The Catalan president said today that the vote for indepence from Spain would take place.
“The aggressive tactics of Mariano Rajoy’s government have caused this crisis. All Catalan citizens want is to peacefully exercise our democratic right,” said president Carles Puigdemont.
In an opinion piece, ‘Spain’s attempt to block Catalonia’s referendum is a violation of our basic rights,’ written by Puigdemont and published in today’s Guardian, the president of Catlonia stated that:
“Democracy has been under a lot of pressure in Catalonia for the past few weeks. European values, civil rights, freedom of speech, freedom of information and freedom of assembly are being violated by Spain’s central government, which has sent the police to search newspapers, printing companies and private mail services; ban political meetings; seize referendum material; and threaten to imprison democratically elected politicians.
“On Wednesday, this moved up a gear, when threats became reality and Spanish paramilitary police took Catalonia to a de facto state of emergency. Fourteen high-ranking government officials were arrested as part of the anti-referendum operation, as police raided government buildings, offices and private homes. What is happening here in Catalonia would not happen anywhere else in the European Union.
“We have arrived at this unacceptable situation after asking Madrid for political dialogue dozens of times, and each time being rejected by the Spanish executive, which has consistently refused to discuss Catalonia’s future. But a healthy democracy needs dialogue in order to evolve. Instead of engaging in discourse, the Spanish government has opted for police and judges, taking us beyond the limits of a respectable democracy.
“With the arrests of high-ranking officials and threats to detain democratically elected politicians, I believe the Spanish government has violated the European charter of fundamental rights. The EU itself is built on these values and is committed to guaranteeing the rights proclaimed in the charter and in the EU treaties. As an EU member state, Spain should respect that. If not, it is the European commission’s duty to intervene. The rule of law is accepted across Europe as the guarantee of our rights, but the Spanish president, Mariano Rajoy, is twisting our law to suit his own political ends in blocking the referendum. Spain’s constitution was introduced to cement democracy after Franco’s dictatorship, but this government is exploiting its wording as a means to deny us our right to vote.
“We have only arrived at this crisis due to aggressive tactics employed by Rajoy over the past seven years. In 2010, the Spanish constitutional court annulled a large part of the Catalan statute of autonomy negotiated between Catalonia and the previous prime minister, José Luis Zapatero.
“The ruling by the court – whose current president is a former activist for Rajoy’s conservative Popular party – showed contempt for the legitimacy of the statute of autonomy, which had been approved by both the Catalan and Spanish parliaments, and also by the Catalan citizens through a referendum. More than a million people marched against this annulment in Barcelona in July 2010. Since then, millions more Catalan citizens have taken peacefully to the streets in defence of self-rule and the right to decide on their political future.
“No longer will we compromise on our desire for a referendum. We won’t give up on it. Catalans will exercise their right to decide in the 1 October referendum – whatever the actions of central government. We call on the international community to stand with Catalonia in its defence of democracy and true European values. In the meantime, our citizens must be ready to defend democracy and self-rule in the coming days with the only weapons we have: ballot boxes and a peaceful attitude.”
Meanwhile, the Spanish government quietly has hired ferries and is moving them into place in the Port of Barcelona with accommodation to house thousands of police that may be ordered to suppress the independence referendum - a referendum which has been declared illegal by the country’s highest court, judged by a known Rajoy party supporter.
The Italian operated Rhapsody docked on Thursday morning after a request from the Interior Ministry was granted by the port authorities.
In addition to the Rhapsody, capacity 2,448 people, the ministry has hired a further vessel whcih will dock in Barcelona with a third headed for the port of Tarragona, 100 kilometres west, according to the El Confidencial website.
El Correio speculated that the government’s aim is to muster at least 16,000 riot police and other security officers before the October 1st referendum date.
There already have been arrests of local officials, raids on regional government offices and confiscation of ballot papers and associated referendum documentation.
Edward Snowden Tweeted: “The right of self-determination - for people to freely decide their own system of government - cannot simply be outlawed. It is a human right.”
Spain's government says the vote for independence is unconstitutional and will be stopped by all means necessary.
The game is serious for the Catalan government's president who revealed the website address that the electorate can consult to know where to vote on October 1st. In a video message, he reiterated that the referendum is moving forward because the planned "contingency plans" were activated.
"The referendum on self-determination will be held on October 1st because we have contingency plans to guarantee it, but above all, it will be held because it has the support of the immense majority of the population which is fed up with the arrogance and abuses of the Popular Party Government," Puigdemont said in a rallying cry on social media.
"These are not easy days, of course, but we feel strong. While Spain acts as a regime in which the authority of force grows inversely in relation to moral authority, we feel increasingly supported by the most important asset that Catalonia has: its people."
Catalonia will declare independence within 48 hours of a “yes” vote if the controversial referendum goes ahead, according to Raül Romeva, the Catalan regional government’s foreign minister. Romeva said the result would be regarded as binding while concededing that the new state of Catalonia mis unlikely to be recognised internationally.
What is clear is that normal communication and dialogue has broken down and violence is feared when, yet again, forces of the State are pitched against an angry public.
