on. They do, after all, have their own language. When did the UN become a world government or, for that matter, a legal authority? How does somewhere like Catalonia become recognised as a “non-autonomous territory” when the current Spanish “government” declares everything Catalonia does to be unconstitutional? I believe Madrid's “view” is that “Spain” is indivisible. How does one obtain self-determination when one's “overlord” maintains domination and the UN conspires to maintain the status quo.
Sep 18th, 2017 - 03:37 pm +2There appears to be something wrong with the way that the UN operates. I have made the point in the past that the Falkland Islands should have the “right” to determine its own future. The UK has changed the Islands' status from “colony” to “self-governing”. How does the UN get to persist in referring to them as non-self governing? It only leaves them at risk from the crooks on the continent. I thought the UN was formed to protect people's freedoms. Has it lost its way? Is it time to demolish it and create something fit for the 21st century?
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