Spain Archives

Spain gives Catalan leader eight days to drop independence

October 13, 2017 by administrator

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday gave the Catalan government eight days to drop an independence bid, failing which he would suspend the Catalonia’s political autonomy and rule the region directly, Reuters reported.

His move could deepen the confrontation between Madrid and the northeastern region but also signals a way out of Spain’s biggest political crisis since a failed military coup in 1981.

Rajoy would probably call a snap regional election after activating Article 155 of the constitution that would allow him to sack the Catalan regional government.

He later told Spain’s parliament the Catalan government had until Monday, October 16 at 0800 GMT to answer.

90% of voters said ‘Yes’ to independence from Spain – Catalan government

October 1, 2017 by administrator

The overwhelming majority of Catalans who participated in the banned referendum have voted in favor of independence from Spain, the Catalan government has announced.

Over two million Catalans, or 90.9 percent of those who voted said ‘Yes’ in Sunday’s referendum, regional authorities said. Only 7,87 percent, or 176,565 voters said ‘No’ when asked if they want to attain independence from Madrid.

What kind of a democracy steals ballot boxes?” asked Vice President Oriol Junqueras, standing next to government representatives, Raul Romeva and Jordi Turull.

“We will be consistent with the democratic mandate that citizens have given us today,” he added. “Catalonia has won its right to be a new Republic, if this is what the Parliament decides.”

BREAKING NEWS: Spain cracked down in Catalonia, thousands vote on an independence. hundreds injured.

October 1, 2017 by administrator

Defying the Spanish authorities, tens of thousands of Catalans turned out to vote on Sunday in a banned independence referendum, clashing with police officers sent from outside the region to shut down polling stations and confiscate ballots.
The police in some places used rubber bullets and truncheons to disperse voters, many of whom had spent the night inside polling stations to ensure that they would remain open.

The desires for independence unstoppable, Spain Closes Barcelona Airspace

September 29, 2017 by administrator

Spain closes Catalonia’s airspace for helicopters and light aviation to suppress taking aerial pictures of possible demonstrations.

Spain’s national civil aviation authority on Friday closed Barcelona’s airspace for helicopters and light aircraft until October 2, ahead of the independence referendum in Catalonia, local media reported.

According to El Mundo newspaper citing sources, the restrictions aim to prohibit “visual operations,” making it impossible to take aerial pictures of possible demonstrations.

Spanish authorities continue to take measures to prevent the vote. The day before Spain’s Civil Guard on Thursday seized 100 ballot boxes and 2.5 million ballots prepared for the Catalan independence referendum, which the Spanish government does not recognize.

Almost 10 million ballots were seized last week, although the whole population of Catalonia is a little more than 7.5 million, including those who are not eligible to vote.

The Spanish federal government has filed a complaint with the country’s Constitutional Court over the Catalan government and parliament approving the law on the referendum. The court has taken the complaint under review, thus suspending the Catalan law and making all further preparations for the referendum illegal, but the supporters of the vote have not ceased their activities.

Spain: Catalonia promises ‘immediate’ independence from Spain post-referendum

July 5, 2017 by administrator

,Catalonia’s leaders have put forward a bill supposedly ensuring that an independence referendum will take place even without Madrid’s backing. The vote is planned for October 1, but questions remain over its credibility.

Catalonia will declare independence “immediately” should the majority of voters choose to secede from Spain in a referendum scheduled for late this year, according to a new bill unveiled Tuesday by the separatist-led regional government.

According to Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont, the new bill is seeking to extract the northeastern region from Spain’s legal system.

However, doubts continue about the credibility of such a vote.

Catalonian lawmakers hope that by passing the bill in the regional parliament next month, Catalonia’s government will be allowed to circumvent any legal or practical challenges raised by the central government in Madrid against the referendum. Essentially, legislation related to the referendum would become “supreme law” and take precedence over all other legislation.

“A decisive vote will be held on October 1; we will respect the vote,” Puigdemont said. Gabriela Serra, a member of Catalonia’s separatist coalition, said that if voters choose to split from Spain, “obviously independence will have to be declared immediately.” The bill to pull Catalonia out of Spain’s legal system will be submitted to a vote in the regional parliament in August.

The bill also outlined the question voters will be asked in the referendum: “Do you want Catalonia to be an independent state in the form of a republic?”

Pushback from Madrid

Despite calls from regional lawmakers for the bill, if passed, to be legally binding, any vote on independence would face heavy pushback from Spain’s central government.

Xavier Garcia Albiol, the head of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative Popular Party in Catalonia, called the upcoming referendum “a coup d’etat dressed up as democracy.”

Despite years of pressure on Madrid to approve an independence referendum, Spain’s central government has always remained steadfast in its opposition to Catalonia’s regional government on the issue.

Spain’s Constitutional Court has previously quashed Catalonia’s resolution to hold a referendum. The court and Spanish government have also warned Catalonian officials that they could face legal repercussions and sanctions if they help to organize the vote.

Catalonia held a nonbinding vote on independence in 2014. While a massive 80 percent voted in favor, turnout was low, with only 2.2 million out of 5.4 million potential voters casting their ballots.

Catalan government faces internal pressures

Despite showing optimism over the proposed bill, President Puigdemont is under pressure from within his own party over the viability of the referendum.

On Monday, he fired a senior member of his government for openly expressing doubts about the vote.

Question marks over the credibility of the vote have also made it difficult for Catalonia’s government to secure ballot boxes for the referendum. The Spanish government has already warned that any company involved could face punitive action.

Thousands of Guns Bound for Terrorist Groups Seized in Spain

March 16, 2017 by administrator

Mountains of firearms recovered by police in Spain. Spanish national police

by ALEXANDER SMITH and LAURA SARAVIA

When a gunman killed four people at a Jewish museum in Brussels in 2014, police in Spain launched an effort to reduce the number of illegal firearms circulating in Europe.

What they found was a arsenal large enough to supply an army — and all ready to be sold to terrorist groups and gangs.

Spanish police announced Tuesday they had recovered around 10,000 assault rifles, pistols, machine guns, and revolvers, as well as 400 shells and grenades, in raids in the north of the country.

They also arrested five suspects and recovered around $90,000.

The raids, in Girona, Biscay and Cantabria, targeted a gang trafficking firearms on the black market that were destined to be sold to terror groups and gangs in Spain, France and Belgium.

Spain’s national police, who worked with cross-border authority Europol on the operation, said the gang “exploited legal loopholes and legislative differences between E.U. countries to divert guns from legal suppliers.” They used a workshop to re-brand and reactivate the weapons, which were “being made ready for sale to terrorist groups and organized crime,” police said.

Spanish City of Benalmadena Recognizes Armenian Genocide

August 16, 2016 by administrator

BENALMADENA, Spain— The city of Benalmadena, Spain officially recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide on Friday, August 12, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said. According to the ministry, Benalmadena’s city council voted unanimously for the declaration.

“Benalmadena has joined to more than twenty cities in Spain that have recognized the Armenian Genocide,” the ministry said.

The first country to recognize the Armenian Genocide was Uruguay in 1965. Thirty countries have since recognized the Armenian Genocide, of which include Russia, France, Italy, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Canada, Venezuela, Argentina, and 43 U.S. states.

It is recognized also by the Vatican, the European Parliament, the World Council of Churches and other international organizations and coalitions.

1000s of people rally in Spain’s Basque to demand independence

March 28, 2016 by administrator

About 11,000 people from the indigenous Basque ethnic group have staged a rally in a northern Spanish city, calling for independence for the autonomous Basque region from Spain.

The protesters, carrying Basque flags and giant banners reading “Independence”, marched in the northern city of Pamplona in a rally organized by the Basque Independentistak (“Independence”) movement on Sunday to mobilize support for the region’s independence.

Basque has its own distinct language and culture as well as autonomy in policing and taxation.

“What we are proposing is to follow the unilateral way,” Txutxi Ariznabarreta, one of the leaders of the movement said, adding, “And that is a very important step strategy and that strategy requires people on the march.”

Spain’s Constitutional Court has already rejected a self-determination referendum for Basque.

An independence drive by Catalonia, another autonomous Spanish region, also gained momentum in recent years before becoming less assertive again.

In November 2014, Catalonia’s President Artur Mas staged a symbolic independence referendum after the government in Madrid blocked his bid to hold an official referendum. Nearly 80 percent of the 2.2 million people who took part in the vote backed secession, though the turnout was slightly more than 40 percent.

Alzira becomes the 12th city in Spain to recognize the Armenian Genocide

November 27, 2015 by administrator

The city of Alzira, in the Province of Valencia, joined 11 Spanish cities by officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian Ararat Association of Valencia.

On November 25 the Council of the city of Alzira, composed of five political parties voted unanimously in favor of a resolution tabled by the Armenian Association Ararat, describing the first butcher of the 20th century as genocide and condemns denial policy of Turkey.

Alzira is a city of 45,000 inhabitants in the east of Spain, capital of the comarca of Ribera Alta, in the province of Valencia.

Spanish city of Aldaia officially recognizes Armenian Genocide

October 28, 2015 by administrator

The Spanish city of Aldaia (Valencia) officially recognized the Armenian Genocide yesterday on October 27. Aldaia thus joined the list of dozens of Spanish cities that have officially recognized and condemned the Armenian Genocide, the press service of Armenian Foreign Ministry said.

The resolution introduced by the Armenian “Ararat” Union was put to a vote at the City Council by Spokesman for the Left Union Juanjo Llorente.

All the four parties represented in the City Council unanimously voted to call the massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Turkey “genocide” and to condemn its denial policy.

Among those present at the sitting of the City Council were representatives of the Armenian community and public and political figures of Spain.