Catalonia removes separatist signs on public buildings

By Senhan Bolelli

MADRID (AA) - Catalonia removed separatist symbols on public buildings on Friday ahead of general elections in Spain slated for April 28.

The act came after the chief prosecutor opened investigation against Catalonia’s President Quim Tora after he rejected to obey instructions by Spain’s Central Electoral Board two times to remove separatist symbols on public buildings.

Torra ignored instructions by election officials for 11 days citing “freedom of speech”.

The president ordered to remove the banners supporting Catalan politicians -- who stood trial for separatist attempts or escaped abroad -- from the buildings in the autonomous Catalonia administration.

Among the separatist signs removed were yellow ribbons, which are the symbol of Catalonia’s independence attempt, and the flags of Catalonia.

The socialist minority government, which has been in power for eight months, recently launched a "dialogue" initiative to find support for the 2019 state budget and to take a step towards resolving the Catalan problem.

Late Tuesday, the government released the text of a 21-article roadmap that was first proposed by Torra to Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Dec. 20.

Entitled “A state pact to resolve the conflict between Spain and Catalonia", the document touched on international mediation efforts and calls for negotiations between the Spanish and Catalan governments “on an equal footing”.

Spain dissolved the Catalan parliament after the Catalan government held an illegal independence referendum in October 2017.

Shortly afterward, then Spanish Premier Mariano Rajoy implemented Article 155 of Spain’s constitution which allows Madrid to intervene in the internal affairs of the country’s autonomous regions.

Ousted Catalan President Carles Puigdemont then fled Spain to Belgium before being briefly held in Germany for 12 days under an EU arrest warrant.

He returned to Brussels after his release, where he has been living in exile ever since.

*Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur