This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/10/world/europe/spain-catalonia-independence-carles-puigdemont.html
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Catalan Leader Expected to Declare Independence | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| BARCELONA, Spain — The battle between Catalan separatists and the Spanish central government was on course to reach a turning point Tuesday evening, when Carles Puigdemont, the leader of the region, was expected to declare independence from the rest of the country. | |
| Politicians and analysts expect Mr. Puigdemont, who is to speak to the regional Parliament at 6 p.m., to issue a toned-down declaration that would leave the door open for negotiations with the national government in Madrid, although Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has rejected any dialogue with Catalan separatists until they abandon plans for secession. | Politicians and analysts expect Mr. Puigdemont, who is to speak to the regional Parliament at 6 p.m., to issue a toned-down declaration that would leave the door open for negotiations with the national government in Madrid, although Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has rejected any dialogue with Catalan separatists until they abandon plans for secession. |
| Mr. Puigdemont is struggling to keep together his unwieldy alliance of separatist lawmakers, who control a majority of the seats in the Catalan Parliament after winning 48 percent of the votes in 2015. | Mr. Puigdemont is struggling to keep together his unwieldy alliance of separatist lawmakers, who control a majority of the seats in the Catalan Parliament after winning 48 percent of the votes in 2015. |
| Hard-line separatists want Mr. Puigdemont to meet his pledge to follow through on the results of the highly disputed Catalan referendum on Oct. 1, in which voters in the region backed independence, although the vote had been suspended by Constitutional Court in Madrid. | |
| Lawmakers from Mr. Puigdemont’s conservative party, however, are wary about further escalating tensions with Madrid, especially after several prominent companies announced plans to move their headquarters from Catalonia because of legal uncertainties of a secession. | |
| Jordi Turull, a spokesman for the Catalan government, refused at a news conference to discuss the wording of the anticipated independence declaration, saying instead that everything would become “perfectly clear” once Mr. Puigdemont addressed Catalan lawmakers. | |
| In the hours before Mr. Puigdemont’s address, his first to the regional Parliament since the referendum, the main separatist associations have called for a citizens’ rally near the Parliament building to push the Catalan political leadership to stick to the independence pledge. | |
| Mr. Puigdemont was to speak after a morning meeting with his government to agree on the final wording of the address, which could include a clause that would delay enforcement of any declaration of independence for months. That would allow time for international mediation, although the central government, led by Mr. Rajoy, has shown no willingness to engage in the current circumstances. | Mr. Puigdemont was to speak after a morning meeting with his government to agree on the final wording of the address, which could include a clause that would delay enforcement of any declaration of independence for months. That would allow time for international mediation, although the central government, led by Mr. Rajoy, has shown no willingness to engage in the current circumstances. |
| Any unilateral declaration of independence would force Mr. Rajoy to make a difficult decision of his own. The prime minister has taken a hard line against the separatists, but strong reprisals against Mr. Puigdemont could galvanize the independence movement, particularly after a police crackdown on the day of the referendum that left hundreds injured, according to the Catalan authorities. | |
| Mr. Rajoy, who has asked to appear before the Spanish Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, has a battery of emergency measures that he could use to stop Catalan secessionism in its tracks. | Mr. Rajoy, who has asked to appear before the Spanish Parliament on Wednesday afternoon, has a battery of emergency measures that he could use to stop Catalan secessionism in its tracks. |
| The Spanish Constitution allows Mr. Rajoy to suspend the regional Parliament and take full administrative control over Catalonia, including the leadership of its autonomous police force and its public broadcaster. | |
| Spain’s public prosecutors could also open criminal proceedings against Mr. Puigdemont and his government. On Monday, Pablo Casado, the spokesman for Mr. Rajoy’s governing party, warned that Mr. Puigdemont could be imprisoned for insurrection. | Spain’s public prosecutors could also open criminal proceedings against Mr. Puigdemont and his government. On Monday, Pablo Casado, the spokesman for Mr. Rajoy’s governing party, warned that Mr. Puigdemont could be imprisoned for insurrection. |
| Early Tuesday, Luis de Guindos, the Spanish economy minister, ruled out any last-minute negotiations with the separatists, saying he expected the main leaders of the European Union to back whatever emergency measures were decided by Madrid. | |
| “We are in the final minutes, and everything depends on Mr. Puigdemont and I hope that he returns to common sense,” Mr. de Guindos told reporters before a European ministerial meeting in Luxembourg. He predicted that the European Union would “support all the measures that we will take within the legal framework of the Constitution.” | |
| Inés Arrimadas, the leader of the Catalan branch of the Ciudadanos party, which is fiercely opposed to secession, called on Tuesday for Mr. Puigdemont to convene new Catalan elections rather than risk escalating tensions by promising an independence that he cannot enforce. | Inés Arrimadas, the leader of the Catalan branch of the Ciudadanos party, which is fiercely opposed to secession, called on Tuesday for Mr. Puigdemont to convene new Catalan elections rather than risk escalating tensions by promising an independence that he cannot enforce. |
| “Today Catalonia’s citizenship is split right down the middle,” Ms. Arrimadas told La Sexta, a Spanish television channel. “Part of it is excited about something that won’t happen — and that will provoke frustration.” | “Today Catalonia’s citizenship is split right down the middle,” Ms. Arrimadas told La Sexta, a Spanish television channel. “Part of it is excited about something that won’t happen — and that will provoke frustration.” |
| In Sant Jaume Square in Barcelona, a line of television cameras pointed at the facade of the headquarters of the Catalonian regional government, which for now still flies both the Catalan and national flags. | In Sant Jaume Square in Barcelona, a line of television cameras pointed at the facade of the headquarters of the Catalonian regional government, which for now still flies both the Catalan and national flags. |
| Tourists wandered around snapping pictures, and a teacher shushed a class trip of French students. | Tourists wandered around snapping pictures, and a teacher shushed a class trip of French students. |
| Soledad Martínez, a 35-year-old doctoral student who had just moved back to Barcelona from the United Kingdom, said that while the city seemed normal on the surface, people’s conversations were full of doubt and anxiety about their immediate future. | Soledad Martínez, a 35-year-old doctoral student who had just moved back to Barcelona from the United Kingdom, said that while the city seemed normal on the surface, people’s conversations were full of doubt and anxiety about their immediate future. |
| “It’s kind of a schizophrenic moment,” she said, adding that a palpable rage imbued the city’s streets. “Something big might happen.” | “It’s kind of a schizophrenic moment,” she said, adding that a palpable rage imbued the city’s streets. “Something big might happen.” |
| She said her boyfriend’s boss had given his employees the option of going home early to avoid any potential violence, and she said that she was obsessively checking for updates from Spanish news outlets on her phone. | She said her boyfriend’s boss had given his employees the option of going home early to avoid any potential violence, and she said that she was obsessively checking for updates from Spanish news outlets on her phone. |
| As a man next to her set up a sign urging the politicians to talk the problem out, Ms. Martínez explained that she did not support the independence movement but understood the frustrations that had given rise to it. | As a man next to her set up a sign urging the politicians to talk the problem out, Ms. Martínez explained that she did not support the independence movement but understood the frustrations that had given rise to it. |
| Mostly she expressed bewilderment at how the situation had reached such a dangerous point. “I’m angry,” she said. “Why did they put us in this position?” | Mostly she expressed bewilderment at how the situation had reached such a dangerous point. “I’m angry,” she said. “Why did they put us in this position?” |
| Looking around her, she again noted that things seemed so normal. “I think always the day before the war it is like this,” she said. | Looking around her, she again noted that things seemed so normal. “I think always the day before the war it is like this,” she said. |
| Inside a cloister lined with lime trees at Barcelona University, students discussed the day’s events, sitting under stickers that read “Independence, Yes” and an orange real estate sign advertising “Dictatorship for rent by the Spanish government.” | |
| Sandra Anglés, 33, said she was “scared” and criticized Spain’s “fascist government.” Her friend Maria Cuevas Barba, 31, was also critical of the Spanish government and said it was important not to sit on the sidelines of history. | |
| She said she had voted for independence and participated in a general strike, and she planned to demonstrate Tuesday afternoon in front of the Catalan Parliament. | |
| “We have to be part of this,” she said. |