Pro-independence
Catalonians want to open a permanent dialogue with Madrid in order to hold an
official independence vote. If the Spanish government refuses, they will go
ahead anyway, Catalan leader Artur Mas says.
Deutsche Welle, 11 Nov 2014
On Tuesday,
Artur Mas (right in photo), the head of Catalonia's government, called on
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy (left) to establish a permanent dialogue
with the semiautonomous region, threatening to move up local elections and use
them as a proxy for a more official secession referendum if Madrid did not
comply.
Mas told
reporters that the dialogue should focus on how Catalonia could hold an
official referendum on independence. Sunday's poll had been highly unofficial,
with courts blocking a more formal referendum and the city government of
Barcelona refusing to assist by setting up polling stations.
If the
national government does not make steps toward further autonomy for Catalonia
or take measures to ensure that the wealthy northeastern region, which accounts
for one-fifth of Spain's GDP, enjoys more financial freedom from the federal
state, Mas will make sure that regional elections, scheduled for late 2016, are
brought forward and held as soon as possible.
"We're
willing to use this tool if there is not a positive answer from the Spanish
government," Mas said, according to the news agency Reuters. "I have
an obligation to open the door to dialogue with Mariano Rajoy but if it doesn't
work, we will follow our roadmap."
If local
elections are held sooner, Convergence and Union (CiU), led by Mas, could try
for an absolute majority, which the party lacks now, giving it more room to
pave the way for independence.
The Spanish
government is having none of it, however: "The right to self-determination
that you demand is not possible, neither under our constitution nor in any of
the other democracies around us," Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de
Santamaria told a Catalan nationalist lawmaker in parliament on Tuesday.
Massive
cyberattack
Mas also
spoke on Tuesday of a cyberattack during Sunday's poll, according to the news
agency AFP, saying "they tried to take down the Catalan government's
computer systems," though he did not specify who he thought
"they" could be.
"Never
before had we suffered an organized attack of such scale and
characteristics," he said, adding that the onslaught could have disrupted
medical services. He said he did not believe that the assault could have been
the work of a few amateurs.
The pro-independence
Catalan National Assembly also reported to AFP that it had had its phones
jammed on Sunday.
Mas plans
to meet with other parties in favor of secession this week in an effort to
create a united platform for the anticipated official referendum.
Spanish
prosecutors have said they will decide on Wednesday whether to bring charges
against Mas for allowing the referendum.
es/mkg (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.