Russia"s Alleged Meddling In Catalan Vote: Playing The Blame Game

Authored by Alex Gorka via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

Few people are able to recognize their own mistakes. Many prefer to deny the truth becoming willfully oblivious to obvious facts. Why assume responsibility if there is such a thing as blame shifting - a true-and-tried method to get away with it? Pointing a finger at someone else to divert attention serves the purpose.

There is method to this madness and Western politicians have been resorting to blame-shifting tactic increasingly often. Each and everything going awry in the world is the fault of Russia. The drive of peoples for independence is a good example. Take Catalonia to illustrate the point.

The Spanish government said on Nov.10 that it had noted news manipulation about the Catalan crisis on social media originating from Russia’s territory. Spain"s government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo said disinformation on social networks was a "serious issue." According to Spanish Defence Minister Maria Dolores de Cospedal, the government had established that "many messages and interventions via social networks come from Russian territory." She did not offer any specific examples to confirm the affirmation. Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said there was evidence of activity by Russian networks and hackers. The trolls are said to be spreading misinformation across social media to further "destabilize" Spain and the EU.

The issue was even raised at the EU foreign and defense ministers meeting on Nov.13-14, where Spain briefed the EU on the alleged interference. The debate comes after eight member states urged EU foreign service chief Federica Mogherini to build up the counter-propaganda cell in her service.

Spanish media have many times attacked Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik Spanish language services for instigating tensions in Catalonia, supporting the separatist movement. El Pais daily wrote an editorial on Nov. 10 denouncing "the intense campaign by Russian media that are close to the Kremlin," whose "propaganda machine" it accused of siding with the pro-independence movement.

NATO leadership chimed in. On Nov.9, US General Curtis Scaparrotti, the commander of NATO forces in Europe, called on Russia to stop “meddling” into European elections. He was concerned over Russia’s “malign influence’ in other countries. The Atlantic Council, a US-based think-tank close to NATO, has published a report suggesting that Russia was seeking to meddle in support of Catalan independence and to discredit the Spanish central government"s position that the referendum on independence held on Oct. 1 was illegal. El Pais, the Washington Times and Politico all issued publications alleging that an army of Russian bots had perfected their techniques of online influence and thus ensured the October 1 vote went down the path of separation.

If the accusations were true, it would mean that Russia-backed media networks operate to undermine Russia’s official position on the issue made clear in a Foreign Ministry’s statement. Russia has consistently voiced its respect for Spain’s territorial integrity.

Can anyone of sane mind believe that Russia’s “meddling” is the real reason to make over 40 percent of Catalans support independence?

Has Russia been behind the 95-year-old independence movement in Catalonia?

 

Has Russia made the Catalans’ language and culture distinct?

 

Did Russia make Francisco Franco oppress the Catalan people?

 

Has Russia provoked the economic crisis in Spain, which has served to magnify calls for Catalan independence?

 

Has Russia made Catalans believe that the current tax structure is unfair?

 

Has Russia made Madrid unwilling to renegotiate Catalonia’s autonomy agreement?

 

Has Russia written Spain’s constitution, which expressly prohibits a region from breaking away unilaterally?

 

Did Moscow order Spanish police to use brutal force, while preventing the unconstitutional vote?

 

If it didn’t count, why take such pains to stop it?

 

Several world leaders and political figures condemned the violence specifically. Did Russia make them do it?

 

Did Russia make the EU abstain from mediation effort? And, finally, does Russia stand to gain from an independent Catalonia?

With many publications on the issue, no evidence has been produced to demonstrate a link between the Russian government and Catalonia vote.

Obviously, the use of the "Russian meddling" narrative seems to work as a distraction from the wrongdoing of the Spanish government. The fantasy provides a convenient scapegoat to avoid responsibility of the Spanish government for missing opportunities to launch meaningful political dialogue with Catalonia and mishandling of the vote.

 Spain is by far not the only country to use the narrative to its own advantage. As Karl Sharro, a well-known British architect and satirist, commented on the results of UK elections, “The most disappointing thing about the UK election is there wasn"t even a hint of Russian interference. It"s like we don"t matter at all.”

Why The Catalan Independence Movement Is Failing

Via GEFIRA,

The Catalan fight for independence is not how conflicts are fought throughout history, let alone how they are won.

Some movements for national independence have succeeded in history, others have not. Presently, it seems that the Catalan bid is destined to fail. Maybe in the future Catalans will change their strategy and achieve their goal, but at the moment of writing the Catalan independence movement can be described as a storm in a teacup.

We therefore looked at what worked in the past and is missing right now, or what clearly is not working.

1. A bad plan to begin with.

Catalan independence is about claiming sovereignty from Madrid, just to immediately relinquish it to Brussels. If this had been decades ago, before the 1992 Maastricht Treaty, maybe it wouldn’t have mattered. Now, especially after the Brexit vote, the EU leadership has decided to push forward with the European Federalist project, starting possibly with a Eurozone financial minister as proposed by French President Macron.The latter’s plan also includes a Eurozone budget and that’s where the Catalan plan makes even less sense: part of the resentment towards Madrid is because Catalans do not like regional fiscal transfers towards the rest of Spain. Would they like it if fiscal transfers were towards other European regions via Macron’s proposed Eurozone budget?Many

Catalans also resent the “austerity” imposed by Madrid. Yet it’s not Madrid imposing it, it’s Brussels. Yet Catalans want to dump Madrid because of austerity and then join Brussels?

Why leave a political system because of its unnerving centralism just to join one that is shifting towards centralization, even further from the will of the people?

The EU also does not like referenda.Mainly because it tends to be on the losing side. It lost the ones on the “European Constitution” in 2004 in the Netherlands and France. The Constitution was then pragmatically swapped into “Lisbon’s Treaty” with a number of formal changes, but even that one was rejected in a referendum by the Irish. This time, the EU leadership forced a remake, finally succeeding.

More recent examples saw the Greek referendum on austerity in the summer of 2015, where the Greeks rejected the “Troika”, just to be forced into a humiliating surrender; the Dutch referendum on the association treaty with Ukraine, which also rejected the agreement; and the already mentioned one in the UK on the European Union membership. The EU’s track record in referenda is poor at best, thus it’s no surprise that EU leaders distrust direct democracy. Indeed, the European Commission through the agency of its President Juncker, refused to support the Catalan bid,fearing an opening of Pandora’s box and further political fragmentation, that would allow anyone to leave political systems (including the EU) at will. One Brexit was enough.

The EU can’t also let Catalonia go without incurring needless risks; nor can Spain. As we explained previously, Catalan independence could spark a second Eurozone debt crisis.

Catalan nationalists chose to overlook the centralist, pro-austerity and anti-direct democracy nature of the current European Union. A bit too much to be ignored.

2. Inconclusive leadership.

The now former Catalan President Puigdemont is a champion of missing opportunities. If there ever was a chance to succeed, it was right after the referendum, regardless of its democratic credibility, when the moral was high and there was a momentum of political support. Puigdemont flinched. His first speech after the referendum left many supporters confused. He then signed a declaration of independence, just to suspend it within seconds.

Can anyone imagine the Founding Fathers of the United States of America doing the same? Or the Greek ones after the war with the Ottoman Empire?

When Puigdemont finally decided to go forward, it was too late. He had missed his date with history. There might not be another one.

3. Gun-free society.

American supporters of the Second Amendment will love this one. It is not necessarily an endorsement, but a historical observation. The former claim to fight against centralism just like their ancestors fought against the King of England. Catalans want to fight against Castilian centralism and the King of Spain (independent Catalonia would be a republic).

The irony is that a sizeable portion of Catalan nationalists within the Catalan parliament are left-of-the-centre progressives.We wonder thus if Catalan progressives now feel that the US Second Amendment is still a “relic of the past” and similarly shun the need for a “well regulated militia” against an oppressive government, like American progressives do.

Looking at historical precedents, why are the French still celebrating the “Bastille Day” as a symbol of their revolution? The fortress didn’t serve only as a prison, it was also an armory.

Catalonia also lacks its own army, while it can rely on its own police force, the “Mossos d’Esquarda”. Not enough to stop the Spanish forces to regain control of the situation with ease.

4. Lack of international recognition or foreign support.

We once again look at past examples: the French fought on the side of the American revolutionaries against the British; the British and the Russians fought on the side of the Greek in 1821. More recent examples, the US backed Slovenia, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo and Montenegro in the successive splits from Serbia-dominated Yugoslavia. Similarly the US is backing the Kurdish ambition in Syria, while the Russians backed the Crimeans in their secession from Ukraine.

No one backed Catalonia. Nor has anyone so far recognized its independence. Foreign backing generally comes from powers interested in destabilizing the country facing a secessionist movement. No one seems to be interested in destabilizing Spain right now.

Foreign support often provides the weaponry for the insurgents to succeed in overthrowing the oppressors; should a civil war start in Catalonia and should a foreign power start to provide weapons to the Catalan insurgents, the Spanish government could be forced to let Catalonia go or fight an extremely costly war. However, we are not at this point.

Catalans put their faith in the EU, but it was misguided if not plainly delusional as discussed previously.

5. The “snowflake” generation.

Mass crowd rallies waving flags can be inspiring. They can also be hard to control once in movement. Not every crowd is the same, though. Waving flags does not make you independent. Not even the unilateral declaration of independence makes you so. A conditio sine qua non for an aspiring sovereign state is the ability to control its territory and defend it. Catalonia doesn’t seem to be able to do that.

When you look at the crowds of Catalan nationalists, there’s a widespread support among the youth. None of them however did any military service whatsoever. This is a common issue in Western Europe. The last generation that fought a war, the Second World War, is either dead or on its way out. Since then, military service has been progressively abolished. New generations don’t know how to fight.

They also don’t seem to be aware of what exactly they were doing. The Spanish Constitution forbids secession, hence Catalan independence is a rebellion against the constitutional order and as such is being treated by the Spanish government: it’s a revolution. When the Spanish police reacted against the Catalan referendum, Catalan nationalists took it on social media to express their outrage against “fascist Spain”. The disdain seemed to be shared by many Westerners. However, in every other part of the world, and at any other point in history, events of this type would leave dead bodies on the floor, regardless of “fascism”.

We are not inciting violence with this, we are simply making a historical observation.

It seems that the great plan of Catalan nationalists for independence was “Step aside while I make a revolution, otherwise I’m going to call you names. On Twitter. And maybe make a video on Youtube and share it with my friends on Facebook.” That’s it.

While Kurds are fighting Islamic terrorists and brandishing AK-47s in Syria, Catalans are brandishing their Iphones. The former are fighting for independence, the latter look like they are attending a pop concert.

Catalans over-relied on social media outrage to support their cause, just to find out that after a few days, people go back to their lives and lose interest. Nobody lifted a finger in favour of Catalonia. Not even Catalans themselves. It might be that the region is still wealthy despite some problems, hence a civil war would result in more material loss than the Catalans are ready to put up with for the prize of independence. This is not how revolutions are done.

Europe Will Reap What Spain Has Sown

Authored by Wayne Madsen via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

The Spanish government decided to reach back into its history and borrow from the playbook of longtime Spanish fascist dictator Francisco Franco in dealing with Catalonia’s decision to declare independence from the Spanish Kingdom as the Republic of Catalonia. The Catalan government’s decision to declare independence followed an October 1 referendum in the region that resulted in a “yes” for independence.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, whose Popular Party is a direct political descendant of Franco’s fascist Falangist Party, wasted no time in invoking, for the first time, Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, which allows the Spanish Kingdom to impose direct rule on regions not adhering to the whiplashing from Madrid. Catalonia is the first, but possible not the last victim, of Spain’s neo-fascism on display for the entire world.

During the Spanish Civil War, the Catalans and Basques fought with bravery on behalf of the Spanish Second Republic against the fascist forces of Franco and his fascists. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini provided all-out support for Franco, much like the European Union, NATO, and the United States have fully backed Rajoy in his confrontation with Catalonia. Spain’s King Felipe VI October 3 speech, in which he condemned the Catalan referendum’s pro-independence results, was seen by many Catalans, as well as other groups like the Basques, Galicians, and Andalusians, as an unnecessary involvement in politics. Not only Catalans, but others across Spain, began calling for the scrapping of the Bourbon family’s monarchy and the establishment of the Spanish Third Republic. The Bourbons have little respect among the working peoples of Spain and France. After all, it was an ancestor of Felipe VI, Louis XVI of France, who lost his head to a French revolutionary guillotine after ignoring the poverty of the French people.

Spain’s reaction to Catalonia’s independence was swift and reminiscent of Hitler’s extinguishment of Austria’s independence in his infamous “Anschluss” (union) between Nazi Germany and Austria. Rajoy ordered the sacking of Catalan First Minister Carles Puigdemont; his entire Cabinet, chief of the Catalan Mossos d’Esquadra police Jose Luis Trapero, Catalan representatives in Madrid, Brussels, Strasbourg, London, Paris, Copenhagen, Rome, Berlin, Vatican City, Lisbon, Rabat, Warsaw, Vienna, Zagreb, and Geneva; and even Catalan schoolteachers. Catalan government ministers were replaced with lisp-talking Castillian apparatchiks sent to the Catalan capital of Barcelona to administer, by fiat, all Catalan government institutions. Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria took over Puigdemont’s job, while Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido took over the Catalan police functions from Trapero. Police duties in Catalonia were largely transferred from the Mossos d’Esquadra to the feared “Guardia Civil,” the notorious political enforcers for Franco’s fascist regime that were created by Franco as a Spanish version of Nazi Germany’s Gestapo.

The Madrid regime announced that new Catalan elections would be held on December 21 of this year, however, it is far from clear whether Catalonia’s pro-independence parties will be permitted to field candidates. Madrid may proscribe all of Catalonia’s pro-independence parties and groups, including “Junts Pel Sí” ("Together For Yes") and the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP), leaving only pro-Spanish parties like Rajoy’s neo-fascist Popular Party and the accommodationist Socialists, Ciudadanos, and George Soros-financed Podemos on the ballot. Moreover, Madrid has threatened to put on trial all of Catalonia’s independence leaders for sedition. Sedition convictions under Spanish law carry a maximum 15-year prison term.

Madrid also ordered shut down a Catalan government special commission that was investigating Spanish police brutality against Catalan citizens during pro-independence demonstrations following the October 1 referendum. Ominously, the Madrid authorities ordered sacked police chief Trapero to turn in his passport, a sign that Madrid is contemplating seizing the passports of all of Catalonia’s independence leaders to prevent them from operating a Republic of Catalonia government-in-exile. The precedent for such action was the anti-Franco Spanish Second Republic’s government-in-exile established in Paris in 1939 after Franco’s seizure of Spain. After Nazi Germany’s invasion of France in 1940, the government-in-exile moved to Mexico City, where it was recognized by Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, Venezuela, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, and Albania until its dissolution in 1977 after Spain’s so-called “constitutional monarchy” was restored after Franco’s death. The seizure of passports from Catalan officials and the closure of Catalan foreign missions abroad by Madrid is clearly aimed at preventing a Catalan government-in-exile from being formed.

Today, Rajoy and his junta have the support of all the major corporate periodicals in Spain, El País, El Mundo, ABC, El Razón, and Barcelona’s quisling newspaper La Vanguardia. However, no newspaper endorsements or messages of support from Donald Trump, Angela Merkel, Theresa May, and Jean-Claude Juncker that will enable Rajoy’s thugs to keep Catalonia under his boot heel. Catalonia’s future will be determined by its own people and their friends abroad, many of whom have rallied to Catalonia’s cause.

No sooner had Catalonia declared its independence, messages of support began streaming into Barcelona.

Jean-Guy Talamoni, the president of the National Assembly of Corsica, a French island where independence sentiment is strong, praised the “birth of the Republic of Catalonia.” Carole Delga, the president of the French region of Occitania, where Catalan is spoken in the Pyrenees-Orientales department, recognized Occitania’s strong ties to Catalonia and called for urgent talks between Spanish and Catalan authorities to maintain the civil peace.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has promised a second Scottish independence referendum, voiced support for Catalonia. The leader of the Scottish National Party government in Edinburgh said, “The right to self-determination is an important international principle, and I hope very much it will be respected in Catalonia, and everywhere else." There is every reason to believe that Rajoy is seizing the Spanish European Union passports of Catalan leaders to prevent them from establishing a government-in-exile in either Edinburgh or Glasgow, two cities from which they could have at their service satellite communications links and direct air access to Europe’s major cities. There is a great degree of support among Scots for Catalan independence. The new Catalan Defense Committee Scotland is organizing opposition to Madrid’s aggression against Catalonia. It has stated, “The brutality and repression that has been visited upon the people of Catalonia cannot be allowed to continue, or to be legitimized.” The committee is not only confining its activities in Scotland and is vowing to spearhead a Europe-wide movement.

Catalonia’s cause is also supported by Jan Peumans, the speaker of the Flemish regional parliament. Citing the example of Scotland, Peumans said of Catalonia and his own region of Flanders, that independence of such regions is an “evolution that no European government can avoid.”

Regional leaders in Italy’s Lombardy and Veneto regions, which both voted in favor of more autonomy in recent referendums, rallied to Catalonia’s side and condemned Spain’s arrest and intimidation of Catalan leaders. Separatist leaders in the Faroe Islands, which voted in 1946 for independence from Denmark only to see the Danish government bow to pressure from Washington to keep the islands Danish, hope to repeat the 1946 vote in an April 2018 referendum for a new constitution for an independent Faroes. The declaration of the Republic of Catalonia has provided encouragement to not only the Faroese but those in Greenland who want to see a total break from Danish (and NATO) control.

Rajoy’s junta’s crackdown in Catalonia could also re-ignite the Basque region’s desire for independence. The Basque guerrilla group ETA declared a unilateral cease fire in 2010 but it never fully disarmed. If the Spanish suppression of Catalonia succeeds, the Basques may see themselves as next on Rajoy’s list. Unlike the Catalans, the Basques have shown Madrid that they are quite capable of bringing a war home to the very center of the Spanish state in Madrid. The Galicians may also see their autonomy at risk and a mobilization of the armed “Restistencia Galega” would force Madrid to face multiple fronts in not only Catalonia and the Basque region, but Galicia, as well.

Señor Rajoy and his proto-fascists would do well to listen to the Catalan protesters singing from the streets of Barcelona their traditional Catalan songs and one from the musical “Les Misérables” that should worry the puppet minister for the Bourbon king of Spain: “Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men? It is the music of a people Who will not be slaves again!.. Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me? Beyond the barricade. Is there a world you long to see? Then join in the fight. That will give you the right to be free!”

Spain Won"t Arrest Separatist Leaders, Blames "Fake News" For Catalan Crisis

Following Catalan President Puigdemont"s address yesterday accusing Madrid of "the worst attack since Franco," the Spanish government has urged Catalonians to accept direct control from Madrid and ignore seditious instructions from the pro-independence leaders.

Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis responded on Sunday with the call to obey Madrid.

“We are going to establish the authorities who are going to rule the day-to-day affairs of Catalonia according to the Catalan laws and norms ... I hope everyone will disregard whatever instructions they will be planning to give because they will not have the legal authority to do that.”

However, Dastis sought to calm nerves in the region, saying Madrid would not conduct arrests among the pro-independence leadership, though two prominent secessionists were detained on court order this month on allegations of sedition.

“All the government is trying to do, and reluctantly, is to reinstate the legal order, to restore the constitution but also the Catalan rules and proceed from there,” Dastis told BBC TV.

 

"We are not going to arrest anyone."

Of course, Dastis could not help himself but fall back on the establishment"s "excuse du jour" for anything that does not fit with the maintenance of the status quo... "There has been a lot of alternative facts and fake news"

Spanish FM @AlfonsoDastisQ on Catalonia crisis: "There has been a lot of alternative facts and fake news" https://t.co/zwVkMxFi9X #Marr pic.twitter.com/NvSgSW3J5F

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) October 22, 2017

 

So just how will Madrid take control of Catalonia?

Below are details of the powers the Spanish government plans to assume for a maximum six months before regional elections are held as set out in a proposal to the upper house Senate. As Reuters reports, the measures were formulated under a constitutional provision never before invoked in Spain’s 40 years of democracy.

DIRECT RULE

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is asking for authorization to sack the regional government including president Carles Puigdemont and his deputy Oriol Junqueras, high-profile figures in the independence drive who organized a popular vote on secession on Oct. 1 in defiance of Madrid.

Central government ministries will take over the regional administration until calling fresh elections within six months of direct rule coming into force.

On Saturday, Rajoy said he wanted to convene a vote “as soon as we get back to institutional normality”.

The Catalan parliament will retain a representative role, but the government will operate under the supervision of bodies chosen or created for the purpose by Madrid.

POLICE

The new administrators will take control of the Mossos d‘Esquadra regional police force, which has become embroiled in the controversy over the independence bid after allegedly failing to act to stop the referendum or protect national police who were drafted in to provide extra security.

The Mossos, whose chief is under investigation on suspicion of sedition, will have to act on direct orders from their new bosses. If deemed necessary, Mossos officers may be replaced by national police.

FINANCES

The Economy Ministry has already increased its control over regional finances, to block the use of state funds to organize the secession bid, and started paying directly for essential services. Under the new proposal, Madrid keeps financial control.

PUBLIC MEDIA

Widely-watched Catalan public television TV3 will come under central control. Madrid’s proposal to the Senate says this will ensure the information transmitted is “true, objective and balanced, in line with political, social and cultural pluralism, and territorial balance”.

FORMAL APPROVAL

The Senate, where Rajoy’s People’s Party has a majority, will vote on the proposal on Oct. 27. The opposition Socialist and Ciudadanos parties are backing Rajoy.

After the measures are approved, they can be activated immediately or put on hold to be implemented in the future. Puigdemont could call an election himself before the government’s plan comes into action, in which case direct rule would likely not be implemented.

Which would leave Catalan governed by ministers of a party that got just 8.5% of the vote at the last election...

 

#Catalonia will be governed from Madrid by ministers of a party that got 8.5% of the vote at last Catalan elections. pic.twitter.com/W6avedq3ZS

— Kate Shea Baird (@KateSB) October 21, 2017

 

And what are the Catalan Separatists next moves?

Catalonia"s separatists were weighing their options Sunday, according to AFP, after Spain took drastic steps to stop the region from breaking away by dissolving its separatist government and forcing new elections.

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont and his regional executive -- who sparked Spain"s worst political crisis in decades by holding a banned independence referendum on October 1 -- will be stripped of their jobs and their ministries taken over under measures announced Saturday by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

"Yesterday there was a fully-fledged coup against Catalan institutions," said Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull.

 

"What happens now, with everyone in agreement and unity, is that we will announce what we will do and how," he told Catalunya Radio.

Ahead of a meeting of Catalan parties Monday to organise a crucial session of the regional parliament to debate next steps, Turull insisted on RAC1 radio that elections were "not on the table".

Political analysts warn that Madrid faces a serious struggle in practical terms to impose control over the region.

Potential scenarios include Catalan police and civil servants refusing to obey orders from central authorities.

"What is going to happen if they don"t abide by it?" said Xavier Arbos Marin, a constitutional law professor at the University of Barcelona, raising the prospect of the government trying to "take them out by force".

He said there is fierce debate among experts over whether the government"s actions are even legal.

Independence supporters may also seek to scupper the plans through civil disobedience, such as surrounding regional ministries to thwart officials sent by Madrid.

"If police try to enter one of the Catalan institutions, there will be peaceful resistance," said Ruben Wagensberg, spokesman for new activist group En Pie de Paz.

For now, the game of chicken continues with each side waiting for the other to act first but rest assured, says Spanish Foreign Mnister Dastis, if Catalonians just quietly accept the tyrannical rule of Madrid then...

“everything will be fine, there will be law and order, peaceful life and normal coexistence which is what we’re after.”

"If Catalonia Fails, We All Fail..."

Authored by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

While I’ve touched on the Catalan independence movement in several recent posts, I want to make one thing clear from the start. I don’t have a strong opinion on whether or not independence is the right move for the region and its people. It would be completely inappropriate for me, a U.S. citizen living in Colorado, to lecture people 5,000 miles away on how they should organize their political lives.

While I don’t have an opinion on how Catalans should vote, I unwaveringly support their right to decide the issue for themselves. When it comes to the issue of voting and referendums, we’ve entered a topic far bigger than Catalonia, Spain, or even Europe itself. When it comes to the issue of political self-determination, we’re talking about an essential human right which should be seen as inherent to all of us, everywhere.

The Catalan push for a right for vote on independence should be seen as part of a much larger push toward greater self-determination that humans will demand in increasingly large numbers in the years ahead. The time is ripe for us as a species to insist on a transition toward a more voluntary, sane, peaceful and decentralized process of political organization. This is an idea whose time has come, and I thank the Catalan people from the bottom of my heart for brining it to the fore, and also for conducting themselves in such a noble, courageous and thoughtful manner. You are leading the way for the rest of us.

The key reason Madrid is wrong on this issue relates to its insistence that Spain must sustain itself in its current form forever. Since Spain is a manmade political creation, this is the modern equivalent of claiming a “divine right of kings,” but rather than bestowing this archaic conception on individual rulers, it’s bestowed upon a nation-state. This is not just an absurd position, it’s patently anti-human. As I discussed in the post, It’s Time to Question the Modern Nation-State Model of Governance:

As things stand today, humans essentially have two choices when it comes to political life. We either accept the nation-state we’re born into and play the game to the best of our advantage, or we try to become citizens of another country with values that more align with our own. The only way to really shatter existing political power structures and form new ones is through violent revolution or war, which is an insane way of reorganizing matters of human governance. One of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s key arguments in casting the Catalan referendum as illegal is that Spain is an indivisible nation under the 1978 constitution. Let’s think about what this means in practice.

Anyone who’s spent any time in Spain understands how culturally and linguistically distinct many of the regions are when compared to Madrid. These are differences that go back centuries and can’t be brushed off by a constitution created a few decades ago. The idea that these various regions must be part of a centralized Spain even if the people within the regions want political autonomy is ethically preposterous, as well as authoritarian and evil in every sense of the word. If done properly, human governance should always be a voluntary arrangement. If an overwhelming majority of culturally distinct people within any nation-state decide the super state is no longer working for them, they should have every right to leave. Anything else is bondage.

If humans are going to evolve into better forms of political organization rooted in voluntary associations, we must first reject the clear authoritarian nature of our current political environments. All of us are randomly born into nation-states which we never chose in the first place and told to accept them as eternal structures. The people of Catalonia have realized the absurdity of this and are taking a brave stand on the issue. Anyone who genuinely believes in human rights must stand with the people of Catalonia and support their right to a referendum should they choose to have one.

With political philosophy out of the way, I want to move on to a discussion of strategy and why I think those leading the push for Catalan independence have played their hand brilliantly thus far.

First, leadership’s emphasis on a peaceful movement in the face of thuggish violence and aggression by the Spanish state is of the utmost importance. For an independence movement to succeed and create a better, more free society afterwards, things must be done in a conscious way. As I’ve said many times before, ends never justify the means. The means are everything. Moreover, by exposing the opposition as goons, you foster increased solidarity amongst your neighbors who may have been on the fence when it comes to independence. You also create passionate allies across the world. The Catalan people have succeeded remarkably on all these fronts.

Immediately following the October 1st referendum, I was concerned that Catalan President Carles Puigdemont would make a mistake by prematurely declaring independence. This would’ve been a huge error since while 90% voted for independence, only 40% or so voted. While such a lopsided result certainly makes the case that Catalans deserve a vote for self-determination, it’s not a clear mandate given the low turnout. If the people of Catalonia want to succeed in their push, Madrid must be seen as the unreasonable — and very public — aggressor in virtually every move on the chessboard. By not prematurely declaring independence Catalonia pushed the move back into Madrid’s court, which is wise since the government there has a habit of making really stupid decisions.

Unsurprisingly, it didn’t take long for Spain to make yet another blunder with yesterday’s imprisonment without bail of two of Catalonia’s independence leaders.

Reuters reported:

Spain’s biggest political crisis in decades worsened on Monday night when Madrid’s High Court jailed the heads of Catalonia’s two main separatist groups pending an investigation for alleged sedition.

The Catalan government accused Madrid of taking “political prisoners” and one of the groups has called for peaceful demonstrations around Catalonia on Tuesday, with the biggest expected to begin in Barcelona in the evening.

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, in a tweet following the detentions, said: “Sadly, we have political prisoners again.”

The phrase was an allusion to the military dictatorship under Francisco Franco, when Catalan culture and language were systematically suppressed. It carries an emotional resonance given fascism is still a living memory for many Spaniards.

Knowing that jail was a possibility, Omnium chief Jordi Cuixart had prerecorded a video message. It’s short, powerful and inspiring.

If you think you’ve seen enough, brace yourselves because it may get far more chaotic in the days ahead. If Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy goes through with his threat to invoke Article 155 on Thursday should Catalonia refuse to clarify its position on independence (it won’t), it’ll be the equivalent of a political nuclear bomb going off in Europe.

From the AP:

Spain’s deputy prime minister says that Catalonia’s leader didn’t give an adequate response in his letter about the region’s independence and has until Thursday to comply with the country’s laws.

Carles Puigdemont’s letter, issued two hours before a Monday deadline, didn’t clarify whether he in fact declared Catalonia’s independence from Spain. He called for talks with Spain’s government.

Spain’s central government wanted a simple “yes” or “no” answer from Puigdemont, something that Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said that he didn’t provide.

Saenz de Santamaria said in an address to reporters that “it wasn’t very difficult to say yes or no. That was the question that was asked and the response shouldn’t be complicated.”

She said he has until Thursday morning to fall in line, or faces the possibility of Spain activating Article 155 of the Constitution which would allow the central government to take over parts of Catalonia’s self-governance.

Should the Spanish government activate Article 155, it’ll mark the culmination of a perfectly played independence movement by the Catalans. This isn’t to say that the road to independence, or more autonomy, will be smooth or easy from that point forward, but it will create a sense of increased solidarity amongst the Catalan people that wasn’t as widespread before October 1st. Many of those who opposed independence before, or were on the fence, will come around to standing with their friends and neighbors in the face of unacceptable aggression from Madrid. The road may be a long one, but invoking Article 155 will mark the beginning of the end for Madrid.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the issue of political self-determination is much bigger than Catalonia and Madrid.

The Catalan struggle represents just one battle in an overall human push for freedom and voluntary associations. It’s a fight in a much larger war that absolutely must be won for liberty and progress to blossom on this planet. A battle between decentralization, freedom and voluntary action, against centralization, authoritarianism and coercion.

You know where I stand.

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Watch Live: Catalan's Puigdemont Due To Address Parliament After Delay

Live Feed (due to start at 1pm ET):

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Update (12:00pm ET): La Vanguardia reports that a last-minute meeting delayed the beginning of the plenary session in which Puidemont could declare independence by one hour.

• CUP Group Says Catalan Republic Must Be Proclaimed Today

As The Spain Report reports, there are three rumours being "reported" for sudden Puigdemont delay:

1. CUP isn"t buying text - Perhaps of most concern is that the pro-independence group known as CUP rejects text of speech Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was set to give, news website Independiente reports.

2. International mediation - Govt Spokesman Says International Mediators Contacted Catalans, but remember what Deputy Prime Minister Saenz de Santamaria said earlier: no mediation between "the law and disobedience, democracy and tyranny."

3. PP petition - two opposition parties are asking for the whole session to be suspended, Europa Press says

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The moment of truth (perhaps) is here for Catalonia. The region’s president, Carles Puigdemont, faces immediate arrest if he goes too far down the path of independence, is due to address the Catalan parliament at 6 p.m. (12pmET) in Barcelona on the outcome of an Oct. 1 referendum ruled illegal by the Constitutional Court

The stage is set...

Catalan Parliament tweets photo: "Everything ready in the chamber for appearance by Catalan First Minister".pic.twitter.com/gtdbCu9eOZ

— The Spain Report (@thespainreport) October 10, 2017

European Council president Donald Tusk has urged Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont not to “announce a decision that would make dialogue impossible” in an impassioned speech at the European Committee of the Regions, calling for dialogue with the Spanish government. Tusk said he was speaking “as an ethnic minority” and “as a man who knows what it feels like what it is to be hit by a police baton.”

I appeal to @KRLS not to announce a decision that would make dialogue impossible. Let"s always look for what unites us. United in diversity.

— Donald Tusk (@eucopresident) October 10, 2017

As we noted earlier, the size and reach of the Spanish state"s response to any declaration of independence is unknown: the options range from criminal charges of sedition or rebellion, through the suspension of home rule in Catalonia for an unspecified period of time and even to articles of the Spanish Constitution that allow for the declaration of a state of alarm or exception.

Given the policing shortcomings of the past 10 days, any move to arrest Mr. Puigdemont and members of his regional government would be fraught with potential difficulties.

The Catalan Police, the Mossos, have closed parliament park, the Parc de la Ciutadella, in central Barcelona, erected metal barriers around the parliament building and parked several dozen police vans outside.

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Omnium Cultural and local separatist groups are busy organising untold thousands of supporters to travel to the park and the area outside the High Court, in the adjacent road.

Pro-independence tractors have once again arrived in Barcelona...

As we noted yesterday, Catalonia has declared independence once before. On 6 October 1934, the president of the Generalitat, Lluís Companys, proclaimed a Catalan state, but it did not end well. The move was quickly crushed by the government. Companys was arrested, tried and sentenced to 30 years in prison for rebellion, the autonomous government was suspended and virtually all its members were jailed.

Released after the Popular Front’s victory in Spain’s 1936 elections, he went into exile in France during the Spanish Civil War but was eventually handed over by the Nazis to the Franco regime, tried before a war council and executed in 15 October 1940. A spokesman for Spain’s ruling People’s Party (PP) this week invoked Companys’ memory Pablo Casada warned ominously (and not very diplomatically):

We hope they don’t declare anything tomorrow, because anyone doing so might end up like him 83 years ago, in prison.

Local risk markets are starting to worry with Spanish stocks slumping (closed now) ahead of tonight"s announcement...

And, courtesy of Bloomberg, here is a flowchart laying out the various possible events in Spain over the next 24 hours.

As The Guardian"s Jon Henly details, one of the options the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, could consider is the so-called “Slovenian option” – essentially, a symbolic declaration of independence with the effect delayed by several months, allowing time for international mediation aimed at convincing Madrid to negotiate a later, legally guaranteed referendum.

The term derives from the Brioni Agreement, signed on 7 July 1991 by the representatives of Slovenia, Croatia and Yugoslavia with the mediation of what was then the European Community. Aimed at creating an environment for further talks on Yugoslavia’s future, it put a stop to hostilities between Yugoslavia and Slovenia and ultimately ended Belgrade’s influence over Ljublana.

Under the agreement, Slovenia – which had declared independence two weeks previously – agreed to suspend all practical steps towards self-rule for three months, while Yugoslavia pulled its troops out. The deal also fixed rules for border and customs controls on Slovenia’s borders and resolved air traffic control problems.

International lawyers have said a similar approach by Catalonia could have political if not legal advantages, effectively buying the regional government time and allowing it not to disappoint two million voters while recognising that independence is not immediately feasible in the current circumstances.

“So you say, ’We’re not giving up, we’re continuing forward, but we’re appealing to the international community to act as a mediator and convince the Spanish state to agree to a referendum with legal guarantees,’” Joan Vintró, lawyer and lecturer on constitutional law at the University of Barcelona, told The Local.

“It’s a way of not renouncing your objective while creating waiting time, within the margin of which you can negotiate on different fronts to either make independence effective from a certain time, or to submit to a legally guaranteed referendum,” Vintro said.

“This is going to be a historical day regardless of the consequences,” Alejandro Quiroga, professor of Spanish history at the University of Newcastle, England, said by phone.

“The tension has reached such a point that something has to happen and if the Catalan government wants to declare independence, now is the best time, while it’s still got international attention.”

Natixis just dropped the following flowchart to explain their view of the possibility of political crisis in Europe...

Jatras: All Of Spain Should Vote On Catalan Independence

Hundreds of thousands of Catalonians took to the streets - estimated by the police at 350,000 people, though organizers said it was twice that - to demonstrate against independence this weekend:

“Catalonia is not all for independence,” said José Manuel Alaminos, a 64-year-old lawyer. He said that Carles Puigdemont, the regional president who has led the independence movement, “is supposed to represent all of us.”

The separatist push has brought about one of Spain’s worst constitutional crises since the end of the Franco dictatorship nearly 43 years ago.

“But we are Catalonians too! The world doesn’t know the truth,” Mr. Alaminos said, pointing to the enormous crowd. “This is the truth.”

Despite the overwhelmning results of the referendum, the region remains, in fact, deeply split over independence.

Additionally, in an interview with El Pais newspaper, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said he will consider taking the so-called "nuclear option" - the dramatic measure of suspending Catalonia"s autonomous status - as Catalan leaders escalate threats to declare independence from the country, which could culminate with a parliamentary announcement as soon as Monday.

Asked if he was ready to trigger article 155, Rajoy told El Pais newspaper:

“ I am not ruling out anything that the law says. What I have to do is do things at the right time, which is the most important thing right now. The ideal situation would be to not have to take drastic solutions, but for that to happen there would have to be rectifications."

It remains unclear just how the current Spain crisis is resolved: the past week in Catalonia has been nothing short of chaotic, but James George Jatra, via The Strategic Culture Foundation, has one potential solution: All Of Spain Should Vote On Catalan Independence.

There is a certain frame of mind that believes that secession by ethnic minorities is an absolute good in itself. Asked the question, “Should Region X have the right to secede from Country Y?”, a lot of people will answer with a resounding “Yes!” without knowing or even caring where X and Y are or who lives there.

Others are more selective, relying instead on the Bolshevik principle of kto-kovo (“who-whom”), which relegates the righteousness of secession to whether or not the observer likes or dislikes the state in question. This is typical of western governments. Good secessions are from countries we don’t like – Serbia above all, of course. Independent Kosovo: good. Montenegro’s separation from its union with Serbia: good. But Republika Srpska’s possible separation from Bosnia and Herzegovina: bad. Independence of Serbian Kraijinas from secessionist Croatia: emphatically bad. Northern Kosovo and Metohija’s separation from “sovereign, independent Kosovo”: very, very bad.

The only constant: Serbs are always wrong.

The same subjective kto-kovo frames conflicts in the former Soviet Union. The deus ex machina independence of all the former Union Republics was an automatic and positive development. But the desire of any portion of them – Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Adzharia (Georgia), Pridnestrovie, Gagauzia (Moldova), Crimea, Donbass (Ukraine) – to leave its former Union Republic is per se illegitimate, notwithstanding the 1990 Soviet law on secession requiring separate referenda in such entities.

The desire of Catalans – or more precisely, of some undetermined portion of people living in Catalonia – to secede from Spain is different because it doesn’t fit into the usual kto-kovo international lineup. One finds among Catalan sympathizers many of the usual partisans of biased western selectivity as well as some of their fiercest critics (such as the usually sound Pepe Escobar). Likewise, members of both of the usual camps have expressed opposition to Catalan secession, either out of mechanical support for “western institutions” (the European Union, the US) or consistent support for the principle of state sovereignty (the government of Serbia and most of the countries that oppose an independent Kosovo).

In the court of public opinion, the pro-independence camp has gained the upper hand. While the Catalan referendum was clearly illegal under Spanish law and the Spanish authorities had every right to shut it down, the TV images of police using physical force to prevent people from casting a ballot played badly against Madrid – which is no doubt what was intended. If, as expected, Catalan independence is declared in the coming days, Madrid will have little choice but to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy, further radicalizing the situation. (Remember how the west falsely cited Slobodan Milosevic’s supposedly “abolishing” of Kosovo’s “constitutionally guaranteed autonomy” in 1989 as proof of an impending “final solution” against the province’s Albanians.)

The morality play of Madrid’s “authoritarian” violation of “democracy” brings us to another canard: the notion that the “will of the Catalan people” is paramount. This is misguided for at least two reasons...

First, who decided that Catalonia as a subdivision of Spain, or of Catalans as a distinct nation, is in a position to asset a sovereign, united “will” apart from the rest of Spain? As was the case with Kosovo (and just a week ago, in Iraqi Kurdistan), Catalonia demonstrates the futility of granting autonomy to a region based on a minority ethnic, linguistic, or religious identity. Doing so only whets that minority’s demand for more cession of power, culminating in the demand for independence. (Hence, in Serbia the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina endorsed the Catalan referendum.)

Second, granting presumptive sovereignty to an aspiring secessionist entity always ends up shortchanging those who don’t want to secede. This can take more than one form. One example is the “West Virginia” model, whereby one region within the entity doesn’t want to leave; comparable to Pridnestrovie, South Ossetia, Republika Srpska, etc. Another is intimidation of citizens who are loyal to the common state – who according to polls represent a majority in Catalonia. As stated by film director Isabel Coixet i Castillo in El País:

I see now, with horrifying clarity, that no matter what happens next, there is no room here for me or for anybody who dares to think independently, even though this is my birthplace. Today it is insults against me, yesterday it was insults against members of my family; the day before it was insults against friends of mine whose other friends openly criticize the fact that the former are still friends with me. And tomorrow, it will be something worse. [ . . . ]

Because if, when you condemn the (Spanish) government’s actions, you don’t also condone the Catalan government’s actions, you immediately become an enemy, a fascist, a fascistoid, a Franco follower, the scum of the earth. And you think about the fear that has already covered, like spores, the skin of all those people who keep quiet but who secretly come tell you that they’re on your side – that they are grateful for what you are doing, and then they tell you that they don’t even talk about the situation inside their own homes, for fear that their children will hear them and get into trouble at school.

These are not mere anecdotes. This is the reality on the ground for those of us who live here. This is the new, shocking fracture of a society that used to live in peace and without fear, with logical differences of opinion and different values and different criteria, but always on a foundation of respect.

Madrid has stumbled badly. Whether the situation is already unsalvageable is unclear at this point. What is clear is that increasing confrontation and repression, however legal and even necessary, will bolster the intolerant, revolutionary repression of Spanish patriots and embolden secessionists.

When Catalan authorities scheduled their referendum, Madrid could have coopted it by saying, “Great idea! The whole of Spain will vote on whether Catalonia should be independent.”

Not only would that have given the rest of the country a voice, it would have allowed the cowed and silent majority within Catalonia to express its will. Perhaps even at this late date it’s an idea the Spanish government should consider.

Everything You Need to Know About the Catalan Independence Referendum

Via The Daily Bell

It’s all illegal! That’s Madrid’s position on the referendum in Catalonia. Of about 5.5 million eligible voters, about 2.4 million chose–or were able–to cast ballots. 90% of them voted in favor of independence from Spain.

Spanish courts have ruled, and leaders have repeated, that the country’s Constitution does not allow a region to separate. European Union courts have echoed this position.

Of course, Spain’s response to the vote was completely legal. This involved sending police into the region to close polling stations, seize ballots, and deliver some old-fashioned fascist beatings. But it was all to protect democracy, naturally.

The response of the Spanish government is perplexing. They basically strengthened the resolve of the Catalans to remove themselves from an aggressive and violent subjugator. The Spanish government’s response was reminiscent of military dictator Francisco Franco’s suppression of the Catalan language and culture prior to his death in 1975.

Through their actions to stop the referendum, they showed exactly why Catalonia would want to be independent of Spain.

Further proving the independent nature of the region, Spain had to send in an occupying force to suppress the referendum and attack anyone who tried to vote.

In a sign that Spanish police reinforcements sent to Catalonia might be there for an extended stay, an army logistics unit sent bunkbeds, kitchens and showers to an army barracks near Barcelona in case the police need to use the military base at some point, a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.

Some police staying at hotels in Catalonia have come under pressure from local residents to leave.

Police officers from inside the region of Catalonia would not follow the orders of Madrid.

Police from the region will actually be prosecuted by the Spanish government for inaction. They refused to break up peaceful protests and generally stood down rather than follow orders to brutalize anyone attempting to vote.

Meanwhile, Catalan firefighters lined up to form a human shield to protect protesters from the invading police force.

Firemen and people face off Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station for the banned independence referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Media present for the vote are reporting that journalists in the area have been suppressed by the government as well.

To summarize, it started with pro-referendum Catalan politicians being arrested. Then an invading force of police suppressed the right of Catalans to vote, attacking and injuring almost 1,000 innocent citizens and non-violent protesters. The police shut down hundreds of polling stations, seized ballots, and attempted to shut out media coverage of their violence.

The government of the region which pressed ahead for the region’s right to self-governance, have the backing of a vast majority of voters who were able to express themselves at the polls. The local police and firefighters are standing behind the people of their region and defying Madrid.

It is unclear how many more people would have cast votes if the government had not responded so violently. We also don’t know how many ballots that were cast were seized and destroyed by Madrid. But since over 42% of eligible voters managed to get their ballot in, and since 90% of those voted for independence, we can say with certainty that at least 38% of eligible Catalan voters support the right to rule their own region.

It is worth noting that many Catalans against independence boycotted the vote.

If Catalonia had no reason to secede before, now they have plenty.

Just look at the pictures and video coming out of how the police are treating the Catalans. You see bloody and battered elderly. You see women being thrown to the ground and tossed aside by police in riot gear. You see men being beaten and dragged by officers.

In the following clip, you can see police breaking into a polling place in order to stop voters. The police handing out beatings and breaking down doors are acting legally. The people voting to disengage from the government these forces represent are acting illegally.

 

Who cares what the law has to say? The people of Catalonia did not agree to the Spanish Constitution. And if Spain believes in democracy, as they claim, then why wouldn’t a region be able to vote itself independent?

You always hear talk of law, and courts, as if that meant anything. Spain wants them to follow a legal procedure if they want independence because it guarantees that they will never get it!

What is the obsession with having to play by the enemy’s rules?

 

You want to look at the real rule of law, look at the police swarming into Catalonia and attacking the people. The clip above shows how laws are ultimately enforced, with violence. There is nothing right or moral about the law. Law is written by the government to enforce their interests. It has nothing to do with rights or general human decency. It has nothing to do with resolving disputes, as common law does. Statute law only creates conflict, instead of letting two disagreeing parties go their separate ways.

Catalonia is paving the way for other regions to seek the same independence. It is the first step in a process of self-governance. The smaller the governing structure, the easier it is to change or resist.

It is not hard to see that central governments behave like abusive partners, threatening and carrying out violence when their partner tries to leave. Catalonia accounts for 15% of Spain’s population and 20% of its GDP. It is a net payer into the country’s coffers.

And what do they get in return for being Spain’s cash cow? They get to fund the police who are sent in to shut them up when they start to exercise their rights.

All being said though, how can a region expect to be independent if they cannot defend themselves against outside aggression?

I hope that in these modern times the demand for peace is enough to defend them. I hope that Catalonia does not have to start killing the cops who are occupying the region to subjugate them. I want to see Spain retreat not because of a violent resistance, but because of a peaceful refusal to accept such barbarism in the 21st century.

As divorced as governments are from the pressure of the market, there are similar effects that can take place through public opinion, much like boycotting a business.

When businesses mess up, they have to apologize and quickly correct their actions. Usually, someone high up gets fired, and they retrain all the lower personnel involved. If they don’t make a serious effort at reform, their business will lose customers who do not have a stomach for whatever negative actions they took.

And it does appear that Spain’s economy is already taking a hit.

The constitutional crisis in Spain, the euro zone’s fourth-biggest economy, has shaken the common currency and hit Spanish stocks and bonds. Madrid’s borrowing costs have risen sharply and reached their highest since March on Wednesday.

The cost of insuring against potential losses on Spanish bank debt and Spanish, Italian and Portuguese sovereign debt has also jumped, suggesting an impact on the wider euro zone.

I would expect these actions would harm tourism to Spain. If the conflict becomes too costly, I would expect Spanish voters to become angry at those in charge, like the Prime Minister.

I would expect other governments, with the proper pressure from their citizens, to reject the violence of the Spanish government. Evening knowing full well they would want to react in the same way, other governments would likely be tempted to protect their image and admonish the violence of Madrid.

Officials from Catalonia, as well as the European Union, have called for Spain to open up a dialogue with Catalonia. While the Catalan politicians say they are willing to negotiate, Spain says they are not. Prime Minister Rajoy says he will not sit down for negotiations until Catalonia returns to the law. That is the same law that allows his forces to attack and terrorize the Catalans.

Movements like Catalan independence are great for freedom because they give people more options. The easier it is to move to a better jurisdiction, the more responsive governments must be.

That is what made Europe relatively free, compared to the East, in the first place. Many small countries had to treat their citizens relatively well, or lose them to a competing nation closeby. These countires had to allow their people the freedom to produce, to learn, and adopt innovation, or suffer at the hands of their technologically advanced neighbors.Competition will improve governments.

Competition will improve governments. The more governments to choose from, the better.

195 countries do not provide enough options for a world population approaching 8 billion.

Catalan politicians are now pressing ahead to get the parliament of Catalonia to officially declare independence. In response, Spain has threatened to resolve the region’s parliament.

Spain Says "Referendum Won't Happen", To Shut Barcelona Airspace After Catalan Separatists Unveil Ballot Boxes

The Spanish government reiterated its angry rhetoric this morning that the "Catalan referendum won"t happen" with Íñigo Méndez de Vigo saying "organizers will be held responsible," after they unveiled the ballot boxes and discussed the 2,315 polling stations to be used.

Madrid, which claims the authority of a constitution that declares the country to be indivisible, remained implacably opposed to the vote. As Reuters reports,

“I insist that there will be no referendum on Oct. 1,” central government spokesman Mendez de Vigo told a news conference following the weekly cabinet meeting, reiterating that the vote was illegal.

It appears the Catalans are ignoring him...

In a sign that large crowds are again expected on the streets on Sunday, department store chain El Corte Ingles said it would shut three stores in central Barcelona. The central government said airspace above the city would be partly restricted.

Lines of tractors draped in the red-and-yellow striped Catalan flag left provincial towns on Friday, planning to converge on Barcelona in a sign of support for the referendum.

Catalonia"s vice president says more than six out of ten voters are expected to cast ballots during the region"s independence referendum despite the Spanish government"s aggressive efforts to stop the vote. As AP reports,

Oriol Junqueras said Friday that Catalan citizens will be able to vote on Sunday "even if somebody takes voting stations by assault and tries to avoid something as natural as placing a voting slip in a ballot."

Spain"s Constitution says that only the nation"s government can call a referendum on sovereignty. Police forces acting on judges" orders have seized ballots and arrested regional officials in an unprecedented crackdown.

Junqueras says an internal poll showed that more than 60 percent of the 5.3 million eligible voters plan to cast ballots.

As TheSpainReport reports, after weeks of speculation, Catalan regional government ministers unveiled the ballot boxes they mean to use for the suspended referendum vote this Sunday.

The ballot boxes are made of grey and black opaque plastic.

During a press conference before the unveiling of the ballot boxes, Deputy First Minister Oriol Junqueras said there would be 2,315 polling stations on Sunday, with 6,239 voting tables, and that there were 7,235 people involved in organising the referendum.

"Neither the Catalan government nor Catalan citizens are doing anything wrong", he said.

Fascinatingly, Bloomberg reports that Spain’s aviation authority will restrict airspace over Barcelona during the weekend of illegal referendum on Catalan independence.

Step is in line with policy during events that attract large crowds such as major soccer matches or demonstrations, spokesman for Public Works Ministry says by phone.

Of course, enforcing the government"s wishes falls to the local police, and as The Wall Street Journal notes, they continue to see their loyalties tested...

Since it was established in the 1980s, Mossos has been one of the most visible symbols of Catalonia’s autonomy, answering directly to the Catalan Interior Ministry rather than to Madrid. Among the other 16 Spanish autonomous regions, the Basque Country is the only other to have a fully independent police force.

Some Mossos officials and other people familiar with the matter say Mossos won’t stop people from voting Sunday as long as there’s a sizable number of voters inside polling stations, which those officials believe would give officers public-order grounds not to intervene.

“Some of the measures asked by prosecutors can’t be followed without creating a bigger conflict than the one they say they want to prevent,” Joaquim Forn, Catalonia’s regional interior minister, said in an interview.

Catalan leader Puigdemont called on the police not to act in a “political” way when carrying out their duties on Sunday.

“I would like them to use the same standards that the Catalan regional police use. Not political standards, not on political orders, but policing and professional standards,” he said.

The Wall Street Journal explains how they believe the Catalan Independence vote is likely to play out...

What can be expected from the referendum?

The government of Catalonia, a wealthy region in northeastern Spain with a distinct history and language, is forging ahead with an independence referendum, even though Spain’s constitutional court has suspended the vote and the central government has declared it illegal. Spanish officials, prosecutors and judges have launched an all-out effort to block it by sending thousands of police to the region to confiscate ballots and ballot boxes, shutting down pro-referendum websites and arresting Catalan officials. Even though police have orders to stop the vote, the Catalan government has said it will still go ahead.

Will police try to stop the vote from taking place?

Madrid has sent about 4,000 national police officers to the region, with orders to seal polling stations. But that may not be enough to stop the ballot in many sites, especially if the Catalan police corps claim public-order grounds to avoid intervening when a sizable number of voters are present. Pro-independence supporters plan to occupy polling stations starting Friday, but police might still succeed in sealing off a few of them. This could force some attendees to hold a makeshift vote instead.

What is the result likely to be?

The latest official poll showed the independence camp has lost some support over the past three years: 35% of Catalans want independence, compared with 49% in 2013. But a survey earlier this month by Catalan pro-independence newspaper ARA found that almost 70% of those who are planning to vote are in favor of secession. However, because Madrid and pro-union parties have declared the referendum illegal, those supporting Catalonia remaining part of Spain are likely to boycott the vote, suggesting a result in favor of secession is more likely.

If the vote is in favor of independence, then what?

That is unclear. Catalonia’s regional president, Carles Puigdemont, has promised to declare independence. But a unilateral move is unlikely to have international recognition, and members of Mr. Puigdemont’s own party have denied a declaration of independence will happen. Such an attempt would likely drive Madrid to seize control of the regional government, although some still hope Barcelona—the Catalan capital—and Madrid could sit down to negotiate a resolution to the region’s grievances. Regardless, pro-independence activists are planning large demonstrations and possibly a general strike aimed at pressuring Madrid to offer a negotiated path toward separation or compelling the European Union to mediate.

Will the economy and financial markets be disrupted?
So far, investors have shown only moderate concern, with Catalan bank stocks struggling a bit. Spain’s borrowing costs have widened slightly relative to Germany’s, with investment banks like J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. recommending investors sell some Spanish bonds. Economic data are strong for both Spain and Catalonia, but a prolonged general strike in the region could hamper the recovery. Were Catalonia to separate, ratings companies warn that Spain could have trouble to repay its debts, since Catalonia makes up 19% of Spanish gross domestic product, but Catalans could face significant financial disruption during their transition toward independence.

Spanish equity markets have been paying attention...

But for now, as Citi notes, while Catalan bonds have weakened, the referendum has not been a focus of FX markets; but it appears the Spanish authorities are getting anxious.

As Bloomberg reports, lenders who may be holding their breath over Spain’s secessionist upheaval can sleep calmly.

The central government will guarantee payment to all creditors of the Catalan regional administration, according to a Budget Ministry official.

Regardless of Catalan separatists’ attempts to hold an illegal referendum for independence on Sunday and possibly declare independence from Spain, the ministry will make sure banks, suppliers and civil servants keep getting paid on time, the official said.

Finally, and entirely unexpectedly, Brussels has very much come down on the side of Madrid with AP reporting that European Union officials have ruled out helping to mediate the clash between Spain"s government and Catalan officials over Catalonia"s upcoming independence referendum.

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani said at an EU summit in Estonia on Friday that the dispute is "a Spanish problem in which we can do little. It"s a problem of respecting Spanish laws that Spaniards have to resolve."

Catalan officials, including the mayor of Barcelona, have asked the EU to mediate the tense standoff ahead of Sunday"s planned vote that Spanish authorities say is illegal.

Tajani says the EU is maintaining its support of Spain"s government because "on a legal level, Madrid is right."

He says: "I think it"s important to talk on a political level after Monday."

Of note is the fact that The EU has said Catalonia will be ejected from the bloc, if it declares independence.