Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said regional elections next month in Catalonia will help end “separatist havoc” in the north-eastern region.<\/p>\n
He addressed a campaign event on his first visit there since imposing direct rule on the region a fortnight ago.<\/p>\n
Defending his decision in Barcelona, he said he had “exhausted all roads” after the Catalan government’s unilateral declaration of independence last month.<\/p>\n
Several key Catalan leaders are currently being detained over the move.<\/p>\n
Some 750,000 people protested in Barcelona on Saturday against the arrests, local police estimated.<\/p>\n
The crisis was sparked by a disputed referendum held in Catalonia in October, which had been barred by the Spanish courts.<\/p>\n
Catalan officials said the independence campaign won 92% of the vote, from a turnout of 43%. Many of those who were against independence did not cast votes, refusing to recognise the legitimacy of the referendum.<\/p>\n
The Catalan government subsequently declared independence. In response, the Spanish government dissolved the region’s parliament, imposed direct rule, and called a snap regional election on 21 December.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a campaign event in Barcelona for his Popular Party (PP) on Sunday, Mr Rajoy called on the participation of the “silent majority” to “convert their voice into a vote”.<\/p>\n
“We must reclaim Catalonia from the havoc of separatism,” he added, saying: “With democracy, we want to reclaim Catalonia for everyone.”<\/p>\n
He told PP supporters that the right result would boost Spain’s economic growth next year to above 3%.<\/p>\n
He called on companies not to leave the region, after hundreds of firms moved their headquarters away amid uncertainty over the region – which accounts for a fifth of Spain’s economy. He also urged people in Spain to continue buying Catalan products.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said regional elections next month in Catalonia will help end “separatist havoc” in the north-eastern region. He addressed a campaign event on his first visit there since imposing direct rule on the region a fortnight ago. Defending his decision in Barcelona, he said he had “exhausted all roads” after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[2259,111],"yoast_head":"\n