Spain threatens Catalan separatists
Autonomy to be suspended if leader persists
MADRID: Spain said it would take the unprecedented step of seeking to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy if the region’s leader does not abandon his independence bid, on the eve of his deadline to give a final answer.
Separatist leader Carles Puigdemont – whose banned independence referendum on Oct 1 has sparked Spain’s worst political crisis in decades – has until 10am (4pm Malaysian time) today to tell the central government in Madrid whether or not he is declaring a split from the rest of the country.
Unless he backs down, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said Madrid would trigger article 155 of Spain’s constitution, a never-before-used measure that could allow it to take direct control over semi-autonomous Catalonia.
It could allow Madrid to suspend Puigdemont’s regional government and eventually trigger new elections in Catalonia, but the move would risk further escalating a crisis that has sparked huge street rallies, rattled stock markets and deeply worried Spain’s EU partners.
“All I ask of Mr Puigdemont is that he acts with good sense,” Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told parliament yesterday.
Puigdemont issued a cryptic “suspended” declaration of independence following the referendum, saying he wanted time for talks with the government – a prospect Madrid has rejected.
Rajoy would need Senate approval to trigger article 155, but his conservative Popular Party has a majority there.
Jordi Xucla, a lawmaker from the ruling coalition, told Rajoy in parliament that such a move would be “a serious mistake ... its application would be difficult and questionable”.
The latest escalation came after tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Barcelona on Tuesday night after a court jailed two influential Catalan separatist leaders, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, pending investigation into sedition charges. — AFP