“It can not look the other way any longer”.
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At least 893 people were injured in clashes throughout Catalonia as Spain’s Civil Guard was mobilized to halt the referendum, which Madrid considers “illegal”.
Mr Puigdemont must return to the path of law before any negotiation could take place, it said said in a statement (in Spanish).
The Catalan President Carles Puigdemont denounced the police crackdown as the worst violence Catalonia had seen since the military dictatorship of Francisco Franco and demanded the withdrawal of Spanish national forces from the region.
Despite Spain’s claims this is an “internal” matter, the global community is also not really on board for the crackdown in general. “We trust the leadership of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to manage this hard process”, said the EC, describing the situation as an “internal matter”.
Almost 900 people were hurt as police violently tried to enforce a Spanish court order suspending the vote, which the government had declared illegal.
The Catalan government pushed back saying the region has the right to self-determination.
Catalonia’s government has said that 90 percent of those who voted in an independence referendum banned by Madrid chose to split from Spain.
Officers seized ballot papers and boxes at polling stations. The events, he said, were “repugnant acts against democrats”.
Spain’s justice minister Rafael Catala warned that Catalanonia’s declaration of independence could invoke a constitutional clause that allowed Spain’s government to intervene in the running of the autonomous region. These are very complex moments, but we will move forward.
Frans Timmermans, first vice-president of the European Commission, told the European Parliament on Wednesday that Catalonia had “chosen to ignore the law” when organizing the referendum and that it’s the duty of the government to uphold it.
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Pique, part of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad in 2010, also added that he would retire from global football if his stance on the matter was regarded a problem.
