Catalonia claims independence, but delays pursuit for ‘dialogue’

BARCELONA, Spain — Catalan separatists on Tuesday signed what they called a declaration of independence from Spain to cheers and applause in the regional parliament. The regional leader said he would delay implementing it for several weeks to give dialogue a chance.

Spain, however, called an emergency Cabinet meeting and gave little indication it is willing to talk.

In his highly anticipated speech, regional President Carles Puigdemont said the landslide victory in a Oct. 1 referendum gave his government the grounds to implement its long-held desire to break century-old ties with Spain.

But he proposed that the regional parliament “suspend the effects of the independence declaration to commence a dialogue, not only for reducing tension but for reaching an accord on a solution to go forward with the demands of the Catalan people.”

“We have to listen to the voices that have asked us to give a chance for dialogue with the Spanish Puigdemont said.

The central government in Madrid responded that it did not accept the declaration of independence by the separatists and did not consider the referendum or its results to be valid. Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said an emergency Cabinet meeting had been called for Wednesday.

The Catalan leader “doesn't know where he is, where he is going and with whom he wants to go,” Saenz de Santamaria said.

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 ahead of the speech.

Following his speech, Puigdemont was the first to sign the document titled “Declaration of the Representatives of Catalonia.” Dozens of other lawmakers signed it after him.

In his remarks to the parliament, Puigdemont was critical of the Spanish government’s response to the referendum and the violent police reaction that left hundreds injured on state,” voting day, but said Catalans have nothing against Spain or Spaniards, and that they want 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.

Puigdemont’s speech marked a critical point in a decade-long standoff between Catalan separatists and Spain’s central authorities.

In Brussels, European Council President Donald Tusk pleaded with the Catalan leadership ahead of the speech to choose dialogue rather than a divisive call for independence.

“I ask you to respect in your intentions the constitutional order and not to announce a decision that would make such a dialogue impossible,” he said.

Some 2.3 million Catalans — or 43 percent of the electorate in the northeastern region — voted in the referendum. Regional authorities declared the results valid, saying 90 percent were in favor. Those who opposed the referendum had said they would boycott the vote.