| Minister starts ‘yes’ campaign in Scotland to split with UK |
EDINBURGH Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond on Friday launched an official “yes” campaign ahead of a referendum on independence from Britain that is not likely to be held until 2014.
“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 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 at a cinema in the Scottish capital comes despite the fact that a date has not been finalised for a vote on whether to sever the more than 300-year-old political union between England and Scotland.
Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party, 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.
“Our opponents, and we have a few, they’re rich and they’re powerful. And therefore to win, and to win well, we’re going to have to galvanise the whole community of the realm of Scotland,” Salmond added.
“We intend to take our case to the people by community activism and by online wizardry, and by the time we enter the 2014 campaign our intention is to have one million Scots have signed the ‘independence for Scotland’ declaration.
“And friends, if we achieve that then we shall win an indepdendent Scotland.”
Agence France-Presse
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