In the past, the Spanish government has reacted strongly against Catalan politicians who defy them.Posted on 07/16/2017 7:05:26 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
In Spain, Catalonia is now in open rebellion against Madrid. While most Americans are unaware of what is going on, this crisis has a lot to tell us about Europe, and about ourselves.
[At] the National Theatre in Barcelona ... on July 4th, the president of Catalonia’s government, Carles Puigdemont, announced plans to hold a unilateral referendum on independence from Spain on October 1st. The draft law he unveiled says that, whatever the turnout, if those voting in favour outnumber those against, within 48 hours the Catalan parliament will declare independence. - The Economist
The Spanish courts have been clear. Their judiciary have forbidden these referenda to go ahead. The Catalans will not submit. This announcement was open defiance.
Indeed, under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution Madrid can force the regional government in Barcelona to drop the vote, but Catalan officials have said they will not do so under any circumstances. - The New European
In the past, the Spanish government has reacted strongly against Catalan politicians who defy them.
The former Catalan president Artur Mas has been banned from holding public office for two years after being found guilty of disobeying the Spanish constitutional court by holding a symbolic independence referendum three years ago.
On Monday, the Catalan high court convicted Mas, former vice-president Joana Ortega and former education minister Irene Rigau of defying the constitutional court by pressing ahead with the non-binding vote in November 2014. - The Guardian
Yet, the new president of the region of Catalonia has thrown down the gauntlet. He will not be intimidated.
(Excerpt) Read more at americanthinker.com ...
Well it has been almost 100 years since the last Spanish civil war... wonder if we aren’t going to see something along those lines again.
The EU continues its slow motion disintegration.
“The Catalans are the brains and balls of Spain.”
—
In what way?
.
Merkel won’t allow it
Iberian secession bump for later...
What are the issues here?
Slow motion?
More like a high speed rail train wreck.
The EU will be dead within a decade, if not sooner and replaced by something far more insidious.
Language, culture, borders - identity, plus history. Even before the last civil war there was a lot of animosity between spain and catalonia That animosity hasn’t gone away.
This Catalonian “independence” is actually encouraged by the EU. It’s part of the “Europe of the regions” plan to divide the continent along ethnic lines and make the governments of the present member states weaker and thus more susceptible to dictates out of a central government. (Scottish “independence” is also part of that movement.)
“Merkel won’t allow it”
What’s she going to do-send a few Stukas to bomb Guernica? And this time, please do NOT refer to the Communists as “Republicans”!!!! /sarcasm
Franco knew how to take care of that problem. I don’t think Spain has generals like that any more.
RE: What are the issues here?
I believe the main one is economic.
The Catalan region has long been the industrial heartland of Spain – first for its maritime power and trade in goods such as textiles, but recently for finance, services and hi-tech companies.
The Catalans pay a lot in taxes to Madrid and get less from the central government than they pay for.
The second is historical... Catalonia was an independent region of the Iberian Peninsula – modern day Spain and Portugal – with its own language, laws and customs.
In 1150, the marriage of Petronilia, Queen of Aragon and Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona formed a dynasty leaving their son to inherit all territories concerning the region of Aragon and Catalonia.
This lasted until the reign of King Philip V. The War of the Spanish Succession ended with the defeat of Valencia in 1707, of Catalonia in 1714, and finally with the last of the islands in 1715 – resulting in the birth of modern-day Spain.
Subsequent kings tried to impose the Spanish language and laws on the region, but they abandoned their attempts in 1931 and restored the Generalitat (the national Catalan government).
Gen. Franco, however, set out to destroy Catalan separatism and with his victory at the Battle of Ebro in 1938 he took control of the region, killing 3,500 people and forcing many more into exile.
The region was granted a degree of autonomy once more in 1977, when democracy returned to the country.
Calls for complete independence grew steadily until July 2010, when the Constitutional Court in Madrid overruled part of the 2006 autonomy statute, stating that there is no legal basis for recognizing Catalonia as a nation within Spain.
The economic crisis in Spain has only served to magnify calls for Catalan independence – as the wealthy Barcelona region is seen as propping up the poorer rest of Spain.
Amazing how Franco “played” Hitler during WWII!
I think its time that a rampaging Castilian army again be sent to Barcelona, as is tradition.
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