Battle ahead: Scotland party leader vows independence push

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Battle ahead: Scotland party leader vows independence push

2019-12-14 02:01 Last Updated At：02:10

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has won the majority he needs to push through Brexit, but he faces another big challenge from Scotland, where the independence-minded Scottish National Party and its leader Nicola Sturgeon have surged to a commanding position. Here is a look at the factors that will make this a vexing issue for Johnson.

WHO IS NICOLA STURGEON AND WHAT IS HER ROLE IN SCOTTISH POLITICS?

The dynamic Sturgeon, 49, is leader of the Scottish National Party, which dominates the political scene, and as such she is Scotland’s first minister. She took over the party's top post in 2014 after it lost a hard-fought referendum on independence from the United Kingdom. Sturgeon has emerged as one of the most talented figures on Britain’s fractious political scene.

The daughter of an electrician and a dental nurse, she became a lawyer after training at the University of Glasgow and has earned a reputation for being well-prepared, witty and at ease with voters, and blunt when she needs to be.

Independence for Scotland has long been her primary political goal. Opponents say they wish she would sometimes talk about other objectives, but her party’s surge in Thursday's election suggests her popularity remains high. On her day of triumph, she chose to directly challenge Johnson and the British establishment by saying she would push hard, starting next week, for another referendum.

WHAT IS THE LOOMING CONFRONTATION ABOUT?

Sturgeon and her party are dead set on holding a referendum on Scottish independence, despite firm opposition from Johnson, who says his government would not authorize a vote on the matter.

A Scottish breakaway would thrust a dagger into the heart of the United Kingdom, creating a crisis that Johnson is determined to avoid as he tries to manage the difficult Brexit process that is his main focus.

The British establishment thought it had put the matter to rest when a “once-in-a-generation” referendum in 2014 turned thumbs down on Scottish independence by a 10-point margin. But it has surfaced again, in part because of issues raised by the 2016 Brexit referendum and in part by the SNP’s strong showing on Thursday.

WHY IS STURGEON PUSHING SO HARD RIGHT NOW?

Sturgeon says things have changed since the first independence vote, primarily because Britain voted in 2016 to leave the European Union over the objections of Scottish voters, who expressed a clear desire to remain part of the prosperous trading bloc.

She says Scotland is being dragged out of the EU against its will — and won’t stand for it.

There is no question her standing was boosted by the party's performance in the general election. It gained 13 seats and now holds 48 of the 59 Scotland-based seats in the British Parliament. Johnson's Conservative Party, victorious elsewhere but vanquished in Scotland, holds just six.

Sturgeon threw down the gauntlet Friday, saying she is demanding, not requesting, a referendum.

“This is not about asking Boris Johnson or any other Westminster politician for permission. It is instead an assertion of the democratic right of the people of Scotland to determine their future,” she said, promising to begin next week the formal process of setting up a recognized referendum.

She did not shy away from confronting Johnson. Saying she wanted to speak directly to the prime minister, she looked at the TV camera and said: “You as the leader of a defeated party in Scotland have no right to stand in the way” of a second vote on independence.

Despite Sturgeon's confrontational stance, it is not clear that Scottish voters’ desire to break away from the United Kingdom has increased since the 2014 vote. The vote then was 55% to 45% against independence — and the SNP's share of the popular vote in Scotland in Thursday's election was also at 45%.

HOW DID THE 2014 REFERENDUM TAKE PLACE?

The British Parliament gave its formal approval to the 2014 vote and it was binding, meaning that Scotland would have been able to become an independent country if a majority of voters had backed the measure. Parliament acted after Scottish and UK ministers signed an agreement. The Scottish Parliament also gave its approval for the vote.

Some independence backers have called for Scotland to hold a referendum without British approval if Johnson’s government sticks to its position and refuses to OK another vote, but Sturgeon has always declined to back this approach. It’s not known if her position on that will change as the confrontation with Johnson unfolds.

Haiti's transitional council names a new prime minister in the hopes of quelling stifling violence

2024-05-01 11:56 Last Updated At：12:00

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s newly installed transitional council chose a little known former sports minister as the Caribbean country’s prime minister Tuesday as part of its monumental task of trying to establish a stable new government amid stifling violence.

Fritz Bélizaire was chosen in a surprise move to replace current interim Prime Minister Michel Patrick Boisvert, gaining the support of four of the seven voting members on the nine-member panel but with other panel members saying they were unfamiliar with Bélizaire.

The council also planned to choose a Cabinet as it seeks to quell gang violence that is choking the capital, Port-au-Prince, and beyond. Heavy gunfire was reported in several of the capital's neighborhoods during the council's meeting.

More than 90,000 people have fled the capital in the span of one month, and overall, more than 360,000 people have been left homeless in recent years as gunmen raze communities in rival territories.

Earlier on Tuesday, the council chose former presidential candidate Edgard Leblanc Fils as the president of the panel.

“This is a very good choice for prime minister,” Fils said of Bélizaire during a brief speech to nearly two dozen attendees. “The important thing for us is this will, this determination to go beyond divisions, to overcome conflicts and to reach a consensus.”

He said the council met Monday with army and police officials to talk about Haiti’s security crisis and how best to resolve it. “We are publicly recognizing the suffering,” he said of the population.

The announcement of Bélizaire was unexpected. A murmur rose through the attendees as officials announced that four council members with voting powers had selected Bélizaire as prime minister.

Leslie Voltaire, one of the voting council members, told The Associated Press, “I don’t know him,” when asked whether he supported Bélizaire.

Bélizaire served as Haiti's sports minister during the second presidency of René Préval from 2006 to 2011.

“He’s kind of an unknown figure," said Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia. “He doesn’t seem to have his own constituency. Maybe that made him the likely prime minister so different parties can accept him as prime minister.”

Council member Louis Gérald Gilles, who supported Bélizaire, told The Associated Press that the council wanted to act quickly in choosing a prime minister. “The Haitian population can no longer wait,” he said. “The security issue is essential for societal calm.”

Hours later, many ordinary Haitians remained in the dark.

“They chose a new prime minister?” Jean-Paul Eliason said as he shuffled through the streets of Port-au-Prince ringing a bell to advertise his shoe-shining business.

When told of Bélizaire, 70-year-old Eliason said his name sounded familiar.

“It’s good news because maybe the country can embark on the right path,” he said. “Security, that’s priority. People are fleeing and gangs are burning their homes.”

Sony Duvert, who leaned against his motorcycle parked near a makeshift barrier aimed at protecting his neighborhood from gangs, said he had never heard of the new prime minister and that he hoped he would make Haiti safer.

“Every day, we post here like soldiers,” he said. “I would love to see a big change for Haiti.”

After the brief announcement, which was made nearly two hours after the event was supposed to start, the council went behind closed doors again to talk about their choices for Cabinet. Voltaire, however, said he didn’t expect the council to announce Cabinet selections on Tuesday.

The majority supporting Bélizaire included Fils, the council’s new president, Smith Augustin, Gilles and Emmanuel Vertilaire.

Fatton called them an “unlikely” alliance: “We'll see if it can last."

Fils represents the January 30 political group, which is made up of parties including PHTK, whose members include former President Michel Martelly and slain President Jovenel Moïse. Meanwhile, Augustin represents the EDE/RED political party, founded by former Prime Minister Claude Joseph.

Gilles represents the Dec. 21 agreement, which is associated with former Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who resigned weeks after the gang attacks began. Meanwhile, Vertilaire is linked to the Pitit Desalin party, which is led by powerful politician Jean-Charles Moïse, who celebrated Tuesday's announcement.

“He is someone very important in the country,” Moïse said of Bélizaire. “He knows the state pretty well — he knows how to govern.”

The transitional council will act as the country’s presidency until it can arrange a presidential election some time before it disbands, which must be by February 2026.

Haitians remain divided over whether they believe a transitional government can help calm a troubled country whose capital has been under siege since gangs launched coordinated attacks on Feb. 29.

Gang members have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport that remains closed since early March and broke into Haiti’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates. The country’s biggest seaport also remains largely paralyzed by gang violence.

But one thing is certain: Haitians want security.

"Haitians are very impatient now. They want to see results,” Fatton said.

The council is expected to support the U.N.-backed deployment of a Kenyan police force to help fight gangs, although it’s unclear when that might happen.

Henry, the former prime minister, was on an official trip to the East African country when the coordinated gang attacks began, and he remains locked out of Haiti. He submitted his resignation last week.