Extra police sent to stop referendum in Catalonia, Spain
- The government of Spain has declared the referendum in Spain illegal and has ordered the police to prevent it
- However regional authorities have said the referendum will hold despite ballot papers being seized
- Catalan leaders have said they are determined to hold the vote on October 1, defying the central Madrid government
The government of Spain will deploy police reinforcements to Catalonia to help maintain order if the proposed independence referendum goes ahead.
According to the press, the extra officers are to back the Catalan regional police, who are under orders to prevent the staging of the referendum.
Catalan authorities despite the arrest of a dozen regional government officials and 10 million ballot papers being seized, the vote will take place.
Accoridng to Reuters, Spain’s constitutional court has ordered the referendum vote to be suspended, insisting tihat it s illegal.
"The new officers would monitor public spaces, keep order and “act in case the illegal referendum is maintained,” the ministry said in a statement.
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Catalonia’s regional government said new measures including a ban on police time off were over the top and meant to create a false impression of crisis.
They are determined to hold the vote on October 1, in defiance of the central Madrid government and a Constitutional Court ban. They have also said the Catalan assembly would declare independence within 48 hours of a “yes” vote.
Legit.ng earlier reported that hundreds of thousands of Catalans rallied on Monday, September 11, to demand their region’s secession from Spain, in a show of strength three weeks ahead of an independence referendum which has been banned by Madrid.
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There were reports that people wave ‘Esteladas’ (pro-independence Catalan flags) during a pro-independence demonstration, on September 11, 2017 in Barcelona during the National Day of Catalonia, the “Diada.”
Watch this Legit.ng video as Nigerians speak on the secession threat in the southeast:
Source: Legit.ng