Catalonia wants out; Spain says no

the Seperatists take part in the elections, the proponents of independence admit that Catalonia is by no means independent and must continue to dance after the pipe of Madrid.

But I don'z think that there was any "political noise". [I've watched the match on tv.]

The Spanish state prosecutor also called on the leaders of the Catalan independence movement to be called to testify in court.

Meanwhile, Catalonia's parliament cancelled a meeting scheduled for Tuesday following the Spanish government's takeover of the region, a parliamentary source told the news agency Reuters, confirming the regional legislative had accepted Madrid's order for it to dissolve.

It remained unclear on Monday if government officials and regional lawmakers who declared Catalan independence on Friday would seek to gain access to their offices and if the Catalan police Mossos d'Esquadra would prevent them.

The region's ousted president, Carles Puigdemont, on Monday morning posted a photo of a courtyard at the seat of the regional government in central Barcelona, accompanied by the words "Good morning" in Catalan and a smiley emoticon. It remains unclear if he is inside the premises.

...

If you’ve been following the events in Spain over the past few months, you’ve likely read one of two opposing narratives: that of a hard-headed federal government keeping Catalans from their democratic right to vote, or of a rogue group of misguided politicians leading Catalonia off a political and economic cliff. But in between these two extremes is the true story of Spain and Catalonia, where I and millions of other Spaniards find ourselves.

In Spain they call us the silent majority. The last polls released before the Catalan government’s controversial Oct. 1 referendum showed that a clear majority of Catalans were opposed to independence. And a poll released this weekend from Metroscopia found that 46 percent of Catalans feel as Spanish as they do Catalan, compared with just 19 percent who feel exclusively Catalan. That includes people like me, Asturians and Valencians and Andalusians who have made Catalonia their home over the past four decades, as well as many voters born and raised in Catalonia who love both their region and their country. We may have been less vocal than the separatists, but we cannot remain silent any longer; to do so would make us complicit in the demise of our country.

To be clear, this is not just a Catalan issue. This is a Spanish issue, as the fate of one of its largest and wealthiest regions has a deep impact on the lives of all 46 million Spanish citizens. It’s unreasonable to think you can unilaterally make decisions that will affect the lives of all of us —politically, economically, socially.

...
more...