Spanish court suspends Catalan parliament session

By Alyssa McMurtry

BARCELONA (AA) - Spain’s constitutional court has suspended the Catalan parliamentary session planned for Monday, in which the pro-separatist coalition was expected to make a unilateral declaration of independence from Spain.

This comes days after Sunday’s independence referendum, which violated Spanish law and was marked by police force against passive resistance.

Catalan authorities say around 900 people were injured and that of the nearly 2.3 million votes counted, 90 percent voted in favor of an independent Catalan Republic. Catalonia’s total population is around 7.5 million.

Spain’s constitutional court made a unanimous decision to suspend the session after Catalonia’s Socialist Party filed a request to block it. The ruling, made Thursday, declares that any act, resolution or agreement that contravenes the suspension will be “radically null and without any value”.

The court also warned those who ignore the suspension that they could face penal consequences.

However, the pro-separatist party has repeatedly violated decisions made by Spain’s constitutional court, and say they are acting within a new legality that was passed in the regional parliament.

Tensions are high throughout Catalonia, with society increasingly polarized and nervous about the potential outcome.

Carles Puigdemont, Catalan president, has called for international mediation to help settle the dispute. However, Spain’s central government hopes to solve the problem itself and restore the constitutional order in the wealthy northeastern region.

“Puigdemont is not only outside the law, he’s outside of reality,” Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, told Spanish media on Wednesday.

The National Assembly of Catalonia (ANC), a major pro-independence group, has called on its supporters to partake in a “massive demonstration” on Monday, according to Spanish media.