Catalan Leader Urges “Peaceful” Rebellion As Spain Takes Over Government
Update (0920ET): A Spanish government spokesman has responded to Puigdemont’s address, saying that “Spain will not comment on comments by Puigdemont who is out of a job.”
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As we detailed earlier, in a pre-record message this morning, Catalan separtist leader Carles Puigdemont urged Catalans to peacefully oppose Spain’s formal takeover of the region’s affairs.
Puigdemont said the activation of article 155 of the Spanish Constitution was illegitimate and called on Catalans to show “patience, perseverance” and faith in the future, and urged “democratic opposition” against Spanish government orders to sack his administration and dismiss the regional parliament.
As The Spain Report notes, he announced he Catalans must “continue defending” their new republic “with a sense of civic responsibility,” adding “our will is to continue working to guarantee our democratic mandate”.
The use of Article 155 to suspend home rule in Catalonia was a “premeditated attack on the majority will of Catalans” and “contrary” to democracy.
Puigdemont also called on pro-independence Catalans to be respectful of fellow Catalans who are in favor of Catalonia remaining within Spain. Puigdemont didn’t mention central government orders to remove him.
Presumably, Puigdemont’s calls suggest a strategy designed to compare Madrid’s forcefulness to Catalan’s peaceful protest, perhaps in an effort to garner more international favor – as most of the ‘developed’ nations issued statements overnight declining to reecognize Catalonia and fully backing the establishment’s Spanish government.
Live broadcasts showed Puigdemont in a bar in the town of Girona at the time of the televised speech.
Puigdemont declined to speak to reporters when he left the bar shortly after the speech.
Meanwhile, Spain begins implementation of Article 155:
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