The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Spanish PM takes action following secession vote
Rajoy sacks Catalan government and calls new elections on December 21
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has sacked the Catalan government as part of emergency measures following the region’s declaration of independence.
Mr Rajoy said he is dissolving the Catalan parliament and calling for a new regional election on December 21.
He was speaking after a special cabinet meeting to discuss what measures to take in the wake of the Catalan parliament’s announcement of secession earlier yesterday.
The firing of the regional leaders is likely to meet with fierce opposition in Catalonia, where thousands have been celebrating the independence declaration.
The Spanish government has been authorised to dismiss the regional government and curtail the Catalan parliament’s powers.
Mr Rajoy said he is also firing the head of the Catalan regional police, shutting down Catalonia’s foreign affairs department and dismissing its delegates in Brussels and Madrid.
He said “we never wanted to come to this point” and the aim is “to return (Catalonia) to normality and legality as soon as possible”.
In a square outside the government palace in Barcelona, an announcer told the crowd about the moves by Mr Rajoy.
The news was greeted with loud jeers and whistles but the thousands who came to celebrate Catalonia’s independence declaration did not let the Spanish response disrupt the festive mood.
After the Catalan parliament voted to back secession, Mr Rajoy said it was a move that “in the opinion of a large majority of people not only goes against the law but is a criminal act”.
The Senate’s decision giving Mr Rajoy special powers trumped the Catalan regional parliament’s independence vote, which was doomed because the Constitutional Court has already consistently ruled against any steps toward secession.
The battle around Catalonia’s future is far from over, however. The December 21 election could deliver a steadfastly pro-independence Catalan parliament, even if recent polls have suggested the region of 7.5 million people is roughly evenly split on secession.
Many Catalans strongly oppose independence and a large-scale protest organised by a group of so-called unionists is due to take place in Barcelona tomorrow.
A spokesman for Spain’s prosecutor’s office said the prosecutor would seek to bring rebellion charges against those responsible for the Catalan independence vote.
In an emotional scene after the vote, regional leader Carles Puigdemont called on cheering fellow separatists to remain peaceful ahead of the crackdown.