Next up on the separation agenda: Catalonia
 Print This
By Staff Writers, Telesur
Telesur
Friday, Sep 19, 2014
 |
| Thousand of Catalans in Barcelona demanding independence (Photo: EFE) |
After the Scottish independence vote went down, Catalans continue to push to be free from Spain.
Catalonia´s Parliament has approved a non-binding independence vote in less than two months, despite Madrid's insistence that such a vote would violate the country's constitution.
In a vote Friday, regional lawmakers approved the holding of the November 9 referendum, 106-28. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has pledged to block the move in Spanish courts.
"I will sign the decree for the consultation in Catalonia, in fact I will call this consultation for Nov. 9 as agreed some months ago with the majority of Catalan political forces," said President of Catalonia, Artur Mas, adding the Scottish 'no' vote was not a setback for Catalonia. “If there is such a conflict elsewhere in the world, you have the right way to try to resolve these differences. So it is not a setback, it is a very positive message for us and should be for the central institutions in Madrid."
"My main commitment is to... organize the referendum and let the Catalan people vote," added the Catalan President.
In response, the Spanish government said they would hold an extraordinary cabinet meeting over the weekend about the vote.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy supported the No vote in Scotland, saying that they had “chosen the most favorable option for everyone; for themselves, for all of Britain and for the rest of Europe.”
"They chose between integration and segregation, between isolation and openness, between stability and uncertainty, between security and a real risk,” he added.
Mas said that, "If they think in Madrid that by using legal frameworks they can stop the will of the Catalan people they are wrong."
Much of the independence push is around economic independence as Catalonia is one of Spain's wealthiest and most industrialized regions, in addition to having a historically strong independence movement.
Mas has also hinted at the vote being canceled if the Spanish Constitutional Court does not give the referendum “full democratic guarantees.”
Source URL
|
 Print This
|
