Court bars Catalan MPs’ session on secession
madrid — Spain’s Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the suspension of a planned session in Catalonia’s parliament which separatist leaders have called for the region to declare independence.
Judges “ordered the suspension of the plenary that has been called for Monday in the (Catalan) parliament” while it hears an appeal by rival Catalan politicians, a spokeswoman said.
The court confirmed the decision in a written ruling.
Catalan lawmakers had summoned regional president Carles Puigdemont to address the parliament about last Sunday’s contested independence referendum in Catalonia.
The court warned that any session carried out in defiance of its ban would be “null”.
It said the parliament’s leaders could face criminal action if they ignore the court order. Catalan leaders have said they are not afraid of going to jail. —
madrid — The leader of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, said he was not afraid of being arrested for organising a banned referendum on the region’s independence from Spain, which went ahead on Sunday despite Madrid using force to try to stop people voting.
Spanish riot police used truncheons and rubber bullets on voters, drawing worldwide criticism and tipping Spain into its biggest constitutional crisis in decades.
Puigdemont’s government is to ask the regional parliament on Monday to declare independence, after his officials released preliminary referendum results showing 90 per cent support in favour of breaking away.
Turnout was only about 43 percent as Catalans who favour remaining part of Spain mainly boycotted the ballot.
“Personally, I am not afraid of that,” Puigdemont said in an interview in the German daily Bild, published on Thursday, when asked about his possible arrest. “And I’m not surprised anymore about what the Spanish government is doing. My arrest is also possible, which would be a barbaric step.”
Neither the Spanish government nor the judiciary has threatened to arrest Puigdemont, though Madrid accuses him of breaking the law by ignoring a Constitutional Court ruling forbidding the referendum from going ahead. Puigdemont has said the referendum proved the will of the people was to leave Spain and has vowed to continue with secession, despite Madrid’s insistence it won’t happen.
On Wednesday, in a televised address, Puigdemont renewed his call for international mediation but said the results of the referendum would have to be applied.
Meanwhile, Spain’s government has defiantly rejected calls for mediation
and i’m not surprised anymore about what the Spanish government is doing. My arrest is also possible, which would be a barbaric step Carles Puigdemont, Carles Puigdemont,
over Catalonia’s push for independence as the two factions headed towards another showdown. The European Union has urged dialogue to ease the standoff between separatists in the northeastern region and Madrid, but Catalan leaders said they could unilaterally declare independence as early as Monday.
The tone of the crisis sharpened with Catalonia’s president denouncing the king’s intervention and Spain’s government rejecting any possible talks. The confrontation has raised fears among investors of unrest in Catalonia, which accounts for a fifth of the Spanish economy. A former principality, the region has its own language and culture and has long complained that it pays more to Madrid in taxes than it receives each year from central funding. The crisis in the euro zone’s fourth-biggest economy has hurt Spanish bond and stock markets. The nation’s borrowing costs hit a seven-month high on Thursday ahead of a government bond auction that will test investor confidence. — Reuters, AFP