Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont said that he plans to propose a government-approved binding independence referendum to secede from Spain by next year.
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“Once again, we have to remember that these massive rallies that we have been seeing in Catalonia, and that we will once again witness today on this 2016 national day, are unfortunately, more necessary than ever in order to vindicate what is obvious: democracy and respect people’s diverse opinions”.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets throughout Catalonia on Sunday evening in celebration of the region’s “national” holiday and to demonstrate their desire to break away from Spain.
Earlier in the day, the president of the region, Carles Puigdemont held a press conference for the worldwide press to outline how he hopes his region will gain independence by 2017. “We are a lively country, on the move, and we are standing on the threshold of turning into a new state”, Natalia Estevez, vice-president of Catalan National Assembly, told RIA Novosti. “We can’t wait any longer”.
A woman holds an “estelada” flag, that symbolize Catalonia’s independence, during a demonstration calling for the independence of Catalonia, in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 11, 2016.
This year’s rally has been described as crucial by Puigdemont, who noted that during the months to come “decisions will have to be taken that ensure Catalonia can freely choose its path”, he said, according to AFP.
Calatonia’s pro-independence regional government has set the middle of next year as a target for independence from Spain, but has been unable to persuade the central government to approve a referendum on the issue.
After winning a clear majority in Catalonia’s regional parliament a year ago, secessionist parties approved a plan to achieve independence in mid-2017 but have since become divided by ideological differences and little progress has been made.
But the plan ran into trouble in June when Puigdemont’s coalition government lost the support of the tiny anti-capitalist party CUP which has a hard line on independence.
Pro-independence supporters said they hoped the mass protest would reinvigorate the process of secession.
Pro-separatist parties won a majority of seats in the regional assembly past year and have starting laying the ground for laws and institutions for an independent state, though such moves have been deemed illegal in court.
Hosting this year’s rally are the southern city of Tarragona, Berga in the centre, Salt in the north and Lleida in the east as well as Barcelona.
Catalans have nurtured a separate identity for centuries, but an independence movement surged recently as many became disillusioned with limitations on the autonomy they gained in the late 1970s after the end of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, which had suppressed Catalan nationalism.
Her far-left allies, Podemos, are the only large national party which backs a referendum but campaigns against independance.
The economically powerful Catalonia accounts for 18 percent of Spain’s economic output.
Puigdemont called on Spain´s central government to address Catalan concerns.
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A confidence vote will be held on September 28 in which Puigdemont will try to fortify his mandate through gaining the support of parties like CUP.
