Spanish top court suspends Catalan independence declaration
Madrid gained the upper hand in the protracted struggle over Catalonia as Spain's Constitutional Court blocked Catalonia's declaration of independence
SPAIN'S Constitutional Court blocked Catalonia's declaration of independence made by the regional parliament on Friday, a court spokeswoman said yesterday.
"The court plenary has just provisionally suspended the independence declaration" while it examines an appeal by the Spanish government, a court source said, indicating the latest in a series of measures by Madrid to stifle the region's independence drive.
Resistance to Madrid's imposition of direct control on Catalonia failed to materialize at the start of the week and the secessionist leadership is in disarray.
Catalonia's ousted leader Carles Puigdemont said yesterday he accepted the snap election called by Spain's central government after Madrid took control of the region to block its push for independence.
Puigdemont, speaking at a news conference in Brussels, also said he was not seeking asylum in Belgium after Spain's state prosecutor recommended charges for rebellion and sedition be brought against him. He would return to Catalonia when given "guarantees" by the Spanish government, he said.
Puigdemont's announcement that he would accept the regional election on Dec. 21 confirmed that the Madrid government had gained the upper hand in the protracted struggle over Catalonia, for now at least.
"I ask the Catalan people to prepare for a long road. Democracy will be the foundation of our victory," Puigdemont said.
The Spanish government has said Puigdemont was welcome to take his chances and stand in the Dec. 21 election, called by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as a way to resolve the stand-off.
The political crisis, Spain's gravest in the four decades since the return of democracy in the late 1970s, was triggered by an independence referendum in Cata- lonia on Oct. 1.
Though it was declared illegal by Spanish courts and less than half Catalonia's eligible voters took part, the prosecessionist regional government said the vote gave it a mandate for independence.
European nations including Britain, Germany and France have backed Rajoy and rejected an independent Catalan state, although some have called for dialogue between the opposing sides.
Despite a Belgian minister publicly floating the idea that Puigdemont could get political asylum on Sunday. Five other dismissed Catalan politicians have accompanied him.
"It's not a question of Belgium, it's that Brussels is the capital of Europe. I'm here to act with freedom and safety," Puigdemont said, adding he decided to leave so he would not subject his compatriots to a violent crackdown from Spain.
However, he also announced that those pro-separatist politicians who remain in Catalonia will continue their work in the region, despite the fact that they have been fired by Spain's central government.
Shortly after his speech, key Catalan politicians, including the former vicepresident, appeared in the regional parliament in Barcelona according to images from local broadcasters.
"None of us have abandoned our positions," Puigdemont added, after being widely accused of fleeing the country by Spanish media.
Puigdemont also called on groups throughout Catalonia, including trade unions, to non-violently resist Spain's direct rule and the possible "dismantling" of Catalan institutions.