KING Felipe VI's annual Christmas Eve speech once again included a covert appeal to secessionist politicians, as well as raising concerns about young adults' struggle to afford housing and violence against women.
Giant 'yes' to independence signs crop up all over Catalunya
18/04/2017
ENORMOUS signs in the shape of speech bubbles reading Sí ('yes') have appeared in front of numerous homes, shops and business premises in Catalunya in support of independence.
They have been spotted in the provincial capitals of Tarragona, Lleida and Girona, as well as in smaller towns including Vic, Sabadell, Granollers, Manresa, Gandesa and Camprodón.
Regional president Carles Puigdemont has uploaded a photo of one of the Sí signs set up on the Rambla in Girona on Twitter, under the hashtag #unSígegant ('a giant Yes') with a caption proclaiming it as 'beautiful'.
President of the National Assembly for Catalunya, Jordi Sànchez, tweeted four photos together with the same hashtag and said that a 'yes always helps to see and live the present and future optimistically'.
Puigdemont is determined to hold a referendum on independence in September, whatever the consequences.
The right-wing PP-led national government has refused to even discuss the issue, saying a referendum would be illegal as Spain is a constitutional monarchy and, unless the Magna Carta were changed to allow for it, it is otherwise specifically banned by the text which has been in force since December 1978.
Left-wing party Podemos, in power in Spain's two largest cities, backs the idea of a referendum but not necessarily independence.
A non-binding vote combined with extensive two-way discussions is the best way forward, says Podemos, whose Catalunya branch En Comú Podem ('In Common We Can') is in local government in Barcelona.
Mayoress Ada Colau says holding a referendum does not automatically mean independence would be declared as soon as a 'yes' vote prospered, but that it would pave the way for negotiations with the State.
Photograph: Carles Puigdemont on Twitter (@KRLS)
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ENORMOUS signs in the shape of speech bubbles reading Sí ('yes') have appeared in front of numerous homes, shops and business premises in Catalunya in support of independence.
They have been spotted in the provincial capitals of Tarragona, Lleida and Girona, as well as in smaller towns including Vic, Sabadell, Granollers, Manresa, Gandesa and Camprodón.
Regional president Carles Puigdemont has uploaded a photo of one of the Sí signs set up on the Rambla in Girona on Twitter, under the hashtag #unSígegant ('a giant Yes') with a caption proclaiming it as 'beautiful'.
President of the National Assembly for Catalunya, Jordi Sànchez, tweeted four photos together with the same hashtag and said that a 'yes always helps to see and live the present and future optimistically'.
Puigdemont is determined to hold a referendum on independence in September, whatever the consequences.
The right-wing PP-led national government has refused to even discuss the issue, saying a referendum would be illegal as Spain is a constitutional monarchy and, unless the Magna Carta were changed to allow for it, it is otherwise specifically banned by the text which has been in force since December 1978.
Left-wing party Podemos, in power in Spain's two largest cities, backs the idea of a referendum but not necessarily independence.
A non-binding vote combined with extensive two-way discussions is the best way forward, says Podemos, whose Catalunya branch En Comú Podem ('In Common We Can') is in local government in Barcelona.
Mayoress Ada Colau says holding a referendum does not automatically mean independence would be declared as soon as a 'yes' vote prospered, but that it would pave the way for negotiations with the State.
Photograph: Carles Puigdemont on Twitter (@KRLS)
Related Topics
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