‘Declaration of independence’ signed in Catalan parliament
● President Carles Puigdemont delays implementation for talks with Spain
Catalan politicians yesterday signed a document they are calling a declaration of independence from Spain but are delaying its implementation.
Regional president Carles Puigdemont was the first to sign the Declaration of the Representatives of Catalonia document.
Dozens of other politicians signed it after him in the regional parliament in Barcelona.
The signing ceremony came a few hours after Mr Puigdemont addressed the parliament, saying Catalans had earned the right to independence from Spain after a referendum on 1 October.
However, he called for dialogue with Spain’s government, which has condemned the referendum as illegal and unconstitutional. “We have to listen to the voices that have asked us to give a chance for dialogue with the Spanish state,” Mr Puigdemont said.
Such a move would help reduce political tensions and reach “an accord on a solution to go forward with the demands of the Catalan people”, Mr Puigdemont added.
About two dozen tractors flying secessionist flags paraded near parliament and thousands of separatists gathered in the promenade next to Barcelona’s Arc de Triomf, where the movement’s main grassroots group has called for a rally.
The Spanish government does not accept the “implicit” declaration of independence by the Catalan separatists and the results of a banned referendum cannot be considered valid, an official said.
The official said the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy could not accept validating a Catalan referendum law that was suspended by Spain’s Constitution and called the referendum “fraudulent and illegal”.
Mr Rajoy’s government “considers it inadmissible to make an implicit declaration of independence and then leave it in suspension in an explicit manner”, according to the official.
Mr Puigdemont was highly critical of the Spanish government’s response to the referendum and the violent police reaction that left hundreds injured on voting day, but said Catalans had nothing against Spain or Spaniards, and that they wanted to understand each other better.
“We are not criminals, we are not crazy, we are not pulling off a coup, we are not out of our minds. We are normal people who want to vote,” he said.
Opposition leader Ines Arrimadas of the Ciudadanos (Citizens) party slammed the speech.
“This is a coup. Nobody has recognised the result of the referendum. Nobody in Europe supports what you have just done,” she said.
“Stop saying the Catalan people are united. Above all after what you have done. You have forced us to turn against one another,” she said, addressing Mr Puigdemont during the parliament session.
“The majority of Catalans feel they are Catalans, Spanish and European. We won’t let you break our hearts into bits,” Ms Arrimadas said.
Mr Puigdemont’s speech marked a critical point in a decade-long stand-off between Catalan separatists and Spain’s central authorities.
Security was tight in Barcelona and police cordoned off a park surrounding the legislative building.
In Brussels, European Council President Donald Tusk pleaded directly with the Catalan leadership ahead of the speech to choose dialogue rather than a divisive call for independence.
Some 2.3 million Catalans or 43 per cent of the electorate in the region – voted in the referendum.
Regional authorities say 90 per cent of those who voted were in favour of independence.