EDINBURGH, July 29 (RIA Novosti), Mark Hirst – Spain’s Catalonia and other struggling regional governments are closely watching preparations for the Scottish independence referendum that may set a precedent for peaceful constitutional change, a former senior adviser to the Catalan government told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
“The Scottish and British governments have been able to find a way to let the people of Scotland choose between two futures for their country in a friendly and democratic manner… No wonder Catalans and people in other countries are keeping a close eye on this referendum,” Xavier Solano told RIA Novosti.
Solano, who is presently a political adviser at the UK Parliament in London, added the Scottish independence referendum in September could lead to a redrawing of borders, not based on historic wars, but on the democratic will of the people.
“The referendum in Scotland is showing to the world how sovereignty-related issues should be resolved in the 21st century,” Solano said.
He emphasized that Scotland was seen to be setting the standard for democracy and nonviolent constitutional change.
“It is time for borders that have traditionally been established by wars and blood to be re-established by the free and democratic will of their citizens,” Solano said.
“Scotland is seen as a leading and innovative society in many areas. Now it is also considered as a leader in the field of democracy, freedom and respect,” Solano told RIA Novosti.
The UK government’s adviser also told RIA Novosti that an independent Scotland presented a near perfect model of how an EU member state should operate.
“The EU has learnt how important is to keep a certain level of the policy decision and implementation making processes close to the citizens,” Solano said.
“An independent Scotland would become a nearly-perfect EU member state as it would be in an ideal position to serve its people in a more flexible and efficient way than some other larger EU states,” Solano told RIA Novosti.
“Scotland is definitely leading this way democratically and peacefully,” Solano added.
Scottish voters that live in Scotland are to take part in a referendum on September 18, and are to be asked one question: “Should Scotland become an independent country?"
