World

Spanish government rejects threat by Catalonia's leader to declare independence

Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, centre, attends a meeting at the Palau Generalitat in Barcelona earlier this week
Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, centre, attends a meeting at the Palau Generalitat in Barcelona earlier this week Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, centre, attends a meeting at the Palau Generalitat in Barcelona earlier this week

Spain's government has rejected a threat by Catalonia's leader to declare independence unless talks are held, calling a special cabinet session for the weekend to activate measures to take control of the region's semi-autonomous powers.

Catalan president Carles Puigdemont's warning came in a letter to Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy with minutes to spare before the expiry of a deadline set by the Madrid government for him to backtrack on his calls for secession.

"If the central government persists in impeding dialogue and continuing its repression, Catalonia's parliament may proceed... with a vote to formally declare independence," Mr Puigdemont's letter said.

Madrid quickly responded with a statement saying it was calling a special cabinet session for Saturday in which it would trigger the process to activate Article 155 of Spain's 1978 Constitution.

It allows for central authorities to take over the semi-autonomous powers of any of the country's 17 regions, including Catalonia.

The cabinet meeting will "approve the measures that will be sent to the senate to protect the general interest of all Spaniards", the statement said.

The constitutional law has never been used in the four decades since democracy was restored at the end of General Francisco Franco's dictatorship.

Spain's government needs to outline the exact measures it wants to apply in Catalonia and submit them for a vote in Spain's senate.

The ruling Popular Party's majority in the top chamber would be enough to approve the measure, but Mr Rajoy has held discussions with opposition leaders to rally further support.

The government is meeting members of the leading opposition Socialist party to decide what measures to take under Article 155.

Mr Puigdemont addressed the regional parliament on October 10, saying he had the mandate under a banned October 1 referendum to declare independence from Spain, but he immediately suspended the implementation of the secession proclamation and called for talks with Madrid and international mediators.

But the national government responded by setting two deadlines for Mr Puigdemont - a Monday one for him to say a simple "yes" or "no" to whether he had declared independence, and a second one for Thursday morning for him to fall in line with Spain's laws.

Madrid says Mr Puigdemont has not offered any clarity in his replies.

Many Catalans would consider the application of Article 155 an "invasion" of the region's self-government, while Spain's central authorities have portrayed it as an undesired move, but a necessary one, to restore legality after Mr Puigdemont's government pushed ahead with a banned referendum that violated the country's constitution.

More than 40 per cent of Catalonia's 5.5 million eligible voters cast ballots in the illegal October 1 referendum as police used violence to try to enforce a court order to stop it from going ahead. Opponents boycotted the vote.

Catalan officials say hundreds of people were injured in police violence, while Spanish authorities say hundreds of police officers were also hurt and the use of force was proportional to the resistance they met.

The separatists declared an overwhelming victory despite the boycott by opponents, who said it was illegal and lacked basic guarantees such as an independent electoral board.

Spain's government had said it would be willing to hold off on applying Article 155 if the Catalan separatist leader were to call a snap regional election, but Catalan officials have ruled that out.