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Catalonia warns of civil disobedience as Madrid readies direct rule

23 October 2017 18:28 (UTC +04:00)

Catalonia said on Monday it was confident all officials including police would defy attempts by Madrid to enforce direct rule on the region in a dispute raising fears of unrest among Spain’s European allies, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The Spanish government has invoked special constitutional powers to fire the regional government and force elections to counter an independence drive. A vote in the national Senate to implement direct rule is due on Friday.

But leaders of the secessionist campaign said a referendum on Oct. 1, in which 43 percent of the electorate voted, gave them a mandate to claim independence from the rest of Spain.

“It’s not that we will refuse (orders). It is not a personal decision. It is a seven million-person decision,” Catalonia’s foreign affairs chief Raul Romeva told BBC radio.

Romeva was asked whether he believed all institutions, including the police, would follow orders from Catalan institutions rather than obey the Spanish government.

“And from that perspective, I have no doubt that all civil servants in Catalonia will keep following the instructions provided by the elected and legitimate institutions that we have right now in place (in Catalonia),” he said.

Catalan authorities said about 90 percent of those who took part in the referendum on Oct. 1 voted for independence. But only 43 percent of the electorate and 1 in 3 Catalans participated, with most opponents of secession staying at home.

The crisis over the wealthy Catalan region has raised fears among European countries of a spillover to other parts of the continent.

Two wealthy regions of northern Italy voted overwhelmingly on Sunday for greater autonomy, though those referendums were held in line with the constitution and were not binding on Rome. Separatists are active in Belgium’s Flanders region, and France’s Corsica has long been home to a secessionist movement.

At a European Union summit last week, leaders sought to minimize Spain’s crisis with Catalonia and described the secession bid as a domestic issue.