Spokeswoman Eva
Granados said the legislators of the Socialists of
Catalonia Party, or PSC, will be absent from the
vote on a proposal to establish a new republic.
Conservative unionist parties in the opposition have
also promised to leave the chamber.
Granados said the separatists are 'thoughtless' and
asked them why to build a new country based on a
concept of democracy that is 'intolerant and
sectarian,' and that excludes those who oppose
independence.
Meanwhile Carlos
Carrizosa, spokesman for the pro-union Citizens
party, ripped up the copy of the proposed law to
declare independence during the debate prior to an
expected vote in Catalonia's parliament.
Carrizosa said 'with
this paper you leave those Catalans who don't follow
you orphaned without a government, and that's why
Citizens won't let you ruin Catalonia.'
He added that 'today
is a sad, dramatic day in Catalonia. Today is the
day that you (secessionists) carry out your coup
against the democracy in Spain.'
The spokesman for the radical-left
secessionist CUP party said Catalonia is poised to
exercise what separatists call the Spanish region's
right to self-determination.
Carles
Riera of CUP says 'Today we are ready to make a
historic step. Today we become a political entity
with right to self-determination and we are
exercising it.'
Spain has vowed to
stop any attempt at secession.
|
No
Advertising
- No
Government
Grants -
This Is
Independent
Media
|
Some independence
supporters have also promised a campaign of civil
disobedience.
Several hundred
Catalan town mayors also joined in a chant for
'Independence!' inside Catalonia's regional
parliament building.
Waving Catalan flags
and chanting 'independence' and 'freedom,' the
demonstrators rallied outside the park in which
parliament is located, hoping to see the
proclamation of a new independent state by the end
of the day.
A 68-year-old
protester, Jordi Soler, said: 'I am here today
because we will start the Catalan Republic.'
Soler said 'today is
the last chance,' noting that President Puigdemont
had offered to negotiate with the central government
in Madrid, 'but Madrid is starting with total
repression and there is no longer any (other)
option.'
If, as expected, the
Spanish parliament invokes article 155 of the
country's constitution - which is designed to rein
in rebel regions - then the entire Catalonian
regional government would be dismissed.
Spain would then send
its own representatives to rule the region for as
long as the 'exceptional situation' persists, Rajoy
said.
It would also mean
that Catalonia's police force, public broadcasters
and parliament would come under the direct control
of the central government.
Rajoy also said he
would use the powers to call elections for the
region within six months.
Pro-independence supporters have already started to
gather outside the parliament, where a demonstration
was called from 10.30 am (8.30am GMT).
If article 155 were
invoked, it would be the first time in four decades
of democratic rule that the national government
would directly run the affairs of one of Spain's 17
semi-autonomous regions
Catalan President
Carles Puigdemont yesterday ruled out a snap
election over fears it would trigger violence.
The president was seen
holding hands with his wife as he entered the
regional parliament today.
Puigdemont revealed he
considered calling elections in an effort to ease
the separatist crisis as Madrid
prepares to seize control of the region.
But he decided not to
because 'abusive' Madrid did not offer enough
'guarantees' that they would not take over control
of Catalonia.
In a televised
statement, he said it was now 'up to the (regional)
parliament'.
The regional leader
also justified the
decision not to hold an election by saying he
believed it would spark more violence after the
October 1 independence referendum descended into
chaos.
It is
believed he also changed his mind because of huge
divisions within his pro-independence coalition
government. Many of his MPs believe he should simply
unilaterally declare independence, with one
yesterday resigning over the issue.
The crisis has split
Catalonia and caused deep resentment around Spain.
It has also prompted a flight of business from the
wealthy region and alarmed European leaders who fear
the crisis could fan separatist sentiment around the
continent.
France's Suez, the top
water provider in Spain, has temporarily moved the
legal registration of its offices in Catalonia to
Madrid because of legal uncertainty related to
Catalonia's independence movement.
'We have temporarily
moved the registered office of Agbar, which is the
(Suez) holding company in Catalonia, to Madrid in
order to protect the legal certainty of investors,
because what we see now in Catalonia is
uncertainty,' Chief Financial Officer Christophe
Cros said on an earnings call.'
Huge numbers
of independence supporters marched through Barcelona
yesterday, blocking several streets as they headed
to the government palace after students at the local
university went on 'strike'.
The three-day strike
by students at the Autonomous University of
Barcelona saw dozens of protesters block entry to
facilities in protest of the political crisis, with
hundreds of others prevented from attending lectures
as a result.
Access was restricted
by protesters resulting in students struggling to
get in the education facility after commuting from
the nearby railway station of Cerdanyola del
Valles.
There were reports of
clashes between picketing students and those wanting
to attend lectures, as well as threats made on
social media by protesters.
A professor who
teaches economics at the university said: 'There is
always trouble when a strike is called.
'They have let us
teachers pass, but if you wanted to remove the
chairs it is the usual mess. It makes me crazy, they
justify what they do, but you are not allowed to
speak.'
The unnamed professor
said numerous classes had been suspended as a result
of the protests.
A law professor added:
'There was a mess because many students wanted to
come in and argued with the picket because they
wanted to pass, but the picket did not change its
attitude.
He added that of the
'hundreds of students who usually attend each day',
only 50 made it inside.
President Puigdemont's
cabinet, including Junqueras, met for frantic
meetings overnight and on Thursday morning and it
was thought he was set to call a snap election.
His pro-independence
coalition has 72 seats in the Catalan Parliament out
of 135.
If the regional
government decides to call a snap election it could
see Puigdemont increase his majority.
This would then give
him mandate to declare that independence had been
won lawfully, essentially turning the regional
election into a new referendum, after the one
earlier this month was branded 'illegal' by Madrid.
Germany said on Friday
it supported the Spanish government in its dispute
with separatists in Catalonia and hoped both sides
would de-escalate the situation through dialogue.
'The government hopes
those involved will make use of all opportunities
for dialogue and de-escalation' provided by the
Spanish constitution, a German government
spokeswoman told a regular government news
conference in Berlin
Catalans are fiercely
protective of their language, culture and autonomy -
restored after the 1939-75 dictatorship of Francisco
Franco.
Fears for Catalonia's
economy have increased as uncertainty persists over
the independence drive, with some 1,600 companies
having moved their legal headquarters out of the
region in recent weeks.
Catalonia accounts for
about 16 percent of Spain's population and a fifth
of its economic output.
This
article was originally published by
Daily Mail -
- See
Also -
Catalonia’s independence
movement is not just a problem for Spain
; Catalonia is wrong. Madrid is right. There is a
Spanish constitution which clearly lays down the
sovereignty and integrity of the Spanish state
