Cyprus-Forum.com

[insan]

Madrid - The Spanish government Monday downplayed a referendum organized by one village on the independence of Catalonia, fearing that it could act as a precedent and encourage separatism in the north-eastern region. Several ministers stressed that the vote had no legal value, while the conservative opposition accused Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's socialist government of being soft on separatists.

Ninety-six per cent of the voters backed an independent Catalonia in a vote organized by a separatist commission in Arenys de Munt, of 8,000 residents, on Sunday.

Voter turnout, however, was only about 40 per cent.

A court had prohibited the village from staging the referendum, but the separatist village council circumvented the ban by not participating directly in organizing the vote.

The event drew numerous media, visitors and about 100 demonstrators from the tiny right-wing Falangist movement, formerly a pillar of the 1939-75 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco.

The Falangists chanted slogans in favour of the unity of Spain, while about 1,000 Catalan separatist protesters defended an independent Catalonia.

Some 60 Catalan villages were reportedly planning similar votes, raising the prospect of increasing separatism in the wealthy region of more than 6 million people.

"This is like an oil spill that will spread through all of Catalonia," said Joan Puigcercos, leader of the separatist party ERC.

The government had sought a court order in an attempt to block the vote, arguing that it could act as a precedent.

Infrastructure Minister Jose Blanco on Monday described the referendum as a "stupidity" and criticized the large Catalan nationalist party CiU for having backed the "illegal" vote.

The conservative opposition People's Party (PP) accused the government of not "defending" Catalonia against separatists. The party has taken legal action to block a new Catalan autonomy status which it sees as favouring separatist strivings.

Catalonia already enjoys a wide measure of autonomy, including its own police force and the right to promote its language.

Support for an independent Catalonia has risen from 13.6 per cent of the population in 2005 to 19 per cent, according to official regional polls.

Some 15,000 people demonstrated in favour of independence in Barcelona on the occasion of the Catalan national day on Friday.

Catalan top politicians have not followed the example of former Basque prime minister Juan Jose Ibarretxe, whose attempts to call a Basque vote on self-determination were foiled by the Spanish parliament and Constitutional Court.

Catalonia does not have a violent separatist movement, unlike the Basque region, where the militant group ETA has killed more than 820 people since 1968.

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show ... lonia.html

[Jerry]

I suppose this is a not very subtle hint that the north of Cyprus should be separated from the ROC.

When was Catalan invaded?

How many of its citizens were forced from their homes?

[insan]

I suppose this is a not very subtle hint that the north of Cyprus should be separated from the ROC.

When was Catalan invaded?

How many of its citizens were forced from their homes?

Every seperatist movement has it's own charateristics related with their own circumstances...