THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Pro-independence government chief of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, says the region won’t accept Madrid’s moves to impose direct rule. “The institutions and the people of Catalonia cannot accept this attack,” he said in an official statement following Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s announcement that he plans to curb the powers of the Catalonia’s parliament, sack its government and call an election within six months.
Puigdemont called on the Catalan parliament to meet to debate the measures, which he described as the “worst attacks” since the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
He warned that the “response of citizens will be severe and will end up with a big step backwards.”
Rajoy announced the new measures for Catalonia earlier on Saturday (21 October), following a meeting with the central government to discuss thwarting efforts by the autonomous region to break away from Spain.
A vote is now scheduled for next Friday (27 October) in Spain’s upper house, the Senate, where the measures must be approved. That seems a foregone conclusion as Rajoy’s ruling conservatives have a majority in the chamber as well as support on the issue from the main opposition.
Madrid says suspending some of Catalonia’s autonomy – a move that could be applied under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution – would guarantee “freedom, security and plurality” in the face of “rebellious disobedience.”
Tensions in Spain have heightened since Catalonia held a referendum on independence on 1 October, deemed illegal by Madrid.
Austin Ohaegbu with agency reports
