With less than two weeks to go for the scheduled referendum on secession in Catalonia, Spanish national police continue to feverishly search the region, trying to find voting papers and ballot boxes to confiscate in an attempt to undermine the vote.
Elsewhere, Spanish forces have begun bringing in Catalonian mayors for questioning, trying to dig up information to be used in the crackdown. So far that’s gone very poorly, with early mayors brought in remaining silent during questioning.
Catalonia, the northeast region of Spain, is among the nation’s wealthiest regions, and has a long history of autonomy. The government’s crackdowns on autonomy, however, have fueled a growing movement calling for them to secede outright and become independent.
The Spanish government has threatened “extreme measures” to prevent such a referendum taking place, though police efforts to prevent the vote so far seem to have failed, and all indications are that Catalonia still intends to vote.
What was once the American position on such matters …..
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,
that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
–That
to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving
their just powers from the consent of the governed,
–That whenever any
Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of
the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,
laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in
such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and
Happiness.”
Polling indicates that the pro-independence vote would fail. Ironically, with its thuggish actions the Madrid government appears bent on assuring a pro-independece win.