MADRID: Catalan separatist leader Carles Puigdemont is likely to go to Madrid on Thursday to explain his position on independence from Spain and try to stop the national government imposing direct control on the region.
The timing of Puigdemont’s appearance before the Senate suggests he is now unlikely to formally declare independence or call a snap regional election on Thursday, as many analysts had expected. He could still do this on Friday before the Senate strips him of his powers and imposes direct rule from Madrid.
An appearance at a Senate debate could pit Puigdemont face to face with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy who is vehemently opposed to independence for Catalonia.
The political crisis, Spain’s worst since democracy was restored four decades ago, has become increasingly fraught at the prospect of civil disobedience and even confrontation if Madrid goes ahead with taking direct control of Catalonia in the next few days.
The conflict has caused deep resentment elsewhere in Spain, dented the prosperous region’s economy, and worried other European leaders who see it as fanning separatist sentiment elsewhere on the continent.
Secessionists in Catalonia say an independence referendum on Oct. 1 — which attracted a 43 percent turnout but was mostly boycotted by those Catalans who want to remain in Spain — has given them a mandate for statehood.
The Madrid government declared the referendum illegal and has spurned Puigdemont’s calls for dialogue, instead opting to take control of a region which now has a large measure of autonomy.
It has, however, invited Puigdemont to debate in the Senate.
“President Puigdemont is willing to attend the Senate to explain the allegations, explain his political position, and explain how we have arrived here,” a lawmaker for PDCat (Catalan Democratic Party) said on Wednesday.
Thursday would be the most convenient day, he said.
However, Puigdemont is unlikely to make much headway against a government which vehemently opposes full independence and is using all its legal and political power to stop it.
On Friday, the Senate is due to strip him of his powers and impose direct rule, although the actual steps could be taken gradually in order not to inflame the situation.
Catalonia said on Monday it was confident its officials, including the police, would defy attempts by Madrid to enforce direct rule.
A senior Catalan politician said on Tuesday secessionist leaders may call a snap election to try to break the deadlock. The Catalan parliament meets on Thursday and Friday.
Some Spanish political and business leaders, along with most Catalan newspapers, have urged Puigdemont to call a regional election before he is stripped of his authority. They say direct rule from Madrid would be a humiliation for Catalonia and pose a serious risk of civil unrest.
Calling an election could either strengthen Puigdemont’s mandate if pro-independence parties won, or allow him a graceful exit if they did not.
An opinion poll published by the El Periodico newspaper on Sunday showed a snap election would probably have results similar to the last ballot, in 2015, when a coalition of pro-independence parties formed a minority government.
Justice Minister Rafael Catala said that if Puigdemont appeared before the Senate, it would help resolve the crisis. Madrid has so far refused to meet him until he drops his call for independence.
“If his appearance is within the constitution and the law we’ll be delighted... but if it’s just to ratify his position on Catalonia’s independence, sadly we will not be able to do anything else than continuing with the measures already set by the government,” Catala said.
Analyst Antonio Barroso of Teneo Intelligence said Puigdemont was caught between radicals and moderates in the Catalan establishment.
Radical elements want him to make the Catalan parliament declare independence unilaterally on Thursday or Friday. This would provoke a tough government reaction, playing into their hands, he said.
More moderate voices have said that if he calls an early election, he could stop the imposition of direct rule.
Puigdemont is likely to repeat his call for a dialogue between the Catalan authorities and Madrid and remain ambiguous on his next steps, Barroso said.
“Both sides are engaged in a game to tag each other with the blame for what happens next,” he said.
Crisis over Catalan independence nears crucial few days
Crisis over Catalan independence nears crucial few days
Bangladesh’s leading contender for PM returns after 17 years in exile
DHAKA: Millions of supporters crowded the streets of Dhaka on Thursday to welcome Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, who has returned to his country after more than 17 years in exile.
Rahman, the son of ailing former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, waved to the large crowds from the front of a BNP bus escorted by security, as people lined the route from the capital’s airport to a reception venue, waving national and party flags, chanting slogans and carrying banners and flowers.
His return comes in the wake of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster last year and as Bangladesh gears up to hold general elections in February, for which he is emerging as a leading contender to become prime minister.
“As a member of the BNP, I want to say in front of you that I have a plan for the people of my country, for my country,” Rahman said as he addressed a throng of supporters in Dhaka.
“This plan is for the interest of the people of the country, for the development of the country and for changing the fate of the people. For this, I need support from each and every one of this country. If you people stand beside us, God willing, we would be able to implement those plans.”
The 60-year-old lived in London after he fled Bangladesh in 2008 over what he called a politically motivated persecution.
After facing multiple criminal convictions in Bangladesh, including money laundering and charges linked to an alleged plot to assassinate Hasina, courts acquitted him following Hasina’s removal from office, clearing the legal obstacles that delayed his return.
Rahman’s homecoming is “significant” as it comes as Bangladesh is going through a “very critical political crisis,” said analyst Prof. Dilara Choudhury.
“People of Bangladesh, they are expecting that there will be free and fair elections, and whoever wins will form the government and forward to the transition. In that sense, his return is significant.”
Bangladesh will hold parliamentary elections on Feb. 12, its first vote since a student-led uprising removed Hasina and her Awami League-led government from power in August 2024.
The South Asian nation of nearly 175 million people has since been led by interim leader Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, who took over governance after Hasina fled to India, where she is now in self-exile.
As the Yunus-led administration has banned Awami League from all activities, meaning the former ruling party would not be able to join the upcoming race, the BNP is on course to win the largest number of parliamentary seats, according to a survey published in December by the US-based International Republican Institute.
“I believe a new era in our politics will start with the arrival of Tarique Rahman in the country,” political analyst Mahbub Ullah told Arab News.
“He will take the realms of his party with his own hand and he will do all kinds of things to organize the party and lead the party to victory in the next election.”
