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Spanish prime minister refuses to rule out suspending Catalonia's autonomy Catalonia: Spanish PM vows to stop independence
(about 9 hours later)
Spain’s prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, has refused to dismiss the idea of suspending Catalonia’s regional autonomy if its leaders continue to threaten a declaration of independence. Spain’s prime minister has insisted that he will stop the Catalan government declaring independence over the coming days, warning that the Spanish authorities would suspend the region’s autonomy and take control from Madrid if necessary.
“I don’t rule out anything,” Rajoy told daily newspaper El Pais on Sunday when asked about applying the constitutional provision that allows the suspension. “But I must do things at the proper time ... I would like the threat of an independence declaration to be withdrawn as quickly as possible.” In an interview with El País on Sunday, Mariano Rajoy said the thousands of Guardia Civil and national police officers deployed in Catalonia would remain there “until things return to normal” and repeated calls for the regional government to drop its independence demands.
“The ideal would be not to have to take drastic measures,” he said in his first interview with a major newspaper since an outlawed referendum was held on 1 October. “We’re going to stop independence from happening,” he told the paper. “I can say with absolute frankness that it’s not going to happen. Depending on how things develop, we’ll obviously take any of the decisions the law permits.
On Saturday, tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied in Barcelona and Madrid amid growing calls for talks following the political crisis sparked by the push for independence. “I want to make one thing absolutely clear: as long as the threat of a declaration of independence remains on the political horizon, it’s going to be very difficult for the government not to take steps.”
People dressed in white gathered in both cities under the slogan “Shall we talk?” in a message to Spain’s political leaders. Organisers of the rallies had asked people to not bring any flags, neither Spanish nor Catalan, and to wear white clothing. Asked if he would invoke article 155 of the Spanish constitution, which would allow the Madrid government to step in and take control of Catalonia, he replied: “I am ruling out absolutely nothing when it comes to the law. I will do what I have to do when the time comes and that’s the most important thing at the moment. The ideal thing would be to not have to adopt drastic solutions, but to avoid that there would have to be some changes.”
Huge numbers are expected to protest again on Sunday in Barcelona against the perceived hijacking of the political process by an independence movement that has so far never won the support of more than 48% of the population. In the interview, which comes a week after millions of Catalans voted in a referendum declared illegal by the Spanish government and the country’s constitutional court, Rajoy described the Catalan independence crisis as an issue for Europe as a whole.
Since holding the referendum, the wealthy north-east region’s leaders have vowed to make a declaration of independence. “This is a European battle,” he said. “It’s a battle in which the values of Europe are at stake. I am convinced that all the governments will carry on supporting the constitution and obedience to the law.”
In the interview Rajoy assured Catalan leaders that there was “still time” to backtrack and avoid triggering a tough response from the central government in Madrid. The Spanish prime minister once again stressed that there could be no negotiations whatsoever until the government of Catalan president Carles Puigdemont stepped back from the brink.
The prime minister reiterated his refusal “to discuss the unity of the country” stressing that in any case “we don’t talk under threat”. Puigdemont is due to appear in the Catalan parliament on Tuesday to “report on the current political situation” and to put the referendum results to MPs.
Commenting on widely criticised police violence during the referendum, Rajoy said that “some mistakes were made” but that the fundamental error had been committed by his adversaries, who have put “national sovereignty” in danger. The move – seen as an attempt to circumvent the Spanish constitutional court’s ban on a similar session scheduled for Monday – could potentially provide an opportunity for the region’s promised unilateral declaration of independence.
“I will not negotiate until there is a return to legality,” Rajoy told El País. “The prime minister of an advanced, democratic country can’t negotiate with someone who flouts the law. As soon as there are changes, we’ll be back to a different and normal situation – just as we have been over the past 40 years in which a lot of things have been negotiated.”
Hundreds of people were reported to have been injured during last Sunday’s referendum, which saw police officers raiding polling stations, beating voters and firing rubber bullets at crowds.
Although he admitted that “things could have been done better or worse”, Rajoy defended the police’s actions and said the authorities had a duty to defend the constitution.
Huge numbers of people are expected to protest on Sunday in Barcelona against the perceived hijacking of the political process by an independence movement that has so far never won the support of more than 48% of the population.
The march was organised by Societat Civil Catalana (SCC), the main channel for anti-independence sentiment in what has suddenly become one of the most troubled regions in Europe. The march will call for a new phase of dialogue with the rest of Spain and will be attended by such luminaries as the Nobel-winning novelist Mario Vargas Llosa and Josep Borrell, former president of the European parliament.
Puigdemont is under pressure to stop short of declaring independence. The Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB) has published an open letter saying: “The Independent Commission for Mediation, Dialogue and Conciliation has told the president that it is essential to hold back on political decisions that will increase the tension between the state and Catalan governments.”
Saturday saw marches and demonstrations all over Spain, with tens of thousands gathering in Madrid’s Plaza Colón in favour of a united Spain. In dozens of towns and cities, including Barcelona, people joined the “white demonstrations” demanding dialogue. Dressed in white and without any flags, protesters marched under the single slogan in Spanish and Catalan: Hablemos/Parlem – let’s talk.
Ada Colau, the Barcelona mayor, who was among thousands at the city’s white demonstration, said: “We mustn’t resign ourselves to polarisation, bellicose language and the competitive logic that only seeks the defeat of the adversary.”
Despite the Spanish authorities’ efforts to stop the referendum, 2.3 million of Catalonia’s 5.3 million registered voters took part, although many Catalans who oppose independence boycotted the poll for fear of lending it legitimacy.
According to the Catalan government, 90% of participants voted for independence, 7.8% voted against and almost 2% of ballot papers were left blank.
However, a full count of the votes has been complicated by the fact that many ballot boxes were removed from polling stations by police. The regional government said polling stations where up to 770,000 people could have voted were shut down by police.