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Catalan president says Madrid is suspending region’s autonomy | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
The Catalan president has accused the Spanish government of effectively suspending the region’s autonomy and declaring a de facto state of emergency. Police officers raided Catalan government offices on Wednesday and arrested 12 senior officials in a bid to stop an independence referendum being held in less than two weeks’ time. | |
Carles Puigdemont described the raids as a “a co-ordinated police assault” that showed that Madrid “has de facto suspended self-government and applied a de facto state of emergency” in Catalonia. | |
Speaking after an emergency ministerial meeting, Puigdemont vowed the poll would go ahead, adding: “We reaffirm our peaceful response. The Spanish government has crossed a red line and become a democratic disgrace.” | |
The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, tweeted: “Searching public bodies and arresting officials is a democratic scandal. We defend Catalan institutions.” | |
Es un escàndol democràtic que s'escorcolli institucions i es detinguin càrrecs públics per motius polítics. Defensem institucions catalanes | |
Tensions between Madrid and Barcelona have escalated over recent days as the government of the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, strives to ensure that the controversial independence vote does not take place on 1 October. | |
On Wednesday morning, Spain’s interior ministry announced it was cancelling leave for all the Guardia Civil and national police officers tasked with preventing the referendum. In a statement, it said the affected officers would have to be available between 20 September and 5 October, but added the period could be extended if necessary. | |
The raids come a day after the Guardia Civil confiscated referendum documents from the offices of a private delivery firm in the Catalan city of Terrassa. More than 1.5m referendum leaflets and posters have also been seized. | The raids come a day after the Guardia Civil confiscated referendum documents from the offices of a private delivery firm in the Catalan city of Terrassa. More than 1.5m referendum leaflets and posters have also been seized. |
A spokesman for the regional government said Guardia Civil officers were searching the Barcelona offices of the presidency and the ministries of economic affairs and foreign relations. | |
He also confirmed that Josep Maria Jové, the secretary general of economic affairs and an aide to the Catalan vice-president, was among those detained – apparently in connection with the launch of web pages related to the referendum. | |
Police and judicial authorities gave no details of the operation, saying a judge had placed a secrecy order on it. | |
As news of the arrests emerged, protesters began to gather outside the ministry of economic affairs, and by mid-morning the crowd had swelled to more than 2,000, blocking Gran Via, one of Barcelona’s principal thoroughfares. | |
The crowd, breaking into the Catalan national anthem and waving placards reading “We are voting to be free,” began by chanting “No tinc por” (I’m not afraid) – the slogan used in response to last month’s terrorist attacks in the city. | |
But the chant was soon replaced by a new cry: “Occupation forces out!” | |
The mood at the various demonstrations was tense and very different from the party atmosphere at the million-strong rally a little over a week ago. | |
Although peaceful, there were moments of strain such as when the crowd staged a sit-down protest in Via Laietana, hemming in a Guardia Civil vehicle. | |
Members of the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police force, appealed to people to let the vehicle pass, but were clearly reluctant to remove them forcibly. | |
All the Guardia Civil vehicles parked outside the various government departments were festooned with pro-independence leaflets and red and white carnations. | |
There were steel barriers and a heavy police presence outside the Palau de la Generalitat, the seat of the Catalan government. Outside the finance ministry, Joan Tardà, a Catalan MP, appealed for calm. | |
“They’re trying to derail us,” he told the crowd. “Our strength lies in being resolute, but in a civilised and peaceful manner.” | |
Rajoy has refused to rule anything out when it comes to preventing the vote from taking place, and both the government and the Spanish constitutional court have said the unilateral referendum is illegal and should not go ahead. | |
Speaking on Wednesday morning, the prime minister defended the government’s actions, saying: “What we’re seeing in Catalonia is an attempt to eliminate the constitution and the autonomous statute of Catalonia … Logically, the state has to react. There is no democratic state in the world that would accept what these people are trying to do. They’ve been warned and they know the referendum can’t take place.” | |
The raids mark a major intensification of Madrid’s efforts to stop the vote from proceeding – as do remarks from the Spanish foreign minister, who has accused some separatists of using a “Nazi” approach to intimidate Catalan mayors opposed to secession. | The raids mark a major intensification of Madrid’s efforts to stop the vote from proceeding – as do remarks from the Spanish foreign minister, who has accused some separatists of using a “Nazi” approach to intimidate Catalan mayors opposed to secession. |
“Referendums are a weapon of choice of dictators,” said Alfonso Dastis in an interview with Bloomberg in New York on Tuesday. “These people actually are taking some Nazi attitudes because they are putting up posters with the faces of mayors who are resisting their call to participate in this charade. | |
“A referendum isn’t the same as a democracy. General Franco organised two referendums.” | “A referendum isn’t the same as a democracy. General Franco organised two referendums.” |
Although more than 70% of Catalonia’s 7.5 million people are in favour of a referendum, surveys suggest they are almost evenly split on the issue of independence. | Although more than 70% of Catalonia’s 7.5 million people are in favour of a referendum, surveys suggest they are almost evenly split on the issue of independence. |
A survey two months ago showed 49.4% of Catalans were against independence while 41.1% were in favour. | |
More than 80% of participants opted for independence in a symbolic poll three years ago – although only 2.3 million of Catalonia’s 5.4 million eligible voters took part. | More than 80% of participants opted for independence in a symbolic poll three years ago – although only 2.3 million of Catalonia’s 5.4 million eligible voters took part. |
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