Spain takes over Catalonia, fires defiant separatist leaders

Spain has taken direct control of Catalonia and sacked the region's defiant separatist government by publishing special measures overnight in an official gazette online.
The move early Saturday came after separatist Catalan lawmakers passed a declaration of independence on Friday.
"The President of the Government of the Nation takes on the role and the competences corresponding to the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, foreseen by the Autonomy Statute," the official bulletin of the Spanish state said.

In another bulletin, Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said he was dismissing Josep Lluis Trapero, the head of the Catalan police force, or Mossos d'Esquadra, who is already under investigation for sedition.

Trapero is suspected of helping a Catalan pro-independence protest in September. He earned international fame in August as the public face of the Mossos d'Esquadra in the wake of the Barcelona and Cambrils terrorist attacks.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who now replaces Catalan President Carles Puigdemont as the top decision-maker in the northeastern region, has dissolved the regional parliament and called a new regional election on Dec. 21.

Puigdemont and the 12 members of the Catalan Cabinet will no longer be paid and could be charged with usurping others' functions if they refuse to obey.

There was no immediate response from the top Catalan officials. Only the director of the Catalan regional police, who was also fired, issued a statement saying he would comply.
Madrid's measures follow from article 155 of the constitution, which allow the government to take action against rebellious territories. It was activated Friday following a vote in favour of independence by the Catalan parliament.

- COMPETING RALLIES -
Tens of thousands celebrated in Barcelona and other Catalan cities after Friday's independence declaration, which analysts say the region has no legal power to execute.

But anti-secession rallies have been called for the capital, Madrid, on Saturday, and for Barcelona on Sunday.

The move to quash Catalan powers under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution is likely to anger many in a region of some 7.5 million people that enjoyed considerable autonomy, with control over education, healthcare and police.

It is the first time the central government has curtailed autonomy in the region since dictator Francisco Franco's repressive 1939-75 rule.

Independence supporters have warned they will resist the temporary measure, implemented under a constitutional article devised to rein in rebel regions.

"We won't cave in to Rajoy's authoritarianism nor to 155," the far-left CUP party, an ally of Puigdemont, tweeted on Friday.

A motion to declare Catalonia a "republic" was passed Friday with 70 votes out of 135 in the regional parliament, where pro-secessionists hold sway.

Catalan leaders point to the "Yes" vote in the deeply-divisive October 1 referendum as a mandate for independence, even though less than half of voters took part.

Echoing widely-held fears, Federico Santi, Europe analyst at political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, warned the crisis could become violent, with "more serious clashes between national police and pro-independence activists."

Speaking after the parliament's proclamation, Puigdemont urged activists to "maintain the momentum" in a peaceful manner.

- UNWAVERING SUPPORT FOR SPAIN -
The Spanish government has received unwavering support from the United States and its allies in the European Union.

The bloc is increasingly wary of nationalistic and secessionist sentiment, particularly after Britain's dramatic decision last year to leave the bloc.

EU President Donald Tusk insisted Madrid "remains our only interlocutor" in Spain, but urged it to exercise restraint.

"I hope the Spanish government favours force of argument, not argument of force," he tweeted.