After Catalonia's leader missed a deadline to clarify the government's stance on an independence referendum, and missed another deadline (Thursday calling for an unambiguous renouncement of the independence referendum, the Spanish government plans to strip Catalonia of its autonomous status:
Spain was preparing to impose direct rule over semi-autonomous Catalonia after the region's leader Carles Puigdemont declined to categorically renounce an independence referendum, the prime minister's office announced Thursday.
Spain's government said it would hold a special Cabinet meeting and "approve the measures that will be sent to the Senate to protect the general interest of all Spaniards."
At the Cabinet meeting, the government would invoke Article 155 of Spain's constitution allowing it to strip Catalonia of its self-governance. That would take effect on Saturday, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's office said in a statement.
Madrid had given Puigdemont a 10 a.m. (4 a.m. ET) deadline to clarify his government's stance on a non-binding declaration of independence passed by the regional legislature following a successful referendum on secession. But the Catalan leader insisted on keeping his options open, but that wasn't good enough for Spain's government, which had insisted on an unambiguous "no."
Bloomberg reports "Merkel and Macron Have Spain's Back as Catalan Crisis Escalates":
European Union leaders offered their support for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy as he prepares to suspend the powers of the Catalan administration to clamp down on its push for independence. EU chiefs arriving for a summit in Brussels on Thursday said they backed Madrid and stressed that the issue of Catalonia's independence was a domestic one for Spain.
"We're looking at this very closely and support the position of the Spanish government, which is also a position that's been adopted across parties," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "Of course this preoccupies us, and we hope that there can be a resolution on the basis of the Spanish constitution." Asked whether he supported the Spanish government, French President Emmanuel Macron said "always," adding that "this summit will be marked by a message of unity of its members in regards to Spain."
Also at BBC, The Guardian, and EUObserver (opinion).
Previously: Spain Trying to Stop Catalonia Independence Referendum
Police and Voters Clash During Catalan Independence Referendum
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 21 2017, @01:24AM (2 children)
155 was waved around in 1989 to get Canary Island to stop applying duties to things arriving from EEC (now EU) countries, as required by the deal to be part of EEC.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/catalonia-spain-direct-rule-independence-referendum-catalan-what-will-it-look-like-a8009716.html [independent.co.uk]
News that claimed separatists were hit brutally are starting to be demostrated to be fake. They were hit, but way less than they claimed. You ate the bait, with sinker.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/08/catalonia-demo-injuries-fact-checking [theguardian.com]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/10/19/how-fake-news-helped-shape-the-catalonia-independence-vote/ [washingtonpost.com]
Worst is that investigations are showing Mossos, local police, tried to hide what was going on by not recording their comms (as required by their own rules... something about transparency and accountability of LEOs).
http://www.elmundo.es/cataluna/2017/10/20/59e90a9446163fd44b8b46a5.html [elmundo.es]
Meanwhile, companies and people keep on doing the paperwork to leave Catalonia. And those that are not patriotic enough and pushing for separation at all costs (even crashing everything into the ground), are started to be criticized.
http://www.larazon.es/deportes/la-anc-y-omnium-cargan-contra-el-f-c-barcelona-por-no-ser-lo-bastante-independentista-JA16611686 [larazon.es]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 21 2017, @12:48PM (1 child)
Was the independence sentiment faked?
Were the vote results faked?
Were the Catalan president's requests for negotiation faked?
Was the absolute refusal of Madrid to negotiate faked?
Was Madrid's completely unsympathetic ignoring of the sentiments of its citizens faked?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 21 2017, @04:09PM
No
Yes
Yes
There was nothing to negotiate with criminals.
Demagogy.