{"id":366684,"date":"2017-10-30T11:49:27","date_gmt":"2017-10-30T11:49:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=366684"},"modified":"2017-10-30T11:49:27","modified_gmt":"2017-10-30T11:49:27","slug":"spain-to-take-control-of-catalan-institutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/2017\/10\/spain-to-take-control-of-catalan-institutions\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain to take control of Catalan institutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spain is set to put in place measures to take direct control of Catalonia in response to the region’s declaration of independence last week.<\/p>\n

On Friday, Madrid stripped Catalonia of its autonomy and removed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont from office.<\/p>\n

The temporary move will see as many as 150 of the region’s ministers replaced. Some have vowed to continue to work.<\/p>\n

Mr Puigdemont and other Catalan officials may face criminal charges, a move likely to lead to huge protests.<\/p>\n

What happens next?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spain’s central government is set to take control of Catalan institutions with Spanish officials expected to be put in place in the region’s ministries on Monday.<\/p>\n

Madrid has called for the Spanish constitutional court to revoke Catalonia’s unilateral vote for independence.<\/p>\n

Mr Puigdemont and his vice-president Oriol Junqueras say they do not accept the moves by Madrid, adding that they can only be removed from office by the citizens of Catalonia.<\/p>\n

If Mr Puigdemont and others refuse to step aside, they face possible arrest and prosecution on charges of rebellion – the maximum sentence for which is 30 years.<\/p>\n

About 200,000 civil servants are due to arrive on Monday, but it is not clear how many will stay away or refuse to follow instructions.<\/p>\n

The former Catalan Sustainability Minister, Josep Rull, said he was continuing with his “scheduled agenda” and\u00a0posted an image on Twitter\u00a0showing him at his desk.<\/p>\n

“I’m at the office carrying out the responsibilities that the people [of Catalonia] entrusted to us,” he wrote.<\/p>\n

However, Madrid has given Catalan ministers hours to pack up their belongings and leave their offices or Catalonia’s regional police force, known as Mossos, will “act”.<\/p>\n

Mossos, whose chief was dismissed last week, are deployed in Sant Jaume square, near the government palace in the centre of Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Spain’s Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis has said he expects the officers to “act professionally”.<\/p>\n

Spain’s chief prosecutor has also been preparing criminal charges against any officials considered to have acted against Spanish law in declaring independence following a referendum deemed illegal under the Spanish constitution.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Madrid has called for fresh regional elections on 21 December.<\/p>\n

Mr Puigdemont could run in new elections, according to Mr Dastis, but only if the sacked Catalan leader has not been jailed.<\/p>\n

What about Catalonia’s autonomy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Monday, Mr Dastis said he hoped the forthcoming elections would help to “restore legal governance and rule of law in Catalonia”.<\/p>\n

“We hope and believe that after these elections, Catalonia will again be the same society it was before: open and integrated,” he said during a press briefing in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido has written to all police officers in Catalonia asking for their loyalty as a “new era” begins in the region.<\/p>\n

Senior police officers have told the BBC that they have already complied with an order to remove framed photographs of Mr Puigdemont from police stations across the region.<\/p>\n

What is the local press saying?<\/strong><\/p>\n