Massive rally in Catalonia backs Spanish unity

by Dramelin 9:30 AM 0 comments

Hundreds of thousands of Catalans favoring unity with Spain rallied Sunday in Barcelona, two days after the Catalonia regional parliament defiantly voted for secession.
Local police put the crowd at 300,000, Catalan News reported.
Rally organizers  estimated the turnout at more than 1 million people.
 They said they wanted to show that most Catalans do not support the independence movement, which has drawn sharp rebukes from Spain`s central government in Madrid.
Spanish courts had declared the secessionist effort illegal.
Josep Piqué, a politician from Barcelona with Spain`s ruling People`s Party, told the crowd that "a minority has coerced us" into breaking the law.
A string of pro-independence rallies in recent weeks have drawn similarly huge crowds, including an estimated 1 million protesters on Sept.
11, the Catalan National Day.
More: Catalonia parliament votes for independence from Spain More: Spain takes over Catalan government, calls for new regional election The overwhelming parliamentary vote for independence Friday came after many lawmakers opposed to the separatist movement had left room in protest.
"We hereby constitute the Catalan Republic as an independent, sovereign, legal, democratic, socially-conscious state," the declaration said.
It also seeks a dual nationality treaty with Spain and recognition of the Catalan Republic from “all countries and institutions.
”  Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy expressed outrage at Friday`s vote, which he called "a criminal act.
" Rajoy formally removed the Catalan government, dissolving its parliament and scheduling regional elections for Dec.
Rajoy  delegated responsibilities of the Catalan executive to Vice President Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría.
Catalan Police Chief Josep Lluís Trapero resigned Saturday after the Spanish government ordered his dismissal.
Trapero encouraged his officers to support the efforts of Ferran López, a longtime Catalan officer appointed by Madrid to oversee the force.
“I ask you, and you’ve always done so, to be sympathetic and stay loyal to (López`s) decisions,” he wrote to police officers.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont attempted to ignore his dismissal and called on Catalans to "democratically resist" the Madrid takeover.
"Dialogue has been, and will always be, our choice to solve political situations and achieve peaceful solutions," he said on Twitter.
Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis told The Associated Press that Puigdemont’s party could place his name in nomination “if he is not put in jail.
” Theo Francken, Belgium`s secretary of state for asylum, told Flemish TV that the Catalan president might be granted asylum in Belgium if he sought it.
Belgium is one of few European Union members where EU citizens can seek asylum, and some separatists from the Basque region have gained asylum there.
Francken questioned whether Puigdemont could get a fair trial in Spain, noting that Spanish Attorney General José Manuel Maza is “already talking about a prison sentence.
" Belgium`s minister of justice, Koen Geens, walked back Francken`s statement on Sunday, telling VTM-TV news that if Puigdemont went to Belgium, Spain might have the authority to extradite him.
European Union President Donald Tusk urged both sides to work together to solve the crisis.
"For EU nothing changes," Tusk said.
"Spain remains our only interlocutor.
I hope the Spanish government favors force of argument, not argument of force.
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