Danger Looms For Catalonia As Spanish State Signals Repression

Following the Catalan parliament's vote to formally begin the process of breaking away from Spain on November 9, 2015, the crisis between Madrid and Barcelona is deepening. The Spanish Government has refused to negotiate with the Catalan Government to allow the people of Catalonia to have a referendum on independence. However, the elections to the Catalan Parliament held on the 27th September 2015, became a plebiscite on independence, with the pro-independence parties winning a majority.

Since the vote of the Catalan Parliament the Spanish Government has swung into action to deny the people of Catalonia their democratic rights. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoysaid, after an emergency cabinet meeting, that he had asked the Constitutional Court to "immediately suspend this resolution and all its effects". He went on to say "We're talking about the defence of an entire country. They are trying to liquidate the unity of a nation with more than five centuries of history." The Constitutional Court is expected to rule against the Catalan motion.

The Spanish moves against Catalonia are very sinister at this time. The Spanish Government needs to respect the democratic mandate of the Catalan people in their desire for independence, and drop its legal challenges. However, it seems that moves are planned in Madrid against Catalonia that are reminiscent of the dark days of the Fascist dictatorship of President Franco which dominated Spain for so many years. The Spanish Government should be warned that the eyes of the world are on them.