Scottish nationalists launched an official “yes” campaign for independence on Friday ahead of a likely 2014 referendum on severing the more than 300-year-old union with England. First Minister Alex Salmond said the semi-autonomous region should run its own foreign, economic and defence policies, and promised that he would try to get one million Scots to sign a declaration of support. “We’re gathered here today at the start of something really, really special,” Salmond said at the launch of the cross-party “Yes Scotland” campaign at a cinema in Edinburgh.
“I want Scotland to be independent not because I think we are better than any other country, but because I know that we are as good as any other country,” he said.
The launch, which involves Salmond’s Scottish National Party (SNP) as well as the Green party, comes despite the fact that a date has not been finalised for a referendum. Salmond wants the referendum in late 2014 and has proposed to offer a third option of increased devolution. The British government favours a swifter in-or-out vote.
A London-backed pro-union campaign is expected to be launched later this year.
An opinion poll commissioned by anti-independence supporters and released on Friday found that 33 percent of Scots would opt for a split while 57 percent would reject it.
