苏格兰独立公投起争议

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苏格兰地方政府首席部长萨蒙德表示，苏格兰独立公投将在2014年秋天举行，但英国联合政府称，苏格兰的独立公投必须经过联合政府批准，否则属于违宪，不具法律效力。
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Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
Westminster
Scotland
First Minister
Scots
Salmond
Vicki Young
Scottish Secretary
BBC News
主持：z_i_y_u_n  
校对：rpfan
翻译：lsy34
答疑：betty0925The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and ministers in Westminster are squabbling over who will be in charge of a referendum, who decides when the poll will be held and what questions will be asked. But the issue is firmly on the agenda and senior politicians say it's time to start a serious debate about Scotland's future.
"Should we be in the UK or should we leave it? And you've got issues then. What currency do we have? Are we gonna be in the European Union? Are we gonna be in the euro? What debt levels do we take away and so on? So that there're huge issues that need to be discussed, because there're a lot of profound bearing on the future of the country."
Scotland's First Minister has named the date for a referendum on independence, autumn, 2014, even though ministers in London say it will be unlawful without Westminster's approval.
"But they must resist the temptation to try and interfere in Scottish democracy. Well, let the common sense, good judgment, the Scottish Parliament and above all the view of the Scottish people prevail at the end of the day."
The coalition wants any referendum to come sooner rather than later. There's been a threat of a legal challenge, but so far the Scottish Secretary has been careful to appear conciliatory.
"We need to talk about this. We need to work together. Because what people will not forgive politicians, regardless of which parliament they belong to or which political parties they support, they will not forgive us if our bickering or squabbling gets in the way of Scots getting on making this decision which affects our future."
So far Mr Salmond's been in no mood for compromise. He thinks he has a better chance of winning independence for Scotland in two and a half years' time. As a second option, he wants Scottish voters to be offered more powers for their parliament. For now, both sides are on a collision course.
Vicki Young, BBC News, Westminster.位于爱丁堡的苏格兰议会议员和位于威斯敏斯特的大臣，为选择何人负责公民投票、何人决定何时举行投票、询问那些问题而争论不休。但是这些还在日程之上，资深政客表示认真讨论苏格兰未来的时刻已经到来。
“我们是该留在联合王国（UK），还是独立？这样我们就必须解决一些问题了。我们该使用何种货币？我们还应该留在欧盟吗？我们还应该留在欧元区吗？我们消除了多大的债务能力？诸如此类，等等。所以，要讨论的重要的事情还有很多；如果要独立，这些事情关系重大。”
尽管伦敦的官员表示，没有得到威斯敏斯特批准而举行全民投票是非法的，苏格兰首相仍然决定在2014年秋天举行全名投票，讨论独立事宜。
“但是他们不能不批准，他们也不能干涉苏格兰的民主。黑暗来临之前，让常识、好的判断、苏格兰议会，最重要的，苏格兰的民意战胜一切吧。”
联盟希望能够尽早举行全名投票。尽管要违背法律而行的威胁一直都有，但是目前苏格兰国务大臣仍小心谨慎，尽量安抚异见。
“我们有必要讨论这件事情。我们必须一起努力。因为，人民不管政客们是哪个议会的，抑或支持哪个政党，他们不会原谅这些政客，也不会原谅我们这些在攸关苏格兰未来的决定上争论不休的人。”
目前，萨蒙德先生还不想妥协。他坚持，他可以在两年半的时间里为苏格兰赢得独立。实在不行，他希望苏格兰选民的议会可以获得较多的权力。现在，双方意见分歧。
薇姬·杨，BBC新闻，威斯敏斯特报道。