Spain to push ahead with suspending Catalan autonomy
MADRID: Spain yesterday said it will press ahead with suspending Catalonia’s autonomy after the region’s leader warned he may declare independence, heralding an unprecedented escalation of the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The central government in Madrid had given separatist leader Carles Puigdemont until 10am yesterday to say whether he would declare a breakaway state in the semi-autonomous region following a chaotic referendum on Oct 1.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had warned he would trigger Article 155 of Spain’s constitution — a never-before-used measure allowing it to impose direct rule over the wealthy northeastern region — unless Puigdemont backed down.
There are fears that such a move, allowing the government to potentially suspend Puigdemont’s government and take over its police force, could spark unrest in a region where even Catalans who oppose independence cherish their autonomy highly.
Puigdemont yesterday said Catalan lawmakers could vote to declare secession unilaterally if Madrid triggered Article 155.
“If the central government persists in preventing dialogue and continuing repression, Catalonia’s Parliament could proceed... to vote for a formal declaration of independence,” he wrote in a letter to Rajoy, adding that a cryptic “suspended” independence declaration he issued last week did not amount to breaking away.
The government hit back, saying it would push on with triggering Article 155, a process that would take a few days, to “restore legality” in the region. It called for an emergency cabinet meeting tomorrow to specify how it would take control over the region.
Madrid had on Wednesday offered the separatists a potential last-minute way out of the crisis by proposing fresh regional elections. A government source said this would allow the region to “return to legality”.
Elections sanctioned by Madrid, unlike the referendum, would allow Catalan voters to have a say on how to move forward.
But while Puigdemont’s administration might still be weighing the proposal, there was no mention of plans for such polls in his response yesterday. AFP