Catalan president calls for independence talks with Spain
October 10, 2017
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has told the regional parliament that Catalonia should declare independence, but suspend the effects of the referendum to facilitate dialogue with Madrid.
He and other regional officials later signed a document declaring the region's independence. It was unclear whether the document had any legal basis, but a regional government spokesman told news agency AFP that Puigdemont immediately suspended the declaration after it was signed.
"We call on all states and international organizations to recognize the Catalan republic as an independent and sovereign state. We call on the Catalan government to take all necessary measures to make possible and fully effective this declaration of independence and the measures contained in the transition law that founds the republic," the document said.
Puigdemont's main points in the speech:
- Catalan independence had won in a parliamentary election and had now won a referendum. The region had now won the right to become an independent state.
- The standoff between Barcelona and Madrid was now a European issue. The relationship between the two governments no longer works and both sides had a responsibility to de-escalate the situation.
- The Catalan government was not making any threats or insults and believes that the only way forward is democracy and peace. Catalonia was always willing to talk.
- The independence referendum took place on October 1 under very difficult circumstances. Spanish police did not want to just take ballot boxes, but strike fear into voters. 770,000 votes could not be counted because of the crackdown.
- Madrid's aggressive behavior was an attempt to re-centralize power in Spain.
- Catalan citizens were neither mad nor criminals and had nothing against Spain.
Carles Puigdemont wants a negotiated independence from SpainImage: Getty Images/AFP/L. Gene
Reaction from Madrid
The Spanish government rejected what it called a "tacit" declaration of independenc by Catalonia. "It's unacceptable to make a tacit declaration of independence and to then suspend it in an explicit manner," a government spokesman told news agency AFP.
Puigdemont met with his cabinet earlier on Tuesday to discuss next steps in a tense standoff with the central Spanish government in Madrid, which has opposed the regional government's drive toward secession.
"We call on Puigdemont not to do anything irreversible, not to pursue a path of no return and not to make any unilateral independence declaration," he said.
EU Council President Donald Tusk also cautioned against such a move, saying a declaration of independence would make "dialogue impossible" between Barcelona and Madrid.
Puigdemont was scheduled to address the regional parliament at 6 p.m. (1600 UTC), but his speech was delayed by an hour.
The poll, which Spanish courts had declared illegal, ended with 90 percent of voters opting for secession. While turnout was only 43 percent, Puigdemont said afterwards that "the citizens of Catalonia have won the right to an independent state in the form of a republic."
Images of Spanish police seizing ballots and roughing up voters in Barcelona led 700,000 people to join a general strike in Catalonia last Tuesday to protest police violence.
Armed Catalan police guard the Catalan parliament ahead of Puigdemont's speechImage: picture-alliance/abaca/G. A. Moreno
Spain's opposition
Spain's interior minister later apologized for Madrid's actions, but Spanish authorities remained steadfast in denying the legitimacy of the referendum.
Spanish King Felipe has said Catalan authorities had been "irresponsible" in holding the vote and that he was committed to Spain's "unity and permanence."
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Sunday he would not rule out suspending Catalonia's autonomous status if it claimed independence. The central government could take the unprecedented move to invoke article 155 of the Spanish constitution to take over the running of an autonomous region.
Catalonia's independence movement — a brief history
The desire of many Catalans to gain independence from Spain has a long history. The region has experienced varying levels of autonomy and repression over the centuries.
Image: picture-alliance/Prisma Archivo
Rich ancient heritage
Catalonia has been settled by the Phoenicians, the Etruscans and the Greeks, who were mainly in the coastal areas of Rosas and Empuries (above). Then came the Romans, who built more settlements and infrastructure. Catalonia remained a part of the Roman Empire until it was conquered by the Visigoths in the fifth century.
Image: Caos30
Counties and independence
Catalonia was conquered by Arabs in 711 AD. The Frankish king Charlemagne stopped their advance at Tours on the Loire River and, by 759, the north of Catalonia was once again Christian. In 1137, the counties that made up Catalonia entered an alliance with the Crown of Aragon.
Image: picture-alliance/Prisma Archiv
Autonomy and the war of succession
In the 13th century, the institutions of Catalan self-administration were created under the banner of the Generalitat de Catalunya. After the unification of the Crown of Aragon with that of Castile in 1476, Aragon was largely able to keep its autonomic institutions. However, the Catalan revolt — from 1640 to 1659 — saw parts of Catalonia ceded to present-day France.
Image: picture-alliance/Prisma Archivo
Remembrance of defeat
After the conquest of Barcelona on September 11, 1714, by the Bourbon King Phillip V, Catalan instuitutions were dissolved and self-administration came to an end. Every year, on September 11, Catalans commemorate the end of their right to autonomy.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/L. Gene
Federal ideas in wider republic
After the abdication of King Amadeo I of Spain, the first Spanish Republic was declared in February 1873. It lasted barely a year. The supporters of the Republic were split – one group supporting the idea of a centralized republic, the others wanting a federal system. Pictured here is Francisco Pi i Maragall, a supporter of federalism and one of five presidents of the short-lived republic.
Image: picture-alliance/Prisma Archivo
Failed attempt
Catalonia sought to establish a new state within the Spanish republic, but this only served to exacerbate the differences between republicans, ultimately dividing and weakening them. In 1874, the monarchy and the House of Bourbon (led by King Alfonso XII, pictured here) took the helm.
Image: picture-alliance/Quagga Illustrations
Catalan Republic
Between 1923 — with the support of the monarchy, the army and the church — General Primo de Rivera declared a dictatorship. Catalonia became a center of opposition and resistance. After the end of the dictatorship, the politician Francesc Macia (pictured here) successfully pressed for important rights of autonomy for Catalonia.
The end of freedom
In the Second Spanish Republic, Catalan lawmakers worked on the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. This was approved by the Spanish parliament in 1932. Francesc Macia was elected president of the Generalitat of Catalonia by the Catalan parliament. However, the victory of Franco at the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) put an end to all that.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Loss of liberties
The Franco regime ruled with an iron rod. Political parties were banned and the Catalan language and culture were surpressed.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
New autonomy by statute
After the first parliamentary elections that followed the end of the Franco dictatorship, the Generalitat of Catalonia was provisionally restored. Under the democratic Spanish constitution of 1978, Catalonia was given a new Statute of Autonomy just a year later.
The new Statute of Autonomy recognized the autonomy of Catalonia and the importance of the Catalan language. In comparison to the 1932 statute, it was enhanced in the fields of culture and education but curtailed when it came to the realm of justice. Pictured here is Jordi Pujol, the long-time head of the government of Catalonia after the dictatorship.
Image: Jose Gayarre
Stronger self-awareness
A desire for independence has grown stronger in recent years. In 2006, Catalonia was given a new statute that broadened the Catalan government's powers. However, it lost these after a complaint by the conservative Popular Party to the Constitutional Court of Spain.
Image: Reuters/A.Gea
First referendum
A referendum on independence was already envisaged for November 9, 2014. The first question was "Do you want Catalonia to become a state?" In the case of an affirmative answer, the second question was posed: "Do you want this state to be independent?" However, the Constitutional Court suspended the vote.
Image: Reuters/G. Nacarino
Clash of the titans
Since January 2016, Carles Puigdemont has been president of the Catalan government. He proceeded with the separatist course of his predecessor Artur Mas and called the new referendum for October 1, 2017. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dismissed this as unconstitutional.
Businesses have also pressured Catalan leaders to defuse tensions, with many declaring they will relocate to other parts of Spain. The Madrid stock market also struggled as international investors dumped Spanish shares.
