Islands referendum petition launched

The Scottish Parliament has published a petition requested by islanders in Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles who are calling for referenda to be held on the status of each of the island groups.

The petition is open for online signatures by everyone who supports the idea of referenda to be held on September 25, one week after the Scottish independence referendum.

If the petition is successful, residents will be asked to choose between the following options:

1. Do you wish the island group become an independent country?

2. Do you wish the island group stay in Scotland?

If the result of the Scottish independence the previous week was “Yes”, there will also be a third option:

3. Do you wish the island group to leave Scotland and stay in the remainder of the UK?

To sign the petition, it is not necessary to be a current resident on one of the islands, say those behind the petition.

“We have been overwhelmed by the amount of support”, said Catriona Murray, secretary of the group Referenda On The Islands (ROTI).

“We believe that it is up to islanders to decide, and that now is the time to do so. Our own group includes supporters of all three options.”

The petition can be found online at: www.scottish.parliament.uk/GettingInvolved/Petitions/islandgroups or http://tinyurl.com/islandgroups