Catalan leader says regional parliament may vote on independence if no talks

Catalan leader says regional parliament may vote on independence if no talks
Catalan regional government president Carles Puigdemont on Thursday said the regional parliament could vote on a formal declaration of independence from Spain if the central government failed to hold talks with Catalonia. (AFP)
Updated 19 October 2017
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Catalan leader says regional parliament may vote on independence if no talks

Catalan leader says regional parliament may vote on independence if no talks

MADRID: Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont on Thursday said the regional parliament could vote on a formal declaration of independence from Spain if the central government failed to hold talks with Catalonia, ignoring a deadline to drop a secession bid.
“If the government continues to impede dialogue and continues with the repression, the Catalan parliament could proceed, if it is considered opportune, to vote on a formal declaration of independence,” Puigdemont said in a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Marian Rajoy.
Puigdemont made the letter public only minutes before a 10am deadline he had been given by Rajoy to retract an ambiguous declaration of independence he made last week.