Spain's opposition leader calls on government to apply National Security Law in Catalonia

Record ID: 1437031

  • Title: Spain's opposition leader calls on government to apply National Security Law in Catalonia
  • Date: 16th October 2019
  • Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (OCTOBER 16, 2019) (REUTERS) LEADER OF OPPOSITION PEOPLE'S PARTY PABLO CASADO ARRIVING AT NEWS CONFERENCE ROOM (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LEADER OF OPPOSITION PEOPLE'S PARTY PABLO CASADO SAYING: "The government must apply the National Security law now so that Quim Torra (Catalan regional leader) is not part, at any point, of the security chain of command or that of homeland security policies of the Generalitat (Catalan regional government)." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LEADER OF OPPOSITION PEOPLE'S PARTY PABLO CASADO SAYING: "It's not compatible to keep governing in 40 city halls and in Barcelona with the separatists and, at the same time, say they have to face the consequences of their actions. Or saying it in a different way, Pedro Sanchez needs to choose between those who made him prime minister (separatist parties) and those that after elections may be key for his investiture, or the constitutionalist parties, which he declined to govern with in important institutions and who, over these months, he has not had as his preferred partners." JOURNALISTS DURING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) LEADER OF OPPOSITION PEOPLE'S PARTY PABLO CASADO SAYING: "I've proposed (to Sanchez) that the prosecutor's office needs to take immediate action against the Catalan regional parliament speaker, officials in the Catalan government, including the president of the Generalitat (Torra), for inciting public disorder and disobedience, including their participation in sabotaging state infrastructure together with violent protesters. I also believe the prosecutor’s office has to act now against the CDR (Committees for the Defence of the Republic) and against the 'Tsunami democratic" for the crimes of disorder and attacks against authorities." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS CASADO LEAVING PODIUM AND TALKING WITH JOURNALISTS
  • Embargoed: 30th October 2019 13:23
  • Keywords: Pablo Casdo People's Party Spain's opposition leader national security law Catalonia protests
  • Location: MADRID, SPIAN
  • City: MADRID, SPIAN
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001B1CKLZB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Spain's leader of the opposition People's Party said on Wednesday (October 16) he had asked Spain's acting prime minister to put the country's national security law into effect in Catalonia where violent protests have erupted after the Supreme Court on Monday (October 14) sentenced nine secessionist leaders to prison terms of nine to 13 years over their role in a failed independence drive in the region in 2017.
    Applying the national security law would remove Catalan regional leader Quim Torra and his government from the line of command related to security policies, Pablo Casado said, addressing a news conference after meeting acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
    Socialist leader Sanchez is facing a snap election next month and is under pressure from right-wing parties to be tougher on Catalonia.
    His government has said it did not rule out any scenario and would act "firmly and in a proportional manner" to keep order after protesters threw cans, stones and flares at riot police and set garbage cans ablaze in Barcelona, the regional capital. Thirty people were arrested.
    The unusually tense confrontations are a challenge both for the northeastern region's pro-independence leader and the Madrid-based Spanish government, with tensions running high between both as they scramble to respond to this new situation..
    Torra, who has encouraged people to take to the streets to protest and has praised civil disobedience, is being pressed by Madrid-based politicians to condemn the violence but he did not do so when asked by reporters to comment on Tuesday's clashes.
    After meeting the acting prime minister, Casado also said he had suggested that legal action be taken against Torra and his government, as well as the regional parliament speaker, for "inciting public disorder and disobedience."
    Catalonia's independence drive in 2017 triggered Spain's worst political crisis and features high amongst the issues in the upcoming Nov. 1 election.
    (Production: Julien Hennequin, Miguel Gutierrez, Catherine Macdonald)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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