BARCELONA: Catalans will go to the polls on Thursday to elect a regional Parliament in a bitterly contested vote that has become an unofficial ballot on whether the semi-autonomous region will pursue independence or realign itself with Madrid.
The stakes could scarcely be higher: Should the separatists prevail it could ultimately end Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s tenure, while an anti-secessionist victory could lead to the dismantling of Catalonia’s “independista” apparatus including Catalan-language state media.
Opinion polls indicate the vote is too close to call, with separatist parties forecast to win 65-69 seats; 68 are required for a majority.
The election follows Catalonia’s Oct. 1 independence referendum that overwhelmingly endorsed creating a Catalan republic but which Madrid denounced as illegal amid state violence that injured hundreds of voters.
Catalonia’s President Carles Puigdemont duly declared independence, leading Rajoy to suspend Catalonia’s semi-autonomy, sack the regional government and call new elections for Dec. 21.
Many separatist leaders stand accused of sedition and are in prison, exile or on bail.
The political turmoil has led more than 2,000 Catalan companies which, combined, account for around half of the region’s GDP, to move their headquarters elsewhere, according to pro-unionist organization Societat Civil Catalana.
Thursday’s vote, like the previous 2015 elections, has split on pro-independence and unionist lines, with parties on the left and right in both camps. These blocs are reasonably stable, so big swings in either direction seem improbable.
On the pro-independence side stand Junts per Catalunya, the new banner for Puigdemont’s ailing PDeCAT party, which has recruited civic leaders to broaden its appeal.
“Our electoral approach is to try to re-confirm the sovereigntist majority of the past two years in Parliament,” said Jordi Xucla, a Junts per Catalunya spokesman. “If this happens, we can go forward with the same strategy.”
Also pushing independence is the leftist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), which was part of a coalition with PDeCAT in 2015 and whose leader, Oriol Junqueras, remains in prison. Its slogan is “Democracy always wins.”
“It’s a not a clean electoral process,” said ERC spokesman Ernest Maragall. “We’re fighting this election with one arm tied behind our backs. We will try to win to follow the path to a real and full republic.”
Spain ranks second-lowest in Western Europe for judicial independence and separatist politicians say voting for them can help to end the incarceration of what they say are political prisoners, a call that could garner support from voters unsure about independence but appalled by Madrid’s approach to Catalonia’s constitutional convulsions.
“It’s perhaps the only way separatists can counter the disappointment that followed the declaration of independence, which was totally anti-climactic,” Antonio Barroso, Teneo Intelligence managing director. “By taking this approach they hope to re-mobilize their support and maximize turnout.”
That seemed evident at a November 11 demonstration attended by Arab News which drew 750,000 protesters and where shouts of “freedom” and “Puigdemont is our president” were common cries. Yet the atmosphere was reserved, a famous Catalan trait; Catalonia, which accounts for a fifth of Spain’s economy, is a peaceful, plentiful region – this is not Bucharest in 1989.
“I’m here because Spain is unjust. I give my support to all the prisoners. Today is more for democracy than independence,” said Pau, 23, a media studies student wearing the independence flag, the Estelada, as a cape.
Cuidadanos is the most significant party opposed to independence. Founded in Catalonia, it was originally center-left, but drifted to the right as it became a national movement. Rajoy’s right-wing PP, created by former ministers of Spain’s long-ruling dictator Francisco Franco, is projected to attract only 5.4 percent of votes. Catalonia’s political affiliations reflect its demographics. Official statistics indicate that 50 percent of residents describe themselves as Catalans living in Catalonia and overwhelmingly support independence.
The remainder have a closer affiliation to Spain – during the 20th century, migrant workers arrived from poorer regions to work in Catalonia’s industrial sector and their descendants are Catalans, but they remain culturally, ethnically and linguistically different.
“Ethnic Catalans come mostly from rural areas, but they’re also the bourgeois - these people are richer, better connected, and more educated,” said Jorge San Miguel Lobeto, a political scientist and Ciudadanos adviser.
Support for independence has surged from just 14 percent in 2006, since when Rajoy has been instrumental in denying Catalonia greater autonomy, which along with Spain’s severe post-2008 recession emboldened the separatist cause.
“Many voters support independence because it appears to be an easier solution: to get a new state as a way of punishing traditional politics,” said Juan Rodriguez Teruel, professor of political sciences at the University of Valencia.
Those sentiments were evident in Girona, the wealthy cathedral city where Puigdemont served as mayor after his exile to Belgium.
“He went to Europe to tell Europe what’s happening here,” said Mireia, a 24-year-old pro-independence social worker born in Girona to Andalusian parents. “Madrid is manipulating the Spanish press, so he had to leave.”
Marc, 31, a cake-maker from La Bisbal D’emporda, a small town nearby, had set up a stall in Plaça de la Independencia.
“To protect our Catalan identity, we need independence. Madrid doesn’t recognize us as Catalans, so we need to go,” said Marc, who believes Madrid’s crackdown strengthened the secessionists’ ranks. “Those who voted for independence in October will vote for independence parties again, and those who didn’t but don’t like to be repressed will do so too.”
Stakes could hardly be higher in Catalonia’s polls
Stakes could hardly be higher in Catalonia’s polls
Putin says China is Russia’s ally, backs its stance on Taiwan
- The two countries have not declared a formal military alliance, but have signed a ‘no limits’ partnership deal in 2022
- Putin suggested that Taiwan was trying to stir up a Ukraine-style crisis in Asia in order to attract outside support
The two countries have not declared a formal military alliance, but Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed a “no limits” partnership deal in 2022, less than three weeks before Putin sent his troops into Ukraine.
In May this year they agreed to deepen what they called their “comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation” for a new era.
“We do not believe that China is pursuing an aggressive policy in the region,” Putin said at the Valdai discussion club in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi.
He suggested that Taiwan was trying to stir up a Ukraine-style crisis in Asia in order to attract outside support.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, despite strong objections by the government in Taipei, and regularly holds wargames near the island.
“A lot is going on around Taiwan,” Putin said. “Everyone formally acknowledges, yes, Taiwan is part of China. But in reality? In reality, it is acting in a completely different direction. Provoking the situation toward escalation.
“We do support China. And because of this, we believe that (China) is conducting a completely reasonable policy. And also because it is our ally. We have a very large trade turnover, we co-operate in the security sector.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry said China and Russia were the real problem.
“The regime of Russia’s Putin launched a war of aggression against Ukraine, leading to misery for Ukraine’s people and sanctions and condemnation from the international community,” it said in a statement.
“China and Russia together continue to undermine the rule-based international order and have become a serious threat to world peace and stability.”
Putin compared military drills between Russia and China to those the United States holds with Japan.
“These exercises do not threaten anyone,” Putin said. “They are aimed at ensuring our security.”
Swiss ‘burqa ban,’ condemned by Muslims, to take effect from Jan. 1, 2025
- Anyone who unlawfully flouts the ban faces a fine of up to $1,144
- Facial coverings remain permitted for reasons relating to health, safety
ZURICH: A contentious Swiss prohibition on facial coverings in public spaces widely known as the “burqa ban” will take effect on Jan. 1, the government said on Wednesday.
Narrowly passed in a 2021 referendum in neutral Switzerland, and condemned by Muslim associations, the measure was launched by the same group that organized a 2009 ban on new minarets.
The governing Federal Council said in a statement it had fixed the start of the ban, and that anyone who unlawfully flouts it faces a fine of up to 1,000 Swiss francs ($1,144).
The ban does not apply to planes or in diplomatic and consular premises, and faces may also be covered in places of worship and other sacred sites, the government said.
Facial coverings will remain permitted for reasons relating to health and safety, for native customs, or due to weather conditions, it said. They would also be allowed on artistic and entertainment grounds and for advertising, it added.
If such coverings are needed for personal protection in exercising freedom of expression and assembly, they should be permitted provided the responsible authority has already approved them and public order is not compromised, it said.
Two separatist militants, two government-run militia members killed in Indian-administered Kashmir
- Militants in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989
- Many support rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as independent country
NEW DELHI: Two suspected militants were killed in a gunfight with government forces in Indian-administered Kashmir, officials said Friday, while assailants killed two members of a government-sponsored militia elsewhere in the disputed region.
The region, divided between India and Pakistan but claimed by both in its entirety, has experienced an increase in violence in recent weeks.
The Indian military said a joint team of soldiers and police raided a village near northwestern Sopore town late Thursday following a tip about the presence of a group of militants.
The militants “fired indiscriminately” at the troops, leading to a gunbattle in which two were killed, the military said in a statement.
Troops were continuing to search the area, it said. There was no independent confirmation of the incident.
Meanwhile, assailants killed two members of a government-run militia called the “Village Defense Group” in the remote southern Kishtwar area late Thursday, officials said.
Police blamed rebels fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir for the killings.
The two were abducted from a forested area where they had gone to graze cattle on Thursday. Their bodies were found late Thursday, police said.
The militia was initially formed in the 1990s as a defense against anti-India insurgents in remote Himalayan villages that government forces could not reach quickly. As the insurgency waned in their areas and as some militia members gained notoriety for brutality and rights violations, the militia was largely disbanded.
However last year, after the killing of seven Hindus in two attacks in a remote mountainous village near the highly militarized Line of Control that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, authorities revived the militia and began rearming and training thousands of villagers, including some teenagers.
The Kashmir Tigers, which Indian officials say is an offshoot of the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad militant group, claimed responsibility for the killings of the two in a statement on social media. The statement could not be independently verified.
Militants in the Indian-administered portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi’s rule since 1989. Many Muslim Kashmiris support the rebels’ goal of uniting the territory, either under Pakistani rule or as an independent country.
India insists the Kashmir militancy is “Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.” Pakistan denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and government forces have been killed in the conflict.
Philippine president signs new laws to assert South China Sea rights, sovereignty
- China summons Philippine ambassador to lodge solemn representations over the new laws
- Unclear if laws could reduce incidents with China in Manila’s exclusive economic zone
MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed two laws on Friday aimed at strengthening the country’s maritime claims and bolstering its territorial integrity, as tensions with China over disputed areas in the South China Sea persist.
The Maritime Zones Act and the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act would define the Philippines’ maritime entitlements and set designated sea lanes and air routes to reinforce sovereignty and maritime rights under international law.
China has summoned the Philippine ambassador to lodge solemn representations over two new laws, its foreign ministry said on Friday.
Marcos hailed the laws as a demonstration of the Philippines’ commitment to uphold an international rules-based order, and protect its rights to exploit resources peacefully in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
“Our people, especially our fisher folk, should be able to pursue their livelihood free from uncertainty and harassment,” Marcos said. “We must be able to harness mineral and energy resources in our sea bed.”
While the two laws were envisioned to help US ally the Philippines to monitor and defend against potential encroachment, questions remain about how they will be enforced and if they will impact Chinese activity in the Philippine EEZ.
China asserts its claim of sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea through an armada of coast guard ships, some of which are accused by its neighbors of aggressive conduct and of trying to disrupt energy and fisheries activity in their EEZs.
Senator Francis Tolentino, one of the authors of the maritime zones measure, said he does not expect tensions in Philippine EEZ will be instantly reduced with the implementation of the new laws.
“China will not recognize these, but the imprimatur that we’ll be getting from the international community would strengthen our position,” Tolentino told a press conference.
China’s embassy in Manila did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new laws and senator’s remarks.
Tolentino also said the laws would reinforce a 2016 arbitration ruling on the South China Sea, which declared China’s expansive claims had no basis under international law. China has rejected the 2016 decision.
Hungary PM Orban says Europe cannot finance Ukraine war alone
- Viktor Orban: ‘The Americans will quit this war, first of all they will not encourage the war’
BUDAPEST: The United States under the presidency of Donald Trump will “quit” the war in Ukraine and Europe cannot finance this war alone, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told state radio on Friday before an informal summit of EU leaders in Budapest.
“The Americans will quit this war, first of all they will not encourage the war,” Orban said. “Europe cannot finance this war alone ... some still want to continue sending enormous amounts of money into this lost war but the number of those who remain silent ...and those who cautiously voice that we should adjust to the new situation, is growing.”