Catalan independence to be proclaimed on Monday, says CUP

An independent Catalan republic may be proclaimed as early as next Monday, according to members of CUP, the far-left party whose votes support the governing Junts pel S¨ª (Together for Yes) coalition.

Both groups have filed a petition in the regional parliament to have Catalan premier Carles Puigdemont appear on Monday to provide an assessment of the independence referendum that was held on Sunday in violation of a Constitutional Court ban. The vote triggered unprecedented scenes for Spain as would-be voters clashed with police sent in to block the polling stations.

Independence is not going to take place, not on the 9th, the 10th, or on the 8th

Xavier Garc¨ªa Albiol, PPC

Mireia Boya, a deputy for CUP ¨C which holds 10 seats in the 135-seat chamber ¨C has stated that the Monday session will serve to ¡°proclaim independence and the Catalan republic.¡±

For his part, Puigdemont has told the BBC that he will declare independence ¡°at the end of this week or the beginning of next.¡± The regional leader is scheduled to make a televised appearance at 9pm local time on TV3, the main channel of the Catalan public broadcaster.

Only 24 hours earlier, King Felipe VI had addressed the nation in a speech that acknowledged the gravity of the situation and accused the Catalan government of ¡°repeatedly, consciously and deliberately flouting the Constitution and their own Statute of Autonomy [Estatut], which is the law that acknowledges, protects and safeguards their historic institutions and their self-government.¡±

Puigdemont told the BBC that he will declare independence ¡°at the end of this week or the beginning of next¡±

In response, Catalan authorities said that ¡°instead of calming the waters, he¡¯s poured on more gasoline.¡±

But Xavier Garc¨ªa Albiol, head of the Popular Party in Catalonia (PPC), said that ¡°independence is not going to take place, not on the 9th, on the 10th or on the 8th.¡±

Garc¨ªa Albiol said he trusted the Mariano Rajoy administration and ¡°our democratic institutions¡± to make the best decisions. ¡°How we do it is not as important as the end result,¡± he said, justifying the use of force as a legitimate tool of the state.

¡°Those who are perpetrating this coup are the ones who should end up paying the consequences,¡± he added. ¡°It is us in the Popular Party who are going to have a harder time of it. But between doing nothing and being willing to act and get our noses punched, we prefer the latter option.¡±

English version by Susana Urra.