Police will side with us, says confident Catalonia, as Spain quashes independence move
Madrid — Catalonia said on Monday it was confident all officials including police would defy attempts by Madrid to enforce direct rule on the region, in an escalating dispute that Spain’s European allies fear could lead to unrest throughout Europe. The Spanish government has invoked special constitutional powers to fire the regional government and force a new election to counter an independence drive that has rattled Spain’s economy. A vote in the Senate to implement direct rule is due on Friday. But the leaders of the secessionist campaign said a disputed referendum on October 1 gave them the mandate to claim independence from the rest of Spain. "It’s not that we will refuse (orders). It is not a personal decision. It is a 7-million-person decision," Catalonia’s foreign affairs chief Raul Romeva told BBC radio. Romeva was asked whether he believed all institutions, including the police, would follow orders from Catalan institutions rather than from the Spanish government. "And from...
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