Page 8 - ARUBA TODAY

A8 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 3 OcTOber 2017

Russia gives 20 Catalonia urges mediation with Spain on secession
days in jail for By ARITZ PARRA the globe, leading some wide issue. And Spain’s interior minister

Alexei Navalny CIARAN GILES European leaders to warn “This is not a domestic issue. said the 5,000 extra officers
Associated Press
The need for mediation is deployed
to
about any further escala-
Catalonia
MOSCOW (AP) — A Mos- BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — tion of violence. evident,” Puigdemont said. would stay as long as nec-
cow court on Monday sent essary.
Russian opposition leader “I don’t think there was
Alexei Navalny to jail for 20 such a heavy hand, but in
days for calling for an un- any case, they had to re-
sanctioned protest, which act,” said Spanish Foreign
would keep him away from Minister Alfonso Dastis, call-
a major rally this weekend. ing the police reaction vid-
Police detained Navalny eos “a matter of interpreta-
on Friday, preventing him tion.”
from traveling to a rally in a Speaking in Rome, Dastis
major Russian city that had said “some of the pictures
given its official permis- are real, some of them
sion to hold the gathering. are not real” but that po-
Charges brought against lice had simply responded
the Kremlin’s top rival re- when people prevented
late to the upcoming rally them from doing their job.
in St. Petersburg, Russia’s Catalan officials say an
second-largest city and overwhelming majority of
President Vladimir Putin’s the 2.26 million who voted
hometown, which has not supported independence
been sanctioned. from Spain — they said 90
After he announced his percent — but the central
presidential bid last year, government in Madrid has
Navalny, arguably Russia’s Independence supporters march during a demonstration in Barcelona, Spain, Monday, Oct. repeatedly condemned
most popular opposition 2, 2017. Catalan leaders accused Spanish police of brutality and repression while the Spanish the referendum as uncon-
politician, inspired a grass- government praised the security forces for behaving firmly and proportionately. stitutional and invalid.
(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
roots campaign in Russian The Catalan president said
regions to support his nomi- Catalan separatists called Catalan leader Carles Calls for restraint came the regional parliament will
nation. for international media- Puigdemont said a re- from across Europe, includ- be asked to declare inde-
“20 days in jail. Old man tion with the Spanish gov- gional parliamentary ing EU chief Donald Tusk, pendence this week after
Putin got so scared of our ernment as they pushed commission would investi- who appealed to Rajoy to final results are announced
rallies in the regions and ahead Monday with plans gate why Spain’s anti-riot “avoid further escalation — and plenary sessions are
decided to make himself to declare unilateral inde- squads fired rubber bullets, and use of force” while scheduled for Wednesday
a little present for himself pendence this week after smashed into polling sta- agreeing that the indepen- and Thursday.
for his birthday,” Navalny a violent police crackdown tions and beat protesters dence vote was invalid. The euro and Spanish
tweeted shortly after the scarred a disputed seces- with batons to disperse vot- Several human rights or- stocks fell Monday as inves-
ruling Monday evening. sion referendum. ers in the independence ganizations called for an tors tried to gauge what the
The rally in St. Petersburg The referendum debacle referendum that Spain op- impartial investigation into weekend unrest in Catalo-
was scheduled for Satur- only deepened Spain’s posed. He also urged the the violence. nia means for the future of
day, which is also Putin’s most serious political cri- 5,000-strong contingent of Of the 893 civilians injured Spain and European unity.
birthday. sis since democratic rule special Spanish police forc- in the melee, two suffered The referendum fiasco
Navalny’s campaign late was restored in 1978. The es deployed in Catalonia serious wounds, Catalan brought Spain and Cata-
Monday called for rallies violence on Sunday in the to leave immediately. health authorities said. The lonia closer to a potentially
to protest his arrest in other prosperous northeastern Puigdemont called Mon- Interior Ministry said 39 po- disastrous showdown as
Russian cities this Saturday. region left more than 890 day for the European Union lice received immediate each side said Sunday’s
A Russian law on pub- civilians and 430 police in- “to stop looking the other medical treatment and 392 events proved them right.
lic gatherings, which was jured when anti-riot squads way” and urged Spanish others had scrapes and Rajoy met with his con-
hastily adopted following moved into polling stations Prime Minister Mariano Ra- bruises. servative Popular Party
massive anti-government and dispersed voters. joy to accept international But Spanish authorities members before seeking
rallies in 2011-2012, carries Shocking videos and pho- mediation in the crisis. He commended the police, a parliamentary session
30 days in jail for repeated tos of police dragging peo- urged the EU to view Catal- saying their response to to discuss how to confront
violations. ple by the hair and kicking onia’s desire to break away the voting was professional Spain’s most serious politi-
In another Moscow court- them were flashed around from Spain as a Europe- and proportionate. cal crisis in decades. q
house, a judge is expected
to hand down a ruling later Greek state budget sees pick-up in economy
Monday in the case of Na-
valny’s campaign chief,
Leonid Volkov, who faces ATHENS, Greece (AP) — last year. nearly eight years of harsh “This is the last budget (to
similar charges. Greece’s government on The 2018 primary surplus — austerity, required to right be tabled) during the bail-
Yet that began to change Monday presented what it which excludes the cost of its public finances and re- out programs,” Deputy
earlier this year when Na- calls the last of the bailout- financing debt — is forecast ceive rescue loans from Finance Minister George
valny, a 41-year-old law- era state budgets, predict- at 3.6 percent. The govern- its European partners and Houliarakis said after pre-
yer, opened campaign of- ing economic growth of 2.4 ment has committed to the International Monetary senting the draft to Parlia-
fices in 80 cities and towns. percent and a significant high surpluses for years to Fund. The current program ment.
Most of those places had budget surplus in 2018. come, to secure fiscal sus- runs out in August 2018, He said 2018 budget tar-
not seen a diverse political In the draft 2018 budget, tainability and help pay and the government says gets are in line with bailout
life for decades, and Na- the economy is expected off the country’s crippling that will mark the end of in- commitments, and are ex-
valny attracted thousands to expand 1.8 percent this debts. ternational oversight of the pected to significantly ex-
of supporters. q year, up from no growth Greece has endured country’s finances. ceed them in 2017.q