Spain votes to stop Catalonia independence referendum

MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's parliament voted on Tuesday to block the northern region of Catalonia from holding a referendum on independence, the latest step in a growing political battle between Barcelona and Madrid in the midst of a deepening economic downturn.

 

The motion to permit the referendum was brought to the lower house by the Catalan ERC party but was voted down by the ruling conservatives (PP), which hold an absolute majority, the opposition Socialists (PSOE) and the smaller UPyD party.

 

The heavily indebted region, responsible for a fifth of the country's economic output, voted in favour of holding the referendum at the end of September, in defiance of Madrid.

 

Catalonia brought forward regional elections to November 25 after regional leader Artur Mas's proposal to create a separate Catalan tax agency was flatly rejected by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who said it went against Spain's Constitution.

 

Mas then said he would seek a referendum on an independent Catalonia, rattling already nervous international markets which have pushed up Spanish debt premiums on concerns it cannot control its finances, largely due to its over-spending regions.

 

Catalonia, all but shut out of international debt markets, has requested a state liquidity line for just over 5 billion euros ($6.45 billion).

 

Independence fervour has been growing in Catalonia during the deep recession. More than half of Catalans say they want a separate state.

 

(Reporting by Edgar Aribau; Writing by Paul Day; Editing by Michael Roddy)

 

 

 

---- I have tried telling my catalan friends whom are nationalists that spain wont want to give up Catalonia and they are better of waiting, we are steping into a disaster very quickly.

 

I went to the Camp Nou for the calssico on Sunday night, and I seen at 1st hand this was a calling to Arms..

 

With the ecominic wows.. Spain needs to be united as a Nation.

 

My catalan friends often tell me, they pay more to spain than they get back

I ask them where do they get there Fuel and Water from ??

 

Most of this comes from Spain.

 

 

If Arthur mas goes ahead with the refrendem, Madrid have said they will arrest him or send in the Spanish Army to prevent it from Happening. :(

A bit like Scotland wanting independence.

cant understand why people are not seeming to show any care about what is happening in Spain.

 

having a discussion with my local friends, a possible conflict of sort may happen..

 

Most seem confident though... Madrid will not send the tanks in this time to Les Ramblas... Barcelona.

 

However with the amount of protests and the fret of "real poverty" hitting more than 26 % of the poulation maybee even more... the goverment may have no option expect to pass emergency laws.

 

http://www.cruzroja.tv/index.php?MetaDataID=777260

 

this is the true reality for many in Spain now, tell me how long will they take it for,, ??

 

Its just another factor involved that is making the whole situation even more complicated..

TENSION IN CATALONIA

 

 

Police will obey region over referendum, says Catalan interior chief

Official confident that Mossos force would remain loyal to Barcelona government in the event of any conflict

 

Catalan interior commissioner Felip Puig speaking to members of the Mossos regional police force.

 

 

Catalan interior department head Felip Puig has said that in the event of a conflict with Madrid over attempts to hold a referendum on Catalan independence, the Mossos d’Esquadra regional police force will side with the Catalonia government.

 

Puig said that if the Mossos found themselves facing contradictory orders from the Generalitat and the Spanish government, “they will be at the service of the country and its institutions” — which is to say they will obey the regional regime of Artur Mas if central government follows through with its threat to prohibit any referendum.

 

Speaking at the first congress of the Mossos d’Esquadra Officers Union, Puig praised the importance of Catalonia having its own police force. “In uncertain times, citizens look for points of reference and security, and that is the police,” he said.

 

He described the Mossos as a “structure of state,” meaning it is one of the instruments that the CiU Catalan nationalist bloc regional government sees as essential in its project to create an independent Catalonia.

 

The leader of the officers’ union, Jordi Dalmau, said the police wish to preserve the image they have earned in Catalonia, but said his union “does not belong to any political color.”

 

Puig’s speech marks a step forward in his description of the Mossos’ role in the process of holding a referendum. On Monday he only said the police would guarantee the “safety” of citizens, bearing in mind the sovereignty debate was based on a platform of non-violence

 

 

 

http://elpais.com/elpais/2012/10/18/inenglish/1350586093_516495.html

 

 

Guys the place could be on a brink of a conflict hold back on your holidays to spain for the next few years, unless you wish to help fight a losing battle against 21st Century Dictorship !

Do we know what the Nadals (Rafa's family) think about the conflict? They are Catalonians and still live on the island of Mallorca.

dont think he will care hes got plentry of money.

 

I really hope its not true but there is a risk of a possibilty of the goverments asking/advsing its expats to leave at this rate or so be it ...it will be an impossible task to undertake

cant understand why people are not seeming to show any care about what is happening in Spain.

 

Most likely nobody really knows about it. There's so many things going on politically around the globe that just doesn't get reported on. Big protests in Spain and Greece? Not a peep here from mainstream media. Other places will likely be the same