Catalonia declares and delays its independence

USPA NEWS - The president of the regional government of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, appeared on Tuesday in the regional Parliament and later signed the declaration of independence of Catalonia, but delays it pending a dialogue with the Spanish Government about secession. A dialogue that will not occur, since the Spanish Government considers the Catalan declaration inadmissible and will adopt the necessary measures to render ineffective the independence of this region of the Spanish Northeast. Among these measures are the suspension of Catalan autonomy and even the declaration of the state of siege in that territory.

The declaration of independence signed Tuesday by the president of the regional government of Catalonia follows the Slovenian route. In 1991, Slovenia, the most developed Yugoslav region, approved its independence from Yugoslavia. After a brief war of ten days, Slovenia suspended its independence and began a process of negotiation with Belgrade that finally ended with the secession of the territory. It was the first conflict of the Balkan wars, which occurred in Europe in the early 1990s of the last century. Approval and suspension was finally the route chosen by the regional government of Catalonia to satisfy the anti-system partners of the regional government of Catalonia and gain time in from the Spanish Government.

"With the results of October 1, Catalonia has earned the right to be an independent state," said the Catalan president, Carlos Puigdemont, forgetting the numerous irregularities that were committed in the referendum substitute held that day. As a result of these results, Puigdemont said, the Catalan government "has an obligation to fulfill the mandate of the Catalans: that Catalonia is a state in the form of a republic." Immediately, he proposed to the Parliament the suspension of the independence, pending to initiate a dialogue with the Spanish Government.

For the Catalan opposition, the declaration of independence is inadmissible. The opposition leader, Ines Arrimadas, leader of the centrist party Citizens, accused the regional government of Catalonia of breaking Catalan society, dividing it and confronting it. Ignoring the criticism, the president of the regional government of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, signed the declaration of independence at the edge of 22:00 hours in Spain (17:00 ET), although sources close to the regional government pointed out that the document was symbolic because it was not going to register in Parliament.