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| Catalonia: Teachers and students prepare to open schools for referendum | Catalonia: Teachers and students prepare to open schools for referendum |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Teachers and students at some schools in Catalonia are organising to keep schools open to serve as polling stations for Sunday's outlawed referendum on independence from Spain. | Teachers and students at some schools in Catalonia are organising to keep schools open to serve as polling stations for Sunday's outlawed referendum on independence from Spain. |
| Coded messages are being sent on social media to make arrangements, La Vanguardia newspaper reports. | |
| Hundreds of teachers gathered at the regional government's headquarters on Thursday, chanting "we will open" and "we will vote". | Hundreds of teachers gathered at the regional government's headquarters on Thursday, chanting "we will open" and "we will vote". |
| Madrid vows to prevent the poll. | |
| It is crunch time in Catalonia, where for the past five years the region's devolved government has demanded a referendum on independence from Spain, reports the BBC's Tom Burridge from Barcelona. | It is crunch time in Catalonia, where for the past five years the region's devolved government has demanded a referendum on independence from Spain, reports the BBC's Tom Burridge from Barcelona. |
| Catalonia's government has said it could declare independence from Spain within 48 hours of the vote. | Catalonia's government has said it could declare independence from Spain within 48 hours of the vote. |
| But Spain is likely to deploy thousands of national police officers, currently stationed on board two cruise ships docked in Barcelona's port, to disrupt any voting, and ultimately to guarantee Spanish sovereignty over Catalonia, our correspondent says. | But Spain is likely to deploy thousands of national police officers, currently stationed on board two cruise ships docked in Barcelona's port, to disrupt any voting, and ultimately to guarantee Spanish sovereignty over Catalonia, our correspondent says. |
| The wealthy region of 7.5 million people in north-eastern Spain has its own language and culture, and a high degree of autonomy. But it is not recognised as a separate nation by the Spanish state. | The wealthy region of 7.5 million people in north-eastern Spain has its own language and culture, and a high degree of autonomy. But it is not recognised as a separate nation by the Spanish state. |
| Catalan leaders have appealed for help from the European Union, saying Madrid has undermined the bloc's democratic values. On Friday, European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said he would work towards a political solution. | |
| He told Italian news agency Ansa that the referendum was illegal but that both the Madrid government and the devolved administration in Catalonia needed to reach a settlement on the matter. | |
| But Spanish Health Minister Dolors Montserrat on Friday ruled out dialogue on the issue, calling instead for the resignation of Catalan President President Carles Puigdemont, El Mundo newspaper reports. | |
| In a press conference, government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo reiterated Madrid's determination to block the vote. | |
| "There will be no referendum on 1 October," he said. "This secessionist process has been illegal from the outset. It is the duty of a law-governed state to prevent this from happening." | |
| Teachers and students have played a high-profile role in the campaign for the referendum to go ahead, prompting Madrid to threaten the regional education ministry with legal action over its alleged failure to protect minors, El Mundo reports. | |
| Students have gone "on strike" and have left classes to join rallies. | Students have gone "on strike" and have left classes to join rallies. |
| According to Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia, referendum activists are planning to keep some schools open all weekend in preparation for polling on Sunday. | According to Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia, referendum activists are planning to keep some schools open all weekend in preparation for polling on Sunday. |
| There are also plans to use tractors to block security forces from shutting the premises. | There are also plans to use tractors to block security forces from shutting the premises. |
| A website - escolesobertes.eu ("open schools") - has been set up so people can track which schools are open. | A website - escolesobertes.eu ("open schools") - has been set up so people can track which schools are open. |
| Mr Puigdemont attended Thursday's meeting of teachers at the headquarters of the autonomous government, where he praised educationalists for "backtracking not one millimetre in our fundamental rights". | Mr Puigdemont attended Thursday's meeting of teachers at the headquarters of the autonomous government, where he praised educationalists for "backtracking not one millimetre in our fundamental rights". |
| He told school principals he "understood their anxieties" about resisting orders from Madrid, but assured them that ultimate "responsibility lies with our government". | He told school principals he "understood their anxieties" about resisting orders from Madrid, but assured them that ultimate "responsibility lies with our government". |
| He admitted that the vote was fraught with difficulty, but added: "For each difficulty, two solutions, and for every fear, three hopes." | He admitted that the vote was fraught with difficulty, but added: "For each difficulty, two solutions, and for every fear, three hopes." |