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Spanish government and opposition PSOE agree on taking control of Catalan presidency, public TV and police
Direct rule of Catalonia is taking shape. The Spanish government and the main opposition party in Spain, the Socialists, agreed on Friday morning on taking control of the Catalan presidency, public TV and police. The plans of Mariano Rajoy’s cabinet and PSOE party also include calling snap elections in Catalonia in January 2018. Because the law states that the Catalan president is the only authority with powers to call elections, it will be necessary to activate article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which allows the Spanish government to impose direct rule of Catalonia, in order to hold a Catalan election from Madrid.
Mariano Rajoy’s executive has been threatening to apply Article 155 for several days. Following Carles Puigdemont’s speech in the Catalan parliament on October 10, in which he suspended the declaration of independence, Madrid sent two letters to Barcelona officially requesting whether independence had already been declared.
Puigdemont’s call for dialogue
Puigdemont responded calling for dialogue, asking for a meeting with Mariano Rajoy and stating that the Parliament hadn’t voted on the issue on October 10. However, on Thursday the Spanish executive considered its request had not been answered and confirmed that Article 155 would be invoked.
No time limit for direct rule
Madrid’s cabinet will meet on Saturday to agree on the specific measures to be taken regarding Catalonia. It is expected to announce several takeovers, including the territory’s presidency, police and television station. A Socialist spokeswoman, Carmen Calvo, confirmed this information on Friday. She said that seizing power of the public broadcaster is on the grounds of guaranteeing “neutrality.” An election in Catalonia is planned to be called directly from Madrid in January 2018, although the Spanish president said that there is no time limit set for direct rule of Catalonia.
Catalan Minister of Economy also threatened
Not only is Spain planning these measures, but it is also planning on replacing the minister of economy, Oriol Junqueras, who is also the Catalan vice president, according to sources in Spain’s finance ministry.
The Spanish Senate must ratify these unprecedented measures before they can go into effect. Since 8 out of 10 senators are either members of the Socialists party or the ruling People’s Party, there is no doubt that they have the capacity to approve the measures, However it is not entirely clear when the vote might take place. The most likely date is October 27, but some parliamentary procedures will need to take place beforehand.
Putting the series of measures in place will still stretch on for a few days. As a result, the Socialist spokeswoman asked the Catalan president to call elections himself now to avoid direct rule at the last minute.
Catalan Parliament to declare independence
Yet the plans in Barcelona are different: next Monday the Catalan parliament bureau will meet and presumably agree on calling a plenary session. Puigdemont and the main pro-independence actors want to declare independence before direct rule prevents them from doing so.
Pressure on Catalan Socialists in Barcelona
In addition, the coalition ruling the city council of the Catalan capital might fall apart. Mayor Ada Colau’s party is in power together with the Catalan Socialists, who are supporting the application of Article 155. On Friday she warned that if they do not back out, she might consider breaking their alliance.
Catalan News
* 20 October 2017 11:44 AM ACN | Barcelona:
http://www.catalannews.com/politics/item/spanish-government-and-opposition-psoe-agree-on-taking-control-of-catalan-presidency-public-tv-and-police
Call for mass withdrawal to pressure Spanish government
Civil society groups in Catalonia call citizens to take money out from ATMs on Friday at 8am.
Civil society organizations in Catalonia call for a mass withdrawal of money from bank ATMs on Friday at 8am in order to pressure the Spanish government. Organizers don’t especify how much money should be taken out nor what to do with it.
The action targets the five main banks in Catalonia: Caixa Bank, Sabadell, Bankia, BBVA and Santander. Organizers call on clients of Caixa Bank and Sabadell to show their disagreement with the banks’ recent decision to move their headquarters out of Catalonia due to the escalating political crisis between governments in Barcelona and Madrid.
This is the first “direct and peaceful” action organized by Crida per la Democràcia (Call for Democracy). This is an umbrella group which includes among others the two main pro-independence organizations in Catalonia: the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural.
The mass withdrawal is also aimed at condemning the imprisonment of ANC and Òmnium presidents, Jordi Sánchez and Jordi Cuixart, held in custody on sedition charges since Monday.
Catalan News
* 20 October 2017 12:09 AM byAlan Ruiz Terol | Barcelona:
http://www.catalannews.com/business/item/call-for-mass-withdrawal-to-pressure-spanish-government
New report reveals extent of police violence on referendum day
A total of 1066 people required medical attention as a result of Spanish police charges, 23 of whom were over 79 years old.
A report released by the Ministry of Health has concluded that a total number of 1066 people sought medical care as a result of the Spanish police operation to prevent the October 1 vote. 23 were more than 79 years old and two were children less than 11 years old.
While 991 people injured at the hands of the police received medical attention on the same day, 75 more people went to see doctors during the following week until October 4.
Out of those who sought medical attention on the day of the referendum, 82.5% suffered from bruises and lesions, according to the report. Almost half the people injured were aged between 41 and 65, while around 40% were aged between 18 and 40.
10% of people injured were over 65 years old, while 2% were children. The police charges mostly affected men, who made up 69% of those injured across Catalonia.
Serious conditions
Five people were diagnosed with serious conditions on October 1, including one patient who had a heart attack, discharged from hospital this week, and another who was shot in the eye with a rubber bullet.
There were three cases of people with various types of trauma, including one person with cranioencephalic trauma (traumatic brain injury) as well as abdominal trauma, suffering from a hypersensitive crisis. This is when blood pressure increases to the extent that it can cause a stroke.
Another person admitted to hospital with traumatic brain injury had also lost consciousness. According to health experts, severe cases of traumatic brain injury are a leading cause of death in developed countries, usually caused by car accidents, falls, and sports or work injuries.
There were 64 cases of blackouts and hypotension, and 28 people who suffered from anxiety symptoms or panic attacks.
Two people out of the 75 who sought medical attention in the following days were also diagnosed with serious conditions. One had a fractured femur, while the other was wounded and bruised.
The report also stated that 9 Spanish police officers were injured on October 1 during the operation to stop people from voting, as well as two Guardia Civil agents, and one member of the Catalan police force.
Catalan News
* 20 October 2017 01:39 PM byACN | Barcelona:
http://www.catalannews.com/society-science/item/new-report-reveals-extent-of-police-violence-on-referendum-day
Spanish Government To Activate Article 155 Process To Suspend Home Rule In Catalonia, Moncloa Confirms
Oct 19 2017—NEWS—Rajoy rejects Puigdemont’s final letter for not providing enough clarity; “grave damage” to coexistence and economy in Catalonia.
• PP Spokesman Hernando Labels Puigdemont “Zombie Leader”
• PSOE Supports “Perfectly Constitutional” Use Of Article 155 In Catalonia
The central government is to activate the Article 155 process to suspend home rule in Catalonia, a spokesman for Moncloa, the Spanish Prime Minister’s confirmed to The Spain Report on Thursday morning.
This is the first time in the modern democratic period, dating from 1978, that a central government has tried to suspend home rule in one of Spain’s 17 regions.
Moncloa said in an additional written statement that an extraordinary cabinet meeting will be held on Saturday to decide on which measures will be used to “protect the general interest of Spaniards” in Catalonia.
The Catalan First Minister, Carles Puigdemont, had sent a new letter to Mariano Rajoy minutes before the second Article 155 deadline ran out at 10 a.m. on Thursday morning.
That new letter did not provide the clarity the central government was seeking about the status of the independence of Catalonia, Moncloa said in its statement. Last week’s formal Article 155 notification—the first step in the process—asked Mr. Puigdemont to reply “clearly and precisely”.
“In consequence, the government of Spain will continue with the steps laid out in Article 155 of the Constitution to restore the legality of self-government in Catalonia.”
Saturday’s extraordinary cabinet meeting will decide on which measures the government will send to the Senate for approval: “in order to protect the general interest of Spaniards, among them the citizens of Catalonia, and restore constitutional authority in that autonomous community [region]”.
Moncloa said the Catalan government had been “deliberately and systematically seeking institutional confrontation despite the grave damage being caused to coexistence and the economic structure in Catalonia”.
Published: 12:34 pm, Oct 19 2017 (link)
PP Spokesman Hernando Labels Puigdemont “Zombie Leader”
In statements to journalists in Congress on Thursday, Europa Press reported, Popular Party spokesman Rafael Hernando labelled Catalan First Minister Carles Puigdemont a “zombie leader” who was acting “absolutely irresponsibly”.
“He has blown up all the bridges.”
Published: 12:07 pm, Oct 19 2017 (link)
PSOE Supports “Perfectly Constitutional” Use Of Article 155 In Catalonia
The Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) supported Mariano Rajoy’s government in its move to suspend home rule in Catalonia on Thursday, with the “perfectly constitutional” use of Article 155, spokesman José Luis Ábalos said in a press conference at 12 p.m.
“Democracy and the state of law cannot cede faced with this intolerable threat”, he said, adding that Mr. Puigdemont, with his “dishonest” offer of dialogue, “is the only person responsible” for what has happened: “Spain is consolidated democracy”.
“The only thing they want to talk about is Catalonia leaving Spain.”
The regional government has “clearly rejected dialogue within the rule of law”.
“The territorial integrity of Spain is not up for negotiation.”
The Spain Report
* First published: Oct 19, 2017, 10:20 am | Last updated: Oct 19, 2017, 10:47 am:
https://www.thespainreport.com/articles/1221-171019102006-spanish-government-to-activate-article-155-process-to-suspend-home-rule-in-catalonia-moncloa-confirms
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