This week one of the founders of Americans for an Independent Scotland visits Hawaii to address members of the Federal Bar Association on some of the legal issues surrounding Scotland’s fight for independence from the UK.
Pete Reid, a Scots-American attorney based in Austin, Texas, will join leading constitutional scholars and academics for a panel discussion on “Law and the Right of Self-Determination” in the context of Scottish independence, the native Hawaiian sovereignty movement, and American Indian sovereignty.
The conference comes at a time of heightened interest from the United States in the Scottish independence campaign. Last week, Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond wrote an editorial in the Washington Post arguing that America should applaud the processes by which the Scottish people are seeking self-determination.
“The national movement in Scotland is peaceful, democratic and civic in its nature,” wrote Salmond, “Something perhaps, in this troubled world, to be encouraged as in the true interests of both the United States and of Scotland.”
Further, one of the leading opponents of independence, Scottish Secretary Michael Moore, will visit the US and Canada this week to make the case that the UK government would be a better representative of Scotland’s interests internationally than any independent Scottish government.
Reid, of Americans for an Independent Scotland, will use his attendance at the conference to raise awareness of the 2014 referendum among the influential thinkers present. “There is a huge amount of support for Scotland’s quest for independence here in America and around the world,” he said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to promote the Yes campaign in Hawaii, and to discuss the legal issues of self-determination with such accomplished legal minds.”
The Fourth Annual Federal Bar Association Hawaii Conference takes place at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Honolulu, on December 14, 2012.
Visit www.americansforanindependentscotland.org for more details.
