Hello and welcome to our coverage of developments in Spain - where the Catalan parliament has just voted to establish an independent republic in defiance of the Spanish government. Madrid os expected to respond my imposing direct rule.
Así se ha celebrado la declaración de independencia de Catalunya en las afueras del Parlament - YouTube Te contamos la última hora de la crisis en Catalunya tras el 1 de octubre. Sigue aquí en directo todas las claves: --- Suscr...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...rajoy-puigdemont-a8023256.html
Catalonia after the region declared independence. Mr Rajoy has fired the Catalonia government, dissolved parliament and call new elections for the area that will take place on 21 December.
The vote in the regional parliament followed a tense week of last-ditch negotiations between Madrid and Barcelona.
Mr Rajoy said "we never wanted to come to this point", adding that his aim is "to return [Catalonia] to normality and legality as soon as possible".
The latest move will not be greeted well by many in Catalonia, with thousands out on the streets celebrating the declaration of independence.
To read Friday's updates as they came in, check our liveblog below:
Thousands of people watched the voting process and the counting live on big screens outside Catalonia's parliament in Barcelona, and cheered and danced after the motion was passed.
Mr Puigdemont and vice president Oriol Junqueras exchanged congratulatory embraces and handshakes after the vote.
Spains Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has called for "calm" in a tweet after the vote, but suggested that that the rule of law will be restored.
The Spanish Senate has now voted to give Mr Rajoy the go-ahead to apply direct rule on Catalonia - including the unprecedented measures of sacking Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and his cabinet.
In terms of the motion, for independence in Catalonia - it passed in the regional parliament in Barcelona, but the vote was boycotted by opposition parties.
Catalonia constituted an independent, sovereign and social democratic state. It called on other countries and institutions to recognise it.
It also said it wanted to open talks with Madrid to collaborate on setting up the new republic.
"It is not going to be easy, it is not going to be free, it is not going to change in a day. But there is no alternative to a process towards the Catalan Republic," lawmaker Marta Rovira of the Junts pel Si pro-independence alliance said in a debate leading to the vote.
After the debate, MPs from members of three main national parties -- the People's Party, the Socialists and Ciudadanos, walked out.
Members of the pro-independence parties and the far-left Podemos then voted in 70-10 in favour in a secret ballot aimed at hindering any attempt by the central government to lay criminal charges on them.
Perhaps trying to keep a sense of calm amid two big steps taken in Barcelona and Madrid, the EU Council President Donald Tusk has said that "nothing has changed" for the bloc and that Spain is the only one they are in conversation with. He is sure not to be the only one today to ask for argument over force.
Spanish media is reporting that the Spanish government is set to meet in about 90 minutes on the issue of Catalonia. We may see some moves over direct rule after that.
The main secessionist group in Catalonia, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) has called on civil servants not to follow orders from the Spanish government after Madrid authorized direct rule over the region.
Following a declaration of independence in Catalonia the upper house of Spain's parliament authorised the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to rule Catalonia directly from Madrid.
The ANC called on Catalan civil servants to respond with "peaceful resistance".
A spokesman with Spain's prosecutor office has told the Associated Press that the country's top prosecutor will seek rebellion charges for those responsible for a vote in favor of declaring an independent Catalan republic.
The spokesman said the prosecutor is looking to determine if the charges should be limited to the Catalan cabinet, including President Carles Puigdemont and Vice President Oriol Junqueras, or if they should also include members of the parliament's governing board and legislators.
The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity in line with internal rules, said the charges could be brought as early as Monday.
The official, who spoke under condition of anonymity in line with internal rules, said the charges could be brought as early as Monday.
Under Spanish criminal law, rebellion can be punished with up to 25 years in prison, with shorter term penalties if the act of rebellion doesn't lead to violence.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has called on fellow separatists to remain peaceful ahead of an expected crackdown by Spanish authorities. That makes most major leaders calling for calm now. We will see if that sentiment holds in the hours to come.
Facing a crowd of hundreds of supporters packing Catalonia's parliament building, he said: "In the days ahead we must keep to our values of pacificism and dignity. It's in our, in your hands to build the republic."
Mr Puigdemont said "Today the Parliament fulfilled the long-desired and fought-for step and culminated the mandate of the ballot boxes".
Those gathered then erupted into the Catalan anthem "Els Segadors" (The Reapers) and chants of "Liberty!"
Mr Puigdemont said "Today the Parliament fulfilled the long-desired and fought-for step and culminated the mandate of the ballot boxes".
Those gathered then erupted into the Catalan anthem "Els Segadors" (The Reapers) and chants of "Liberty!"
The United States has called on Spain to stay "strong and united" saying that Catalonia is an "integral part of Spain" and that it supports Spanish government efforts to end the crisis.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says the two Nato allies "cooperate closely to advance our shared security and economic priorities."
It is likely that won't be the last statement reflecting that feeling that is put out today.
After that US statement, Nato has now said that the Catalan declaration is a "domestic matter" and should be resolved by Madrid.
Analysts expect tensions to rise in recent days - with the first move from Madrid over direct rule and the response to that providing an indicator of where things stand.
"Tensions are likely to rise significantly over the coming days," Antonio Barroso of Teneo Intelligence political analysts.
"Demonstrators might try to prevent the police from removing Catalan ministers from their offices if the central government decides to do so. This increases the risk of violent clashes with the police".
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The EU has called for calm after violence marred the day of the vote at the beginning of October. The Spanish government faced a barrage of criticism over the force it used.
Seventy Catalan deputies voted for independence, with 10 opposed and two blank ballot slips.
Rounds of applause broke out in the chamber as members of the parliament hugged and shook hands.
Opposition MPs had walked out of the chamber ahead of Friday's vote in protest.
On Thursday Catalan president Carles Puigdemont had ruled out calling a snap election, thought to have been a potential way of defusing tension with the central government.
Mr Puigdemont said he had not received sufficient guarantees that Madrid would hold off on its attempts to take control of the region.
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※ 作者: ott 時間: 2017-10-28 11:43:29
※ 編輯: ott 時間: 2017-10-28 11:47:56
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