BARCELONA: Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy warned anew Monday that Spain will not be divided by a declaration of independence from Catalonia and said the government is ready to respond to any such attempt.
Catalan regional President Carles Puigdemont plans to address the Catalan Parliament on Tuesday evening to debate the current political situation. Separatist politicians say there will be a declaration of independence for the northeastern region of 7.5 million during that session, although some ruling coalition lawmakers say the move could be simply “symbolic.”
Still, Rajoy was being as explicit as possible in warning that the national government in Madrid would not stand for such a declaration.
“Spain will not be divided and the national unity will be preserved. We will do everything that legislation allows us to ensure this,” Rajoy told the German newspaper Die Welt. “We will prevent this independence from taking place.”
Secession-minded authorities in Catalonia have vowed to break away from Spain after claiming a pro-independence victory in a disputed referendum earlier this month. The Oct. 1 vote has been followed by mass protests of Catalans angered by police violence as authorities tried to stop the vote and, more recently, by others in Catalonia and Madrid urging the unity of Spain.
Yet politicians supporting Puigdemont’s minority government and civil society groups backing independence say they will not accept anything less than a full declaration of independence.
“Credibility and dignity suggest making the declaration of independence tomorrow,” said Jordi Sanchez, the head of the civil group National Catalonia Assembly said Monday.
Puigdemont has not clarified what his intentions are.
Rajoy’s deputy, Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, also warned that Spain would act decisively if there was any independence declaration.
“If they declare independence, there will be decisions to restore the law and democracy,” said on Monday during a radio interview.
She called for members of the Catalan government “who still respect democracy and freedom to refrain from jumping into the void.”
Catalonia’s top judicial official, meanwhile, ordered additional Spanish police protection for the headquarters of the regional judiciary.
The regional Mossos d’Esquadra police force, whose hierarchy reports to the Catalan government, had been in charge until now of guarding the palace in central Barcelona that hosts the judiciary.
But the High Judiciary in Catalonia says its president, Jesus Barrientos, has asked the chief of the National Police force in the region to join in the protection of the building. The statement says a declaration of independence, even if illegal under Spanish laws, could trigger the suspension of the judiciary and the ouster of its president.
Separatist leaders in Catalonia have declared valid a pro-independence victory in a disputed Oct. 1 referendum that Spain calls illegal. The vote took place amid police violence that injured hundreds.
Rajoy has said the central government could take control of the governance of the Catalan region.
“The ideal situation would be that I don’t have to find drastic solutions, but for that to happen there will have to be some rectifications (by Catalan leaders),” Rajoy said this weekend.
Spain warns it will act if Catalonia declares independence
Spain warns it will act if Catalonia declares independence
‘Unofficial’ talks on plastic pollution treaty to begin in Japan
- “Plastic pollution is a planetary problem that affects everyone: every country, every community and every individual,” Cordano warned after being elected
TOKYO: Delegates from around 20 countries will hold three days of “informal” talks in Japan from Sunday aimed at salvaging efforts toward a landmark global treaty on plastic pollution.
Supposedly final talks in South Korea in 2024 toward an agreement failed, and a renewed effort in Geneva last August likewise collapsed in overtime.
A Japanese Environment Ministry official said that the “informal” closed-door meeting among “working-level officials” through Tuesday was not expected to result in any official announcement.
If we don’t take concerted action, it will get much worse in the coming decades. A treaty is urgently needed.
Julio Cordano, Chile’s chief climate negotiator
“Japan is in a position of pushing for progress on the issue, and so is hosting the meeting,” the official told AFP without wishing to be named.
She added that “little progress” has been made since August, other than the election in early February of Chile’s chief climate negotiator Julio Cordano as chairman.
“Plastic pollution is a planetary problem that affects everyone: every country, every community and every individual,” Cordano warned after being elected.
“If we don’t take concerted action, it will get much worse in the coming decades. A treaty is urgently needed,” he said.
More than 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, with half for single-use items.
A large bloc of states wants bold action such as curbing plastic production, while a smaller clutch of oil-producing states wants to focus more narrowly on waste management.
Countries expected to be present in Tokyo include big oil producers like Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States as well as islands states Antigua and Barbuda and Palau, plus China, India and the European Union.
The UN’s environment chief told AFP in an interview in October that a global treaty remains “totally doable.”
“No one has walked away and said, ‘this is just too hopeless, we’re giving up’,” United Nations Environment Programme executive director Inger Andersen said.
