Regarding the holding of the referendum on Scottish independence to be held on 18 September Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) and Eusko Alderdi Jeltzalea-Partido Nacionalista Vasco (EAJ-PNV) wish to make the following points:
One.- We greet the Scottish Nation and we congratulate its citizens on being able to freely and democratically determine the future of Scotland by means of that referendum and pursuant to their rights as a People.
Two.- We believe that the efficient administration .of the Scottish government during the last three five-year parliamentary terms – the first Scottish government in modern times came into power in 1999 – has helped to consolidate its self-government, its positive valuation by its citizens and to strengthen the identity of the Scottish People, factors that have contributed to the exercising of their right to decide on their future.
Three.- We acknowledge the democratic sense and sensibility of the British unionist parties - Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats - which, after the absolute majority won by the Scottish National Party (SNP) on 5 May 2011, have conceded that the future of Scotland will be decided by the Scottish citizens. We therefore welcome and appreciate the intense dialogue between London and Edinburgh to provide a channel for the political aspirations of the Scottish People. This ended with the Edinburgh Agreement signed on 15 October 2012 by the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, and the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, which agreed the holding of the referendum and its terms. Great Britain, its government and the British citizens have set a magnificent example of respect and civility.
Four.- We believe it to be edifying that, in the current climate of political disaffection, the referendum campaign, with its two main players - "Yes Scotland” and “Better Together” – extensively disseminating their arguments, along with the political debates have put the citizens at the centre of the political stage, thus reconciling society and politics.
Five.- We believe it to be a notable civilising progress that the construction of a new State is forged by the popular will freely expressed by its citizens, as established in Article 1.1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, where it states that “ all peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.
We therefore believe that the Scottish model is an admirable example that priorities the expression of the will of and the right of decision of the people regarding the principle of the territorial integrity of a State which safeguards, anti-democratically, the political atavism of the defenders of the historical state structures that, we should recall, have, in many cases, been built on the pillars of armed conflicts and the eradication of the national minorities.
The Scottish case strengths our belief that the solution of the problems of governance inside the States and the European Union itself must be based on respect, dialogue, negotiation and agreement, along with the application of practicality and moving away from dogmatisms that avoids absurd and questionable results and situations.
Six.- We declare that our parties, which are parties of other European nations, must not become involved or interfere in the debate or decision of the Scottish people. The Scottish People will freely decide on the question asked.
However, we must express our solidarity with the Scottish National Party, by stressing that its proposal that an independent Scotland becomes a state political entity of the European Union must be addressed by the Institutions of the Union and by its Member States, as it is in keeping with the spirit driving European construction and with the values established in Article 2 of the Union Treaty (respecting human dignity, liberty and democracy).
Seven- We declare that Scotland is the great victor of the process: the referendum – a major exercise in democracy - enables its citizen to decide their own future. And we contend that, whatever is the outcome of the referendum – Scotland continuing to be part of the United Kingdom or an independent Scottish State -, the future of the Scottish nation will be defined by means of the Scottish people exercising their right to decide. The Scottish model is a benchmark of liberty for Europe and its peoples.
In Edinburgh, on the 17th. September 2014.
Szekler National Council