Joe Duggan (Reporter)
SPAIN’S constitutional court has suspended a Catalan parliament meeting planned to further the push for independence.
Monday’s planned meeting would be ‘a breach of the constitution’, the court said.
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont had declared he would call independence following last Sunday’s referendum, in which he claimed 90% of voters chose to secede from Spain.
“We have to apply the results of the referendum,” said Puigdemont.
“We have to present the results of the referendum to parliament.”
Today’s court decision upheld an appeal by Catalunya’s Socialist party, which opposes independence for the region.
The court agreed that allowing the parliamentary session would violate the party’s MPs’ rights.
Prior to the court’s ruling, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had said a declaration of independence would do ‘greater harm’.
“The best solution would be a return to legality and the swiftest possible confirmation that there won’t be a unilateral independence declaration,” he said.
Today’s court decision comes amid mounting tension following Sunday’s violent scenes.
On Tuesday, King Felipe of Spain blasted the independent movement, making no reference to heavy-handed tactics by the police, which left almost 900 injured in Catalunya.
The Madrid government is really inept in all things save authoritarian threats.
The people of Catalunya need to be very careful, this has Brexit written all over it. I don’t condone the violence but I don’t see how independence can be declared when less than 50% of the electorate actually voted and the referendum was illegal. What about the people who don’t support independence?
The EU have clearly stated that Catalunya cannot have seamless EU membership, they would have to reapply. That means years of chaos, being out in the cold like the UK with all the same divisions and facing a very uncertain future. Businesses will relocate to other parts of Spain and eventually Catalunya will be poorer and no longer the supposed powerhouse of Spain and the Catalan people will start turning on each other. Sound familiar?
Self serving scoundrels like Farage and Wilders support Catalan independence but the Catalans might find their leader does a runner when the going gets tough, just like Farage. Just because Puigdemont is a different political colour to the far right in Europe doesn’t mean he is any better.
Perhaps a solution would be greater autonomy for the region.
Be very careful what you wish for.