Catalan Vote

From the BBC:

"Catalan referendum: Spain region 'not seeking traumatic split'"

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has said he is not planning a "traumatic" split with Spain, after a disputed independence referendum on Sunday. He said he wanted a new understanding with the central government in Madrid. Catalan officials say voters overwhelmingly backed secession. Madrid has warned it could suspend autonomy of the wealthy north-eastern region. Spain's top court banned the vote and almost 900 people were hurt as Spanish police tried to stop it going ahead. Officers from the national police and paramilitary Civil Guard seized ballot papers and boxes at a number of polling stations. Thirty-three police officers were injured on Sunday, Catalan medical officials said. More than 2.2 million people were reported to have voted, according to Catalan authorities, out of 5.3 million registered voters.  Just under 90% of those who voted backed independence, they said.  A Catalan spokesman said more than 750,000 votes could not be counted because polling stations were closed and urns were confiscated. Turnout was put at 42.3%. More than 40 trade unions and Catalan associations called a region-wide strike on Tuesday due to "the grave violation of rights and freedoms".  At a news conference on Monday, Mr Puigdemont said: "We don't want a traumatic break... We want a new understanding with the Spanish state". Mr Puigdemont, who earlier said Catalonia had won the right to statehood and the door was now open to a unilateral declaration of independence, said he had had no contact with the government in Madrid led by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. The Catalan leader also announced that he was setting up a commission to investigate Sunday's violence and was taking legal action against national police. And Mr Puigdemont appealed for international mediation to help solve the growing crisis.  Mr Rajoy spoke of a "mockery" of democracy, saying that Catalans had been fooled into taking part in the illegal vote. "At this hour I can tell you in the strongest terms what you already know and what we have seen throughout this day. There has not been a referendum on self-determination in Catalonia," he said on Sunday. The prime minister is now expected to hold urgent talks with Pedro Sanchez, the leader of the main opposition Socialist party, as well as Albert Rivera, the head of the centrist Ciudadanos party. Meanwhile, Spain's justice minister warned that any declaration of independence could lead to article 155 of the country's constitution being invoked, which allows the national government to intervene in the running of an autonomous region. Spain's complicated relationship with the region of Catalonia is headed for the unknown.  After violence by Spanish police, a declaration of independence by Catalonia's regional government seems more likely than ever before.  Meanwhile, the European Commission described the crisis as "an internal matter" for Spain, that has to be dealt with in line with the constitutional order.   "We trust the leadership of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to manage this difficult process," it said in a statement, urging all relevant players to move from confrontation to dialogue.  TV images showed Spanish police kicking would-be voters and pulling women out of polling stations by their hair. Officials said 893 people had been hurt in clashes, including 33 police. The majority had minor injuries or had suffered from anxiety attacks. TV footage showed riot police using batons to beat a group of firefighters who were protecting crowds in Girona.  The national police and Guardia Civil - a military force charged with police duties - were sent into Catalonia in large numbers to prevent the vote. The Catalan police - the Mossos d'Esquadra - have been placed under Madrid's control. However, witnesses said they showed little inclination to use force on protesters. Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau, who voted blank on Sunday, condemned police actions against the region's "defenceless" population, but Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said police had "acted with professionalism and in a proportionate way".  Large crowds of independence supporters gathered in the centre of the regional capital Barcelona on Sunday evening, waving flags and singing the Catalan anthem.

^ No one can say the referendum didn't happen because it did happen. They can say whether it was legal to hold or not, but after the Madrid Government's brutal response on innocent people whose only "crime" was trying to vote Madrid lost whatever high ground they once had. The people of Catalonia risked beatings to cast their vote and that says a lot about them. They wanted to show their voice in a peaceful way (by voting) and were met by Madrid with violence. ^ 

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41472985