Catalan leaders stand firm on secession from Spain
Los Angeles Times
BARCELONA, Spain — The regional government of Catalonia refused again Sunday to back off from its demand for independence from Spain, while Madrid harshly chided secessionist leaders and branded as illegal any move to try to break awayfrom Spain.
The independence furor in Spain’s most affluent region has sent shock waves across Europe, with neighboring governments fearing that the Catalonia showdown — the most serious constitutional crisis in Spain’s four decades of democracy — could galvanize separatist sentiment elsewhere.
Angry exchanges between senior officials on both sides have become the norm. Speaking Sunday on BBC, Spain’s foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis, responded acidly to a contention by the speaker of the Catalonian parliament, Carme Forcadell, who said Spain’s plans to impose direct rule in Catalonia were a “de facto coup d’etat.”
“If anyone has attempted a coup, it is the Catalan regional government,” Mr. Dastis said.
Spain prepared for a Senate vote this week on the unprecedented step of imposing direct rule in the northeastern region, whose capital, Barcelona, was roiled by huge street protests Saturday.
Seeking to choke off the secession drive, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is calling for an administrative takeover that would displace senior Catalonian officials and give the central government control of the regional police, together with Catalonia’s finances and public media outlets.
Mr. Rajoy wants Spanish lawmakers’ approval for calling a regional election, an idea that Catalonian officials said was out of line. Jordi Turull, the chief spokesman for Catalonia’s regional government, told radio station RAC1 that new parliamentary regional electionswere “not on the table.”
Three weeks ago, voters in Catalonia overwhelmingly voted in favor of independence, but fewer than half the region’s residents took part in the referendum, clouding the result. Spain said the referendum was in violation of the national constitution, and sent in police to try to stop the vote.
The regional parliament has not voted on a declaration of independence, but Mr. Turull did not rule out such an action: “What Catalonia is will be decided by the parliament legitimately elected by the citizens.”
Spain again warned sharply against any further secessionist moves. Mr. Dastis said the imposition of direct rule was a step that Madrid was reluctant to take, but he insisted it was necessaryto restore order.
“We are going to … rule the day-to-day affairs of Catalonia according to the Catalan laws and norms,” he said onBBC.
The foreign minister also questioned the veracity of widely seen images of police engaging in aggressive acts against voters and would-be voters during the referendum on Oct. 1. Independence backers said hundreds of peoplewere injured.
“Many of the pictures proved to be fake pictures,” Mr.Dastis said.
Mr. Rajoy’s decision to invoke Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution takes the dispute into uncharted territory. The provision, granting the government broad powers in the event of a serious breach of law in any of Spain’s semi-autonomous regions, has never been used.
Approval in the Senate, which Mr. Rajoy’s party controls, is almost a certainty.