Posts
Crisis
in Catalonia
"IT'S
A COUP" BY MADRID, Head of Catalan Parliament
Huge protests erupt against transfer of power from Barcelona to Madrid
Via Facebook
The
head of the Catalan parliament, Carme Forcadell, has denounced
Madrid’s decision to transfer the powers from the regional
authorities to the central government as a “coup” as hundreds of
thousands took to the streets of Barcelona in protest.
Earlier,
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said his government wants to
dissolve the Catalan parliament and call a snap election to restore
order in the region. He also said that the powers of the Catalan
government would be temporarily transferred to Madrid, adding that
the relevant proposal was already sent to the Senate for approval.
Madrid’s
decision provoked a wave of outrage in the secessionist region as
hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the regional
capital, Barcelona, to voice their discontent with the central
government’s move, and imprisonment of their two leaders Jordi
Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart.
Catalan
President Carles Puigdemont has slammed Madrid’s decision to impose
direct rule on Barcelona as "the worst attack against the
institutions and the people of Catalonia since the military
dictatorship of Francisco Franco."
Puigdemont
announced that he had asked the regional parliament to hold a debate
on the measures taken by Madrid and added that the people of
Catalonia would never accept such a decision by the central Spanish
government.
"I
ask the parliament to meet in a plenary session during which we, the
representatives of the citizens' sovereignty, will be able to decide
over this attempt to liquidate our government and our democracy and
act in consequence," Puigdemont said in a televised speech.
Catalan leader: Madrid’s steps toward direct rule are 'worst attacks' since Franco’s dictatorship
RT,
21
October, 2017
Catalan
President Carles Puigdemont has slammed Madrid’s decision to impose
direct rule on Barcelona as "the worst attack against the
institutions and the people of Catalonia since the military
dictatorship of Francisco Franco."
Puigdemont
announced that he had asked the regional parliament to hold a debate
on the measures taken by Madrid and added that the people of
Catalonia would never accept such a decision by the central Spanish
government.
"I
ask the parliament to meet in a plenary session during which we, the
representatives of the citizens' sovereignty, will be able to decide
over this attempt to liquidate our government and our democracy and
act in consequence," Puigdemont said in a televised speech.
Earlier,
the head of the Catalan parliament, Carme Forcadell, said that the
Catalan authorities were not going to take “a step back” in their
pursuit of independence and were ready to defend Catalan sovereignty
“now more than ever.”
She
also accused the central government of carrying out “an
authoritarian coup within the EU” and sharply criticized Spanish
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy for what she called “great political
irresponsibility.”
Earlier,
Rajoy said his government wants to dissolve the Catalan parliament
and call a snap election to restore order in the region. He also said
that the powers of the Catalan government would be temporarily
transferred to Madrid, adding that the relevant proposal was already
sent to the Senate for approval.
The
snap election will take place in six months, the Prime Minister said.
The measures taken by Madrid are expected to be approved now by
Spain's Upper House (the Senate) on October 27.
Madrid’s
decision provoked a wave of outrage in the secessionist region as
hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of the regional
capital, Barcelona, to voice their discontent with the central
government’s move.
Catalan
politicians also slammed Madrid’s move. The former head of the
regional government, Artur Mas, called the central government’s
actions “political myopia” while Marta Pascal, a Catalonian MP
from Puigdemont’s Catalan European Democratic Party denounced them
as “barbarity” and a “shame to democracy.”
Puigdemont
had earlier threatened to call a vote in the regional parliament for
an open declaration of independence from Spain.
Spain Activates "Nuclear Option": Will Seize Control Of Catalan Government, Force New Elections
21 October, 2017
Spanish Prime Minister
Mariano Rajoy asked lawmakers to grant him unprecedented powers to
force leaders of the Catalonia region to cease their independence
push, a dramatic escalation in the confrontation between Spain and
the separatist region,which
the WSJ -
and virtually everyone else - has said will be a major test for
Spanish democracy. According to The
Spain Report,this
is the first time in the modern democratic period that a central
government has suspended home rule in one of Spain's 17 regions.
is the first time in the modern democratic period that a central
government has suspended home rule in one of Spain's 17 regions.
Spain's PM Mariano Rajoy unveils plans to curb powers of Catalan government http://bbc.in/2zCVTRr
Rajoy announced that his
central government would use Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution
to remove
the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, and sack the entire Catalan
regional government as part of a barrage of actions, and force new
elections on the region within six months. Summoning
the sweeping powers of Article 155, Rajoy said Saturday, was a last
resort.
Puigdemont and his
regional administration will be removed from office once the Spanish
Senate approves the government’s plan as soon as this week and
Spanish government ministers will take over the management of the
Catalan administration, Rajoy saidaccording
to Bloomberg. The
responsibilities of the Catalan government will be administered in
the interim period by central government ministries. Furthermore, the
Catalan Parliament will not be allowed to present a new candidate for
First Minister, to prevent Puigdemont from being reappointed.
Rajoy said "This is
not a suspension of home rule but the dismissal of those who lead the
regional government". The Spanish Senate will be in charge of
controlling the process. As a result, Rajoy
said Spain’s central government would temporarily control
Catalonia’s regional ministries until new elections are called. The
prime minister said he is seeking to convene regional elections
within six months.
PM Mariano Rajoy: Spain plans to remove leaders of Catalan government but not dissolve regional parliament http://bbc.in/2yEUvxI
"The First Minister
of the Catalan government was invited to parliament and he did not
accept", said Mr. Rajoy, in a long press conference following an
extraordinary cabinet meeting on Saturday, adding that Catalan
leaders had tried to "impose" their will on the central
government.
“We are going to work
to return to normality,” Rajoy said, as car horns sounded in
downtown Madrid. “We are going to work so that all Catalans can
feel united and participate in a common project in Europe and the
world that has been know for centuries as Spain.”
Rajoy also said that “the
economic recovery is under an obvious threat because of Catalonia,”
during the Madrid press conference, and said that “this is about
peoples lives, jobs, salaries" as "Companies are fleeing”
and "data on tourism is also worrisome, the tensions are
deterring visitors.”
The "most
anti-democratic part" of the past few weeks was "what
happened in the Catalan Parliament on September 6 and 7".
"Dialogue is a lovely word", said the PM, but "Dialogue
does not mean the others have to accept your demands". "Dialogue
outside of the law is deeply undemocratic".
Rajoy said there were
four aims of applying Article 155 in Catalonia:
- to return to the rule of law,
- to get back to normality and "coexistence",
- to continue with the economic recovery, and
- to hold elections in a situation of normality.
He said the six-month
period before elections was the maximum period of time he would like
to see pass before a new vote. The PM also said the Article 155 can
now only be stopped "if the Senate does not approve it",
which however won't happen as the governing Popular Party holds an
absolute majority in the Spanish Senate.
Rajoy thanked two
opposition parties, the Socialists and Ciudadanos, for their support
for the measures, and said that Saturday's announced measures had
been hammered out in recent days with leaders from two of the main
oppositions parties, a sign of the widespread political support for
the prime minister’s bid to halt Catalan authorities’
accelerating steps to secede from Spain.
As Bloomberg notes, the
move may be "a watershed moment for Spain and its 1.1 trillion
euro ($1.3 trillion) economy, which counts on Catalonia for a fifth
of its output." Hundreds of companies have already set up
headquarters elsewhere in the country to avoid a legal limbo that
emerged after Catalan leaders on Oct. 10 claimed the right to an
independent republic.
And now that Spain has
ended the game of cat and mouse, and effectively pulled the plug on
Catalan independence, with the central government’s measure due to
come into force within days Catalan leaders are due to meet Monday to
discuss whether to push ahead with a unilateral declaration of
independence. With Madrid having taken the first step, Puigdemont now
has the liberty of playing the "oppression" card, even if
Spain explicitly stated it is not suspending Catalan autonomy, so the
semantical war of words will continue, although for the separatist
movement the time has now come to either officially declare
independence or end the process.
The question is what
happens should the Catalan leaders follow through and declare
Catalonia is independent, forcing retaliation, perhaps violent, from
Spain. The answer will be unveiled shortly: the
Catalan President will make a statement at 9pm according to a
spokesman, and Puigdemont also attend a demonstration in downtown
Barcelona at 5 p.m.
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