Tag: Catalonia

Spain to hold crisis talks after Catalan independence ‘suspended’

by Daniel Bosque with Patrick Galey in Madrid © Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s government prepared to hold crisis talks on Wednesday after Catalan leaders signed a suspended declaration of independence and called for negotiations with Madrid. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will chair an emergency cabinet meeting in response to Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont’s announcement on Tuesday that he had accepted “the mandate of the people for Catalonia to become an independent republic” following a banned […]

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Joy and confusion after Catalan leader’s ‘independence’ speech

by Adrien Vicente and Diego Urdaneta Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — When she heard Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont utter the word “independence” Merce shed tears of emotion — whereas Sergio scowled with disdain. Puigdemont’s Barcelona speech whipped up plenty of fervor among both supporters and rivals, but elation was mixed with confusion. There was joy among thousands of Puigdemont backers, who stood draped in Catalan flags at the foot of Barcelona’s triumphal arch, as they followed his […]

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Scottish nationalists urge Spain to ‘respect’ Catalan vote

by Mark Mclaughlin Agence France-Presse GLASGOW, United Kingdom (AFP) — The Scottish National Party on Monday urged the Spanish government to “respect the overwhelming ‘si’ vote” in the Catalan independence referendum in a resolution at its annual conference. Members unanimously passed the motion, which called the banned referendum earlier this month an “expression of the democratic will of the people of Catalonia.” The motion also called on the UN and the EU to resolve the political impasse over […]

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Catalan independence would not be recognized: France

  PARIS, France (AFP) — Catalan independence would not enjoy international recognition, France’s minister for European affairs said Monday as the Spanish region’s leader threatens to announce a split. Pressure has mounted on Catalan president Carles Puigdemont to back down after hundreds of thousands of protesters last week rallied to defend national unity. “If there were a declaration of independence it would be unilateral and it wouldn’t be recognized,” Nathalie Loiseau said on CNews digital […]

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Spain braces for mass protests in Catalonia crisis

  by Roland Lloyd Parry © Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain braced for mass street protests Saturday as anger swelled against Catalan leaders’ vows to declare their region independent and the national government’s handling of the volatile political crisis. Tentative signs have emerged that the sides may be seeking to defuse the crisis after Madrid offered a first apology Friday to Catalans injured by police in a crackdown on their outlawed independence vote on October 1. […]

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JUST IN: Spain government representative apologizes for Catalan vote injuries

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s central government representative in Catalonia apologised Friday on behalf of police to people injured when officers tried to stop them voting in the region’s independence vote. “I can do nothing but regret it, apologise on behalf of the officers who intervened,” Enric Millo, the central government representative in Catalonia, said in a television interview.

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Catalan leader delays parliamentary appearance until Tuesday: spokesman

BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has put off until Tuesday a session in the regional parliament at which some leaders have called for an independence declaration, a regional government spokesman said Friday. “Puigdemont has requested to appear before parliament on Tuesday to discuss the current political situation,” a regional government spokesman said. The announcement comes a day after Spain’s Constitutional Court ordered the suspension of the session initially scheduled for Monday.

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Worried, Catalans against independence wonder what next

by Marianne Barriaux  Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain  (AFP) — Asuncion Garcia sits on a bench in Barcelona anxiously reading a newspaper. She points to a graphic of the tumbling share price of CaixaBank, the biggest bank in Catalonia, a region which is threatening to split from Spain. “I have savings in CaixaBank, the little that I have saved up,” says the 68-year-old, originally from Leon in northwestern Spain but resident in Catalonia for over 50 years. She is […]

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Spain court orders Catalan independence session suspended

MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the suspension of a planned session in Catalonia’s parliament at which separatist leaders have called for the region to declare independence. Judges “ordered the suspension of the plenary that has been called for Monday in the (Catalan) parliament” while it hears an appeal lodged against it, a spokeswoman said, as the court confirmed the ruling in a written statement.

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Catalan leaders to declare independence in Spain crisis

  by Marianne Barriaux with Roland Lloyd Parry  Agence France-Presse   BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Catalan leaders were preparing Wednesday to declare independence from Spain after a violence-hit referendum, defying a warning from the country’s king that national stability was in peril. As the European Union urged dialogue to ease the standoff between separatists in the northeastern region and Madrid, a regional government source said the independence declaration could be as early as Monday. The stalemate has morphed […]

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In photos: 700,000 protest in Barcelona against police violence

  Barcelona, Spain (AFP)  —  Some 700,000 people took to Barcelona’s streets Tuesday, city police said, to protest against police violence during a banned weekend independence referendum in Catalonia, demanding to be heard. As the entire region went on general strike, Catalans protested throughout the day in various rallies, calling on the EU to intervene in an escalating face-off between Catalan separatist leaders and Madrid.

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Spain in crisis after police violence in Catalan vote

by Patrick Rahir with Marianne Barriaux in Barcelona  with Marianne Barriaux Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain – Spain came under international pressure Monday to resolve a spiralling crisis with its Catalan region after a banned independence referendum was marred by shocking scenes of police violence. The country’s central government vowed to stop its northeastern region breaking away from Spain after Catalonia’s leader claimed that 90 percent of voters backed independence in Sunday’s referendum, which Madrid says is unconstitutional […]

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