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.
CUP demands 'clear declaration' of independence in Catalunya
15/10/2017
PRO-SECESSION party in Catalunya, the CUP, has urged regional president Carles Puigdemont to give a 'clear and unambiguous yes' to independence and has rejected his move to open talks with the Spanish government before making the declaration.
According to the CUP, there has been 'a change in context from October 10' – nine days after the 'banned' referendum – when Puigdemont gave his post-vote Parliamentary speech.
Whilst the Spanish government and the people of Catalunya who do not support independence were disappointed that Puigdemont was determined to go ahead with his plan, his separatist political allies were disappointed that he did not set the ball rolling immediately, saying he wanted 'time for dialogue' with the State before declaring independence unilaterally.
The CUP wants a regional Parliamentary session to be held this coming week in which Puigdemont does, in fact, issue a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI).
Either way, Puigdemont will have to clarify his intentions, since this week will see his five-day ultimatum imposed by the State come to an end.
He has been told by Spain's government that it needs to know once and for all if he did in fact announce Catalunya's secession in his post-referendum speech, and gave him five days to clarify.
If he did, says the government, he will have three days to withdraw the UDI – failing which they will trigger Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which immediately revokes Catalunya's autonomy and places it under national rule, removing all its regional government powers.
Puigdemont's response to the threat was: “You ask for dialogue and they slap Article 155 on the table. Understood.”
Spain's president Mariano Rajoy has said he is open to talks, but only those which do not involve any suggestion of independence or of allowing a legal referendum on the subject, even a non-binding one.
This effectively means no talks can take place, since this is exactly what Puigdemont wants to discuss.
Whether Puigdemont heeds the CUP or the State this week will determine whether his government can continue running the region.
“The people have voted for independence, and we should be defending this consistently,” complains spokeswoman for the CUP, Núria Gibert.
She says if Puigdemont does not follow through with his promise of an unconditioned UDI, the CUP will start arranging protests and strikes all over Catalunya to force his hand.
“Suspending independence means [Puigdemont] has not acted in accordance with the expectations of a large part of Catalunya's society, generating confusion, frustration, and lack of transparency, showing he is not up to what is required of him at this moment,” Sra Gibert continues.
“Neither the Spanish State, nor the Ciudadanos-socialist-PP bloc, have given, nor want to give, any type of margin – neither dialogue nor mediation is going to be possible, nor any room for two opposing speakers to talk it out on a level.
“We consider dialogue is going to be impossible, so we need Puigdemont to give a clear affirmative to the State's requirement [to confirm whether or not he has declared independence already] and for this to be accompanied by solemn action in response to the referendum result of October 1 – as in, proclaiming the birth of the Republic of Catalunya.
“Following through with the thread of consistency, of what the people requested at the polling stations, and politicians putting their jobs at risk – there's nothing more we can do to defend the result of the referendum.
“Concerning our Parliamentary position, the CUP cannot enter into the logic of debating everyday issues, as though nothing had happened, as though there had been no explicit mandate for proclaiming the Republic of Catalunya, unless this is undertaken first.
“We don't recognise or understand half-responses or Constitutional pacts, nor deals behind closed office doors, nor among the élite.
“The right to a Republic of Catalunya is everyone's, and now is the time to defend it more than ever.”
Photograph: The CUP's Anna Gabriel MP after the party's speech in Catalunya's regional Parliament
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PRO-SECESSION party in Catalunya, the CUP, has urged regional president Carles Puigdemont to give a 'clear and unambiguous yes' to independence and has rejected his move to open talks with the Spanish government before making the declaration.
According to the CUP, there has been 'a change in context from October 10' – nine days after the 'banned' referendum – when Puigdemont gave his post-vote Parliamentary speech.
Whilst the Spanish government and the people of Catalunya who do not support independence were disappointed that Puigdemont was determined to go ahead with his plan, his separatist political allies were disappointed that he did not set the ball rolling immediately, saying he wanted 'time for dialogue' with the State before declaring independence unilaterally.
The CUP wants a regional Parliamentary session to be held this coming week in which Puigdemont does, in fact, issue a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI).
Either way, Puigdemont will have to clarify his intentions, since this week will see his five-day ultimatum imposed by the State come to an end.
He has been told by Spain's government that it needs to know once and for all if he did in fact announce Catalunya's secession in his post-referendum speech, and gave him five days to clarify.
If he did, says the government, he will have three days to withdraw the UDI – failing which they will trigger Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which immediately revokes Catalunya's autonomy and places it under national rule, removing all its regional government powers.
Puigdemont's response to the threat was: “You ask for dialogue and they slap Article 155 on the table. Understood.”
Spain's president Mariano Rajoy has said he is open to talks, but only those which do not involve any suggestion of independence or of allowing a legal referendum on the subject, even a non-binding one.
This effectively means no talks can take place, since this is exactly what Puigdemont wants to discuss.
Whether Puigdemont heeds the CUP or the State this week will determine whether his government can continue running the region.
“The people have voted for independence, and we should be defending this consistently,” complains spokeswoman for the CUP, Núria Gibert.
She says if Puigdemont does not follow through with his promise of an unconditioned UDI, the CUP will start arranging protests and strikes all over Catalunya to force his hand.
“Suspending independence means [Puigdemont] has not acted in accordance with the expectations of a large part of Catalunya's society, generating confusion, frustration, and lack of transparency, showing he is not up to what is required of him at this moment,” Sra Gibert continues.
“Neither the Spanish State, nor the Ciudadanos-socialist-PP bloc, have given, nor want to give, any type of margin – neither dialogue nor mediation is going to be possible, nor any room for two opposing speakers to talk it out on a level.
“We consider dialogue is going to be impossible, so we need Puigdemont to give a clear affirmative to the State's requirement [to confirm whether or not he has declared independence already] and for this to be accompanied by solemn action in response to the referendum result of October 1 – as in, proclaiming the birth of the Republic of Catalunya.
“Following through with the thread of consistency, of what the people requested at the polling stations, and politicians putting their jobs at risk – there's nothing more we can do to defend the result of the referendum.
“Concerning our Parliamentary position, the CUP cannot enter into the logic of debating everyday issues, as though nothing had happened, as though there had been no explicit mandate for proclaiming the Republic of Catalunya, unless this is undertaken first.
“We don't recognise or understand half-responses or Constitutional pacts, nor deals behind closed office doors, nor among the élite.
“The right to a Republic of Catalunya is everyone's, and now is the time to defend it more than ever.”
Photograph: The CUP's Anna Gabriel MP after the party's speech in Catalunya's regional Parliament
Related Topics
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