Ousted Catalan leader vows to fight Spain's takeover
Description: BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Catalonia's ousted separatist president on Saturday called on Catalans to peacefully oppose Spain's imposition of direct rule in the region, in a veiled re
Keywords: AP Top News,International News,Madrid,Mariano Rajoy,Elections,Barcelona,Carles Puigdemont,Europe,Spain

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Catalan President Carles Puigdemont speaks during a statement at the Palau Generalitat in Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. Catalonia's separatist leader has called on Catalans to peacefully oppose Spain's takeover, in a staged appearance that seemed to convey that he refuses to accept his firing, which was ordered by central authorities (Presidency Press Service, Pool Photo via AP)

Pro-independence supporters gather near the Palau Generalitat in Barcelona, Spain, after Catalonia's regional parliament passed a motion with which they say they are establishing an independent Catalan Republic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Pro-independence demonstrators cheer outside the Catalan parliament, in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017.Catalan lawmakers voted Friday to secede from Spain, shortly before Spain's Senate approved a request by the central government to take direct control of Catalonia's affairs.((AP Photo/ Emilio Morenatti)

Pro-independence demonstrators cheer outside the Catalan parliament, in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. Catalan lawmakers voted Friday to secede from Spain, shortly before Spain's Senate approved a request by the central government to take direct control of Catalonia's affairs.((AP Photo/ Emilio Morenatti)

Anti-independence supporters shout slogans and wave Spanish flags as they march against the unilateral declaration of independence approved earlier by the Catalan parliament in downtown Barcelona Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. Catalan lawmakers voted Friday to secede from Spain, shortly before Spain's Senate approved a request by the central government to take direct control of Catalonia's affairs.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

EDS NOTE : SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN. - A child rests on a man's shoulders with a "estelada" or pro independence flag in the background as pro-independence supporters gather in the square outside the Palau Generalitat in Barcelona, Spain, after Catalonia's regional parliament passed a motion with which they say they are establishing an independent Catalan Republic, Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

A Catalan policeman talks to an anti-independence supporter as demonstrators are prevented from moving forward during a march against the unilateral declaration of independence approved earlier by the Catalan parliament in downtown Barcelona Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. Catalan lawmakers voted Friday to secede from Spain, shortly before Spain's Senate approved a request by the central government to take direct control of Catalonia's affairs.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Catalan riot police escorts demonstrators as they march against the unilateral declaration of independence approved earlier by the Catalan parliament in downtown Barcelona Friday, Oct. 27, 2017. Catalan lawmakers voted Friday to secede from Spain, shortly before Spain's Senate approved a request by the central government to take direct control of Catalonia's affairs.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

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# Ousted Catalan leader vows to fight Spain's takeover

- International News
- Madrid
- Mariano Rajoy
- Elections
- Barcelona
- Carles Puigdemont
- Europe
- Spain
- AP Top News

### Ousted Catalan leader vows to fight Spain's takeover

- International News
- Madrid
- Mariano Rajoy
- Elections
- Barcelona
- Carles Puigdemont
- Europe
- Spain
- AP Top News

### Ousted Catalan leader vows to fight Spain's takeover

###### By ARITZ PARRA

###### 1 hour ago

https://apnews.com/1a4b5e14e467459f9644a294832bc1a4
Link copied!

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Catalonia's ousted separatist president on Saturday called on Catalans to peacefully oppose Spain's imposition of direct rule in the region, in a veiled refusal to accept his Cabinet's dismissal as ordered by central authorities.

Spain took formal direct control of Catalonia on Saturday, dismissing the region's defiant separatist government, including Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, a day after lawmakers passed a declaration of independence for the prosperous northeastern region.

The move came after one of the most tumultuous days in the country's recent history, as the national parliament in Madrid approved unprecedented constitutional measures to halt the secessionist drive by the regional parliament in Barcelona.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also dissolved the regional parliament and called a new regional election to be held on Dec. 21.

In a pre-recorded televised statement, Puigdemont said only the regional parliament can elect or dismiss the Catalan government, vowing to "continue working to build a free country."

"The best way we have to defend the achievements to date is the democratic opposition to the application of Article 155," Puigdemont said in reference to the constitutional clause that gave Madrid direct control of affairs in Catalonia.

Despite his defiant tone and the use of the official Catalan government emblem, the Catalan and European Union flags but no sign of the Spanish one, some political commentators saw in his mention of "democratic opposition" as laying the groundwork for political campaigning for the regional election in less than two months.

"Our will is to continue working to fulfill the democratic mandates and at the same time seek the maximum stability and tranquility," Puigdemont said. Separatists argue that a controversial victory in a banned Oct. 1 referendum legitimizes them to split from Spain.

Andrew Dowling, a specialist in Catalan history at Cardiff University in Wales, said the statement was "vague and imprecise, certainly not like the president of a new country."

"They have led 2 million Catalans to believe in independence, so it's a big problem to tell them now that it's actually difficult to build a state when Spain has the upper hand of the law on its side," Dowling said. "They are trapped by their own rhetoric."

After Spain's central authorities made the takeover official early Saturday, Puigdemont and the 12 members that until Saturday made up the Catalan Cabinet are no longer paid.

Spain's government has said they could be charged with usurping others' functions if they refuse to obey, which could throw the region into further turmoil by prolonging a monthlong standoff.

In comments that were met late Friday with jeers and whistles of disapproval by secession supporters in Barcelona, the main city in Catalonia, Rajoy said that the declaration of independence "not only goes against the law but is a criminal act."

Spanish prosecutors say that top Catalan officials could face rebellion charges as soon as Monday.

Refusing to comment on Puigdemont's televised address, Rajoy's office said on Saturday that his actions will be a judicial affair from now on and that the Dec. 21 election would be the way "to return dignity to the Catalan institutions."

It's not clear at all whether a new election would solve Spain's problems with separatists in Catalonia. Polls suggest pro-independence parties would likely maintain their slim advantage in parliamentary seats but wouldn't get more than 50 percent of the vote.

Beyond any possible resistance from top Catalan officials, it's unclear how Rajoy's government in Madrid will be able to exert its control at lower levels of Catalonia's vast regional administration.

Catalonia had secured the ability to govern itself in many areas, including education, health and policing, since democracy returned to Spain following the death of dictator Gen. Francisco Franco in 1975.

Some among Catalonia's roughly 200,000 civil servants have said they will refuse to obey orders from Madrid. They risk being punished or even fired under the special powers granted to central authorities by the nation's Senate on Friday.

Vice President Soraya Saenz de Santamaria will be Rajoy's point person in running Catalonia until the new regional election. She will coordinate other ministries that take over functions of Catalonia's regional departments, including finances and security, and appoint officials to implement orders from Madrid.

In one of the first moves, Spain's Interior Ministry published an order to demote Josep Lluis Trapero from his position as head of the regional Mossos d'Esquadra police in Catalonia. He was allowed to remain as commissar, but he later released a statement saying he was resigning from the force.

Trapero became a divisive figure as the public face of the police response in mid-August to deadly extremists' attacks in and near Barcelona. He was praised for effectiveness but also criticized for coordination problems with other national police forces.

Spain's National Court is also investigating him as part of a sedition probe related to the banned Oct. 1 independence referendum, when the regional police were seen as acting passively — not aggressively — to halt the vote deemed illegal by a top Spanish court.

Trapero's boss, regional police director Pere Soler, said in a statement that he accepted his firing by central authorities in Madrid.