Unofficial footage has emerged showing the Spanish police violently seizing ballot boxes, forcing voters out of polling stations, and even firing rubber bullets into the crowds outside polling stations. This has raised serious questions over the notable regression in state of affairs, in the post-Franco Spain. An alarming development that is reminiscent of Franco’s dictatorship, where separatist elements like Catalonia were repressed. And only recently, after Franco’s death and restoration of the republic, Catalonia had gained back the much sought-after regional autonomy that it had enjoyed in the pre-civil war years. Later events have led Catalonia to again consider its status---to remain part of Spain, seek greater autonomy or secede from Spain. These considerations were epitomized in the referendum of 1st October. The referendum was aimed at determining whether Catalonia saw itself independent of Spain or not. The Spanish government considered this exercise unconstitutional and therefore unlawful and has justified its crackdown on this basis.
Read Complete Article: Catalan Referendum: A case of self-determination or skewed representation?
No comments:
Post a Comment