Page 8 - aruba-today-20171028

A8 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 28 OctOber 2017

Spain crack down hard after Catalonia declares independence

By ARITZ PARRA Rajoy also said he was fir-
CIARAN GILES ing the head of the Cata-
Associated Press lan regional police, shut-
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — ting down the Catalan
In one of the most momen- government’s overseas of-
tous days in recent Spanish fices, and dismissing its rep-
history, Spain fired Catalo- resentatives in Madrid and
nia’s regional government in Brussels, where the Euro-
and dissolved its parlia- pean Union has its head-
ment Friday after a defiant quarters.
Catalan declaration of in- After the Catalan parlia-
dependence that flouted ment independence vote,
the country’s constitution. Rajoy said it was a move
Lawmakers in the Catalan that “in the opinion of a
parliament voted to uni- large majority of people
laterally declare indepen- not only goes against the
dence, prompting the swift law but is a criminal act.”
crackdown by the Spanish The Senate’s decision giv-
government, which also ing Rajoy special powers
called an early election in trumped the Catalan re-
the region. gional parliament’s vote
Hours after Catalonia’s se- to secede, which was
cession move, the Spanish doomed because the
Senate granted the gov- People react as they celebrate the unilateral declaration of independence of Catalonia outside Constitutional Court has
ernment special constitu- the Catalan Parliament, in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. Catalonias’ regional Parliament already consistently ruled
tional powers to stop the passed a motion Friday to establish an independent Catalan Republic. against any steps toward
wealthy region’s move to- (AP Photo/ Emilio Morenatti) independence.
ward independence. called for Dec. 21. palace to celebrate their The government and ve to take away Catalo-
Spanish Prime Minister Mari- In Barcelona, Catalonia’s parliament’s moves toward Spain’s Constitutional nia’s regional powers was
ano Rajoy’s conservative regional capital, Rajoy’s independence. Court have both said the sure to be seen as a humili-
government then called announcement in a tele- “It’s not about suspending secession bid was illegal, ation and a provocation
an urgent Cabinet meeting vised address was greeted or meddling in the self-gov- and after Friday’s indepen- by Catalans and a back-
late Friday, after which Ra- with jeers and whistles of ernment (of Catalonia), dence vote, Rajoy said it lash was expected, with
joy emerged to announce disapproval from crowds but to return it to normality was a move that “not only planned street protests and
the emergency measures, who had gathered at the and legality as soon as pos- goes against the law but is the possibility that regional
including regional elections gates of the government sible,” Rajoy said. a criminal act.” government workers could
follow a policy of disobedi-
Russia: ence or non-cooperation.
On top of that, the Dec.
Putin takes part in military drills, fires missiles 21 election could deliver
a
pro-inde-
steadfastly
pendence Catalan parlia-
ment, even if recent polls
MOSCOW (AP) — President were routine and not di- played in the war games, an ICBM at the same Kura have suggested the re-
Vladimir Putin has taken rectly linked to any interna- saying that the president range, while another nu- gion of 7.5 million people
part in major military drills tional developments. took “the necessary moves clear submarine in the Sea is roughly evenly split on
of Russian nuclear forces Still, the president’s direct in line with the standard of Okhotsk fired two ICBM secession.
and personally directed involvement in oversee- procedure for relevant situ- in the opposite direction, Many Catalans strongly
the test-firing of four inter- ing intercontinental bal- ations as the commander hitting targets at the Chizha oppose independence
continental ballistic missiles listic missile launches is an in chief.” The Russian De- firing range in the Arkhan- and a group of so-called
as part of the exercises, the event that has been rarely fense Ministry said that in gelsk region in Russia’s unionists was organizing a
Kremlin said Friday. reported by the Kremlin in Thursday’s drills, a Topol northwest. As part of the large-scale protest in Bar-
Putin spokesman Dmitry the past. “The command- ICBM fired from the Plesetsk maneuvers, the Tu-160, the celona on Sunday.
Peskov said the drills Thurs- er in chief conducted the launchpad in northwestern Tu-95 and the Tu-22 bomb- A spokesman for Spain’s
day involved all elements launch of four intercon- Russia hit a designated tar- er launched cruise missiles prosecutor’s office, mean-
of the military’s nuclear tri- tinental ballistic missiles,” get on the Kura firing range at mock targets at firing while, said it would seek
ad — nuclear submarines, Peskov said in a confer- on the Kamchatka Penin- ranges on Kamchatka, the to bring rebellion charges
strategic bombers and a ence call with reporters. sula in the far east. Komi region in the far North against those responsible
land-based launcher. He Peskov wouldn’t elaborate A nuclear submarine in the and in Russia’s ex-Soviet for the Catalan indepen-
added that the exercises on what specific part Putin Barents Sea also launched neighbor Kazakhstan. q dence vote.q