Spain takes direct control of Catalonia, leader vows to fight

CRACKDOWN Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s office said the election on December 21 would be the way “to return dignity to the Catalan institutions”

BARCELONA: Catalonia’s ousted separatist president on Saturday called on Catalans to peacefully oppose Spain’s imposition of direct rule in the region, in a veiled refusal to accept his Cabinet’s dismissal as ordered by central authorities.

Spain took formal direct control of Catalonia, dismissing the region’s defiant separatist government, including Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, a day after lawmakers passed a declaration of independence for the prosperous northeastern region.

The move came after one of the most tumultuous days in the country’s recent history, as the national parliament in Madrid approved unprecedented constitutional measures to halt the secessionist drive by the regional parliament in Barcelona.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also dissolved the regional parliament and called a new regional election to be held on December 21.

In a pre-recorded televised statement, Puigdemont said only the regional parliament can elect or dismiss the Catalan government, vowing to “continue working to build a free country.”

“The best way we have to defend the achievements to date is the democratic opposition to the application of Article 155,” Puigdemont said in reference to the constitutional clause that gave Madrid direct control of affairs in Catalonia.

Despite his defiant tone and the use of the official Catalan government emblem, the Catalan and European Union flags but no sign of the Spanish one, some commentators saw in his mention of “democratic opposition” as laying the groundwork for political campaigning for the regional election in less than two months.

“Our will is to continue working to fulfil the democratic mandates and at the same time seek the maximum stability and tranquility,” Puigdemont said. Separatists argue that a controversial victory in a banned October 1 referendum legitimises them to split from Spain.

After Spain’s central authorities made the takeover official on Saturday, Puigdemont and the 12 members that until Saturday made up the Catalan Cabinet are no longer paid.

Spain’s government has said they could be charged with usurping others’ functions if they refuse to obey, which could throw the region into further turmoil by prolonging a monthlong standoff.

Refusing to comment on Puigdemont’s televised address, Rajoy’s office said on Saturday that his actions will be a judicial affair from now on and that the December 21 election would be the way “to return dignity to the Catalan institutions.” A unilateral declaration of independence, commonly known as UDI, is when a new state is established within an existing country, declaring itself sovereign and independent without the consent of the state from which it is seceding According to experts, everyone has the right to issue a declaration of independence, but that would matter little unless other countries recognise the new state That's tricky. The International Court of Justice backed Kosovo's independence from Serbia, though Spain said the move infringed on "Serbia's right to sovereignty and territorial integrity". Also, Catalonia is seen as acting outside the Spanish constitutional framework