This article is from the source 'guardian' 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 http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/19/catalan-pro-independence-campaigners-persevere-referendum-law

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Catalan pro-independence campaigners persevere despite Scottish result Scotland chose best option, says Spain's PM as Catalan campaign continues
(about 1 hour later)
Catalan pro-independence campaigners say the anti-independence vote in Scotland will have little effect on their push to secede from Spain. Scotland has avoided the "serious consequences" of separation, the Spanish prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has said, hours before Catalan MPs are to vote on an independence referendum stridently opposed by Madrid.
"What happened in Scotland was exactly what we expected would happen," said Ricard Gené of the Catalan National Assembly, one of the grassroots movements that has been driving the Catalan independence movement and campaign for a referendum. In a video statement that avoided any mention of Catalonia, Rajoy expressed his content with the outcome in Scotland and took aim at the Scottish independence movement. "With their decision, Scots have avoided the large economic, social, institutional and political consequences that separation would have brought," he said.
As the yes campaign had only gained strength in recent days, the result in Scotland "had not come as a big surprise", he said on Friday. "Yesterday they chose between segregation and integration. Between isolation and being open. Between stability and uncertainty. And they chose the best option for everyone – for themselves and for Europe."
The takeaway message was the fact that a referendum had taken place. "The main point for us is that the Scots have been able to vote and express their will collectively for their future. Whether they voted yes or no, that would have been all right," he said. "What we really feel is envy about the possibility of voting. This is what we are fighting for." The remarks come on a key day in the push for Catalan independence. On Friday afternoon, MPs in the region will pass a law to allow a non-binding vote on independence to take place as planned on 9 November. The central government has repeatedly insisted that any kind of vote on independence in the region would be illegal.
His message was echoed online, where pro-independence campaigners on Twitter pointed to the vote in Scotland as an example to be followed in Spain. "In Scotland they voted yesterday and afterwards, nobody died. Surprising?" wrote one person. "In Scotland the yes campaign lost, but democracy won. Spain has a lot to learn," wrote another. This week Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel García Margallo, said his government would use "the full force of the law" to block any type of vote in Catalonia, suggesting the Spanish government will challenge the Catalan law in Spain's constitutional court.
Catalan lawmakers are expected to pass a law on Friday afternoon allowing them to hold a non-binding referendum as planned for 9 November. "It's a very important day," said Gené, adding that the CNA was holding a rally in the afternoon outside the Catalan parliament to support the new law . Catalan pro-independence campaigners, who are planning to rally in front of the regional parliament on Friday afternoon in support of the law, say the anti-independence vote in Scotland will have little effect on their push to secede from Spain.
Earlier this week, Spain's foreign minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, said his government would use "the full force of the law" to block any type of vote in Catalonia, suggesting the Spanish government will challenge the Catalan law in the constitutional court. "What happened in Scotland was exactly what we expected would happen," said Ricard Gené, of the Catalan National Assembly, one of the grassroots movements that has been driving the Catalan independence movement and campaign for a referendum.
The takeaway message was that a referendum had taken place. "The main point for us is that the Scots have been able to vote and express their will collectively for their future. Whether they voted yes or no, that would have been all right," he said. "What we really feel is envy about the possibility of voting. This is what we are fighting for."
His message was echoed by Albert Royo, of Diplocat, the Catalan body responsible for public diplomacy. A yes vote in Scotland would have made things easier for Catalonia, he said. "In a way it would have acted as a kind of icebreaker for difficult issues such as EU membership and Nato membership. That might have helped an independent Catalonia to be welcome in the international community."
But the result in Scotland would not change the situation in Catalonia, he said, citing the hundreds of thousands of protesters who took to the streets last week to urge the Spanish government to allow a referendum. "Just because the Scots voted no, it does not mean that everyone here will decide to give up and conclude that the issue is over."
Royo said the Scottish referendum was "a lesson on how to tackle these kinds of issue in the 21st century." A second lesson lay in the outcome, he added, as it showed that "letting people vote does not mean that they will automatically vote for independence."