Puigdemont calls for opposition to Spanish takeover

International Desk: Catalonia's separatist leader has called on Catalans to peacefully oppose Spain's takeover, in a staged appearance that seemed to convey that he refuses to accept his firing, which was ordered by central authorities.

Carles Puigdemont said in a brief statement that appeared to be pre-recorded that "we will continue working to build a free country." Spain's La Sexta TV channel simultaneously showed live footage of Puigdemont having lunch in a bar in central Girona, his hometown, occasionally interrupted by residents who asked him to pose for selfies.

Puigdemont's appearance on public regional TV3 broadcaster showed him speaking from a podium with the official emblem of the Catalan regional government. Behind him there were the Catalan and European Union flags, but not the one from Spain.

Spain took formal direct control of Catalonia on Saturday, on paper firing the region's defiant separatist government a day after lawmakers passed a declaration of independence for the prosperous northeastern region.

Resisting the sacking could throw the region into further turmoil by prolonging a monthlong standoff with central authorities.

The move came after one of the most tumultuous days in the country's recent history, as the national parliament in Madrid approved unprecedented constitutional measures to halt the secessionist drive by the regional parliament in Barcelona.

Spain made the takeover official by publishing special measures online early Saturday in the country's gazette.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who now replaces Puigdemont as the top decision-maker in the northeastern region, has also dissolved the regional parliament and called a new regional election to be held on Dec. 21.

Still, it was not clear at all whether a new election would solve Spain's problems with separatists in Catalonia. Polls suggest pro-independence parties would likely maintain their slim advantage in parliamentary seats but would not get more than 50 percent of the vote.

Source: Agencies

risingbd/Dhaka/Oct 28, 2017/Amirul