In a landmark referendum held on September 18, the people of Scotland rejected independence and chose to stay with England, Wales, Northern Ireland and few other small islands under the umbrella of the United Kingdom.
It was a unique and landmark referendum in the sense that no vote rigging, no unfairmeans, no intimidation, and no false accusation was witnessed. It was an inclusive voting by all standard. International experts said that the Scottish accepted the British Prime Minister David Cameron’s pledge for more economic reforms and autonomy.
In the post vote counting reaction, pro-independence leader and First Minister Alfred Salmond said that he had accepted the people’s verdict and promised to stay with them. On the other hand, British Premier Cameron said that he would fulfill his promises given to Scotland.
The pro-independence group had been campaigning since 2011 for breaking the United Kingdom and was in the lead by 18 percent in February 2014. To overcome the deficiency, Premier Cameron made repeated appeals to the people of Scotland not to depart the union and promised of more economic and administrative reforms. Like Scotland, the people of Australia also rejected independence several years ago.
To suppress the campaign for independence, Cameron did not use force unlike President Yahya Khan of Pakistan. He rather went for referendum and won the battle. It is his great achievement as a diplomat and statesman. Can’t the leaders of other countries take lessons from David Cameron?
Abdullah Akber
Dhaka
