Catalans vow to escape after ‘worst attack’ since Franco - The Times

Catalans vow to escape after ‘worst attack’ since Franco

Graham Keeley, Barcelona

October 23 2017,

The Times

Catalonia could declare independence from Spain on Friday in retaliation for Madrid’s decision to dismiss the separatist authority and call elections.

Carles Puigdemont, the regional president, accused the Spanish government of “the worst attack on institutions and Catalan people” since the days of Franco, who banned the Catalan language and culture, after the decision to impose direct rule on the region.

There are fears that civil unrest will erupt as separatist groups try to resist any attempt by Madrid to enforce direct rule.

Alfonso Dastis, the Spanish foreign minister, urged Catalans to disregard any instruction from the pro-independence leadership. “All the government is trying to do, and reluctantly, is to reinstate the legal order, to restore the constitution but also the Catalan rules,” he told the BBC.

Mr Dastis defended police attempts to stop the referendum and said images of violence at polling stations were fake. “If there was any use of force, it was a limited one and prompted by the fact that the law and order agencies were prevented from discharging the orders of the courts,” he said.

Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister, said on Saturday that his conservative government was “regretfully” stripping Mr Puigdemont and his ministers of their jobs to restore legality. The Spanish government also plans to take control of the local police force and broadcasting outlets. These measures are subject to a vote in the senate, which the government is expected to win.

Hundreds of thousands of people flooded Barcelona’s streets to show their anger after Mr Rajoy’s statement. The Catalan parliament will meet at the end of the week to discuss its reaction to the Spanish government’s plans — the day the Senate is set to approve measures to take control of Catalonia.

Mr Rajoy told Mr Puigdemont last week that he would not press ahead with suspending the regional government if the Catalan leader stopped trying to enforce the results of an illegal referendum in which 90 per cent voted for secession on a 43 per cent turnout. “Regional elections are not on the table,” Jordi Turull, the Catalan government spokesman, said on Saturday, setting up the possibility that Mr Puigdemont would declare independence when the regional assembly meets.

A poll for El Periodico, a Barcelona newspaper, published at the weekend found that 69 per cent of Catalans supported holding elections and only 36 per cent backed independence.

Home to 7.5 million people, relatively wealthy Catalonia fiercely defends its language and culture and enjoys a high degree of autonomy, controlling its own police force, education and health services and limited tax-raising powers.

The central government can wrest back control under Article 155 of the 1978 Spanish constitution, which has never been used. The country returned to democracy the previous year.

In a television address on Saturday, Mr Puigdemont was careful not to mention the word “independence”. However, two weeks earlier he delivered a confusing address in which he appeared to declare secession then immediately suspended it and appealed to Madrid and Europe to open talks.

Apart from sacking the Catalan government, Madrid could take over the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan regional police, the local television channel TV3 and its tax ministry.

The measures will not be opposed by the Senate because the ruling Popular Party holds a majority and Mr Rajoy has the support of the opposition Socialists. Pedro Sánchez, the Socialist party leader, said “separatism is the Brexit of Catalonia” and accused the pro-independence parties of wanting to “break up 40 years of unparalleled self-government in Catalonia”.

Mr Rajoy said the government was using Article 155 as a last resort after Mr Puigdemont refused to drop his threat to declare independence. “The government of a democratic country cannot accept that the law is ignored,” he said.