The Catalan Crisis

[Zak]

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It was 07:00am in the north-eastern region of Catalonia and the city had woken up and many citizens were ready for the days happening, it was referendum day, a referendum on whether Catalonia should become an independent state. Over five million people were eligible to vote in the referendum and from what the polls had said, the region will become independent. The main question on the paper was 'Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?'

07:00am: The polls would open across the region of Catalonia, thousands of polling stations had been set up across the region, schools had been closed for the day to allow for voting to take place, certain businesses would also close for the day, allowing for demonstrations to take place.

09:00am: 195,000 would have voted in the first two hours of polling stations opening.

10:00am: The entirity of the Catalan Government had voted in the referendum, all saying that had voted 'FOR' independence from the Spanish state.

10:30am: The Central Spanish government were monitoring the ongoings, plans would be drawn up to deploy police to Catalonia to cancel the referendum they called illegal.

11:00am: The Constitutional Court would be convened to discuss what was happening.

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[Dragon]

The Irish Government would voice it's support for the Catalan people's right to self determination on terms acceptable to the people as a collective whole. Catalonia would be allowed to send diplomatic personnel to Dublin in order to take up position in the old embassy previously used by Spain prior to the severamce of diplomatic ties.

 

[Zak]

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Mid day and over two million people had voted in the independence vote but things took a turn for the worse as the government in Madrid had authorised the deployment of 8,000 police officers to Catalonia from the National Police Corps to attempt to dismantle polling stations across the entire of Catalonia. This was met by a lot of resistance as protesters surrounded polling stations not allowing police to gain access, only Catalans registered in the elections would be allowed into the polling areas. The National Police Corps were facing fearsome resistence from Catalan nationals as the officers waited for orders from the central Madrid government.

At Barcelona Airport, it was 11:30am and staff would be preparing the daily Air Transat flight to leave at 12:55pm bound for Montreal, bags would be loaded onto the aircraft but the attention of the baggage handlers turned to the three unmarked SEAT Leon FRs which pulled up alongside the Airbus A330-200. Two police officers made their way up the stairs towards the aircraft and flashed their identification badges to the cabin crew and flight crew to inform them that they would be carrying the President of the Government of Catalonia on the aircraft and that was when the President appeared as he carried a carry on case with his laptop, mobile phone, several documents and a handful of clothes and toiletries.

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[Logan]

The Serbian Government would state that one of the most important rights of governmental entities is that, except in the most extraneous and trying of circumstances, or when the most agreeable of negotiations can be made, their territorial integrity is not to be unilaterally deprived of them. The unilateral separation of Catalonia from Spain would certainly embolden and perhaps even aggravate other secessionist movements across the globe, such as the Canarian Separatists, whose bombing of an Airport in Gran Canarias directly lead to the Tenerife Disaster. As such, to maintain the continued suppression of separatist movements across the world, Serbia would place its support firmly on the side of the Spanish Government.

 

[Zak]

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Riot police had been drafted in to dismantle large amounts of crowds who had been holding their positions as they passionately campaigned but riot officers had been given the order to arrest people. Officers were carrying shield and batons and they used them to take protesters down to the ground and arrest them. Officers were also carrying guns which contained rubber bullets and they also used these to take people down to arrest them.

Some people had managed to scurry away but they were hurt, local hospitals had filled up with people complaining of the major force used from riot police. Some people had broken bones and had been trampled on during scuffles between the crowds and the riot police and a handful of people also had cuts and bruises.

Catalan independence supporters had flooded social media complaining about the force used from the national police but they were still there to put up a fight. The national police had managed to close down 700 polling stations across Catalonia with over 3,000 people arrested for a variety of different crimes.

 

[Zak]

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After careful consideration, the Constitunial Court has ruled the referendum illegal which has allowed the government to trigger Article 155 via the Senate which voted in favour of invoking the Article by 223 votes to 43 and rule Catalonia directly. Article 155 has often been described as the "nuclear option" in the Spanish Government and has been rolled out amid a struggle between Barcelona and Madrid following the illegal Catalan referendum.

Article 155 is only two short paragraphs of the 1978 Constitution of Spain. It says that if a regional government "doesn't comply with the obligations of the Constitution or other laws it imposes, or acts in a way that seriously undermines the interests of Spain", the national government can ask the Senate to vote on the use of the measure.

Nadia Calviño, the Minister of Economy and Business has been placed as the Acting President of Catalonia which has infuriated hundreds of thousands of people as riot police had arrested hundreds of protesters, the arrests had been numbered in the 6,300 region with people being transported to neighboring communities to be charged.

 

[Zak]

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With the voting now closed for the Catalan regional election after an election had been called. The results were announced after polls in the region closed, with Ciudadanos becoming the largest party in the regional parliament, but pro-independence parties maintained a majority of seats. Ciudadanos gained twelve seats in the election under the leadership of Inés Arrimadas, bringing its total to 36. This meant that the largest party in the region was overtly and directly opposed to independence. However, even this increase in the vote share left it 31 seats short of a majority in the parliament.

Junts per Catalunya, the party of Carles Puigdemont, former President of the Government of Catalonia, also saw an increase in its seat total, emerging as the second-largest party in the region with 34 seats. This represented an increase of three seats for the party, which stood on a staunchly pro-independence platform, as dictated by its exiled leader. While the party lost its position as the largest in parliament, the improved performance of the Republican Left of Catalonia, a left-wing party also campaigning for independence from Spain, helped ensure that Junts per Catalunya would maintain its dominant role in regional politics. Republican Left of Catalonia, under the stewardship of Oriol Junqueras, who served as Vice President of Catalonia under Puigdemont, secured 32 seats, leaving the pro-independence parties a mere two seats short of re-establishing a coalition and holding their majority. These seats were provided by the Popular Unity Candidacy, which, in spite of a severely diminished performance from the previous election, still held four seats, courtesy of a strong performance in Barcelona. This ensured that pro-independence parties were able to maintain their majority in the parliament. Five independent politicians, who were participants in the Together for Yes bloc but not party members, lost their seats. Consequently, despite both Junts per Catalunya and Republican Left of Catalonia increasing their number of seats, the majority in the parliament for independence was diminished by two seats, but nonetheless maintained. The result was hailed by Puigdemont as a "slap in the face" for Madrid and for Pedro Sánchez.

 

[Dragon]

The Irish Government would congratulate those political parties advocating for the independence of Catalonia from Spain and would do everything in its power to undermine the federal government in Madrid as revenge for Spain's support for the continued occupation of the six counties in the north of Ireland.