republic or no republic day of confusion in catalonia
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
Last Updated : GMT 05:17:37
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

After The Regional Parliament Declared Independence?

Republic or no republic? Day of confusion in Catalonia

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice

Emiratesvoice, emirates voice Republic or no republic? Day of confusion in Catalonia

Deposed Catalan vice president Oriol Junqueras
Barcelona - AFP

Is Catalonia's republic dead in the water? Are its leaders really beating a retreat just three days after the regional parliament declared independence?

A sense of confusion reigned Monday on the streets of Barcelona... and in Catalan government offices.

"There is no Catalan republic as such," Marc Galvan, a 24-year-old "leftwing independence supporter", said as he walked out of a book store in the centre.

The unilateral declaration of independence was voted by 70 regional lawmakers out of 135 on Friday.

But it has not taken effect and Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's government has already imposed direct rule on the semi-autonomous region, which is deeply divided over independence, under article 155 of the Constitution.

Since then, independence supporters have been waiting for a clear signal from Carles Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras, both of whom have now been deposed by Madrid as Catalan president and vice president, to say whether they should resist Madrid's moves.

- 'Jumped ship' -

"If they take the plunge, if they say they will press on until the end, people will respond. But if they only half commit, people will get weary," said Galvan, a politics student.

In a televised statement on Saturday, Puigdemont called for "democratic opposition" to Madrid's move to take over Catalan powers, without detailing what that would entail.

But on this first working day since independence was declared, he was conspicuously absent -- "gone to Brussels", according to a Spanish government source.

For what, though, remains a mystery.

To Agustin Sanllehi, 74, the situation is clear "Rajoy stopped this stupidity, the separatists have jumped ship like rats and Puigdemont is a clown."

"The republic is dead in the water," the retired company director insisted, while smoking a cigar on a bench on the chic Paseo de Gracia boulevard where he protested for unity on Sunday along with hundreds of thousands of others.

"They proclaimed it half-heartedly, and they didn't even represent 50 percent of Catalans."

In regional government offices, it was business-as-usual amid the disarray.

"Things have been changing at a crazy speed since Thursday and we're waiting to see what is going to happen every 10 minutes," said Joan Escanilla, spokesman for the CSIF civil servants union.

"But day-to-day work continues. For the average civil servant, the doctor, the teacher, it's going to be more or less the same and the firefighter will go extinguish the fire, 155 or no 155."

An employee in Catalonia's tax agency, who refused to be identified by name, said that civil servants had not received any orders from Madrid.

"We only received orders to stop responding to questions from people asking how they could pay their taxes directly to the Catalan agency," he said. Catalans normally pay their taxes directly to Madrid.

"It's been decided to keep a low profile."

- 'People are bitter' -

In Catalonia's official government bulletin, "there was nothing on the "republic" according to employees at the regional agriculture ministry.

"I'm not pro-independence and I won't ever be, but I'm sad because these are confusing times, people are bitter, society is divided," said ministry employee Isabel Ros during a coffee break.

"I have pro-independence family members and I understand that people may feel that way," the 35-year-old added.

"For me, Madrid is behaving very badly because it's disproportionate to implement article 155 as there is no violence or insurrection here."

Her colleague Raquel, 38, said she was not pro-independence but added that "people are allowed to peacefully express this fervour they have felt for years".

Around the same time in Madrid, the chief prosecutor called for Puigdemont and his deputies to be charged with rebellion, an offence punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

It was Puigdemont who called the banned independence referendum on October 1 that triggered the country's worst crisis in decades.

Carles Enrich, a 64-year-old former company director who is pro-independence, finds the charges outrageous.

"In theory, we're already a republic and Spanish law should not affect us any more than the law in another country."

Source: AFP

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

republic or no republic day of confusion in catalonia republic or no republic day of confusion in catalonia

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

republic or no republic day of confusion in catalonia republic or no republic day of confusion in catalonia

 



GMT 10:31 2014 Tuesday ,23 December

Mirages of failure: Lebanon cannot wait

GMT 06:15 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Volkswagen clinches record sales

GMT 05:04 2024 Tuesday ,06 February

Skincare PR Performance Full Year 2017

GMT 10:08 2018 Wednesday ,24 January

Microsoft to open 4 data centres

GMT 19:57 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Farm-fresh from Kerala to the UAE, in just one day

GMT 10:18 2018 Thursday ,30 August

Iran incapable of closing Hormuz, Bab Al Mandeb

GMT 13:06 2016 Wednesday ,19 October

As All Blacks soar, scandal-hit NZ rugby reels

GMT 10:32 2017 Thursday ,26 January

Yemen rebels mount resistance in key port city

GMT 12:18 2011 Thursday ,01 December

Angler snares 20st stingray

GMT 14:00 2013 Friday ,07 June

Does practice make perfect?

GMT 05:12 2017 Sunday ,01 January

Jordanian King invites Palestinian

GMT 15:06 2012 Thursday ,26 January

Big names have spiced up the 24 Hours of Daytona

GMT 21:15 2013 Sunday ,15 September

Pop greats kick off Rock in Rio music fest

GMT 23:41 2016 Tuesday ,10 May

Taipei metro killer executed

GMT 15:46 2012 Wednesday ,15 February

Mustafa Shabaan prepares for a fourth wife
Emiratesvoice, emirates voice
 
 Emirates Voice Facebook,emirates voice facebook  Emirates Voice Twitter,emirates voice twitter Emirates Voice Rss,emirates voice rss  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube  Emirates Voice Youtube,emirates voice youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

emiratesvoieen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen emiratesvoiceen
emiratesvoice emiratesvoice emiratesvoice
emiratesvoice
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice, Emiratesvoice