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SPAIN-CATALONIA-POLITICS-RELIGION
No independence for Catalonia, says Spanish PM
MADRID, April 7, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – There will be no independence for
Catalonia, nor a referendum on the question if the socialists are returned to
power, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told supporters Sunday.
“No is no,” Sanchez told a Socialist Party meeting at Zaragoza, in the
northeast region of Aragon, ahead of the April 28 legislative elections.
“If there is a socialist government, there will be no independence in
Catalonia, there will be no referendum for independence and the Spanish
constitution in Catalonia will not be violated — that will not happen,” he
added.
Sanchez’s speech came after the socialists’ leader in Catalonia, Miquel
Iceta, said in a newspaper interview that 65 percent of Catalans wanted
independence and that “democracy must find a mechanism to enable it”.
Iceta’s remarks, to a Basque newspaper in late March, have been heavily
criticised by the rightwing opposition People’s Party and led to allegations
that Sanchez is preparing a deal with Catalonia’s separatists.
Twelve Catalan leaders are on trial in Madrid over an independence
referendum that was held on October 1, 2017 despite a court ban, as well as a
short-lived declaration of independence that followed.
Many separatists argue that their leaders were jailed for political
reasons and will not have a fair trial.
BSS/AFP/BZC/2000HRS