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TEHRAN, October 9 - Around 250,000 anti-independence Catalans, and supporters from the rest of Spain protested against any moves for a breakaway state.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Spain in faces a week of deep political uncertainty as the standoff between the independence-minded leader of the region of Catalonia and the central government in Madrid shows no sign of easing.
In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt on Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy laid out his determination to prevent any secession by the northeastern province, which is also the powerhouse of the Spanish economy.
"Spain will not be divided, and the national unity will be preserved. To this end we will employ all the means we have within the law. It is up to the government to make decisions, and to do so at the right moment," he was reported as saying.
"We have listened to many people. I believe we know what Spaniards think, and they should know that the government too is clear about what it has to do."
Around 250,000 anti-independence Catalans, and supporters from the rest of Spain, marched through the streets of Barcelona on Sunday to protest any moves for a breakaway state, following a divisive and controversial referendum on October 1 that found the majority of Catalans in favor of independence.
Catalan regional leader Carles Puigdemont has rescheduled a session of the Catalan regional parliament for Tuesday after Spain's Constitutional Court suspended Monday's session.
Members of Puigdemont's Popular Unity Candidacy party (CUP) had threatened to meet in Parliament on Monday anyway, in an act of defiance, but it is unclear if they will.
A Catalan Parliament spokesperson told CNN that a new session had been called for Tuesday at 6 p.m. (12:00 p.m. ET), in which Puigdemont is expected to update members on the "current political situation."
The address could be the moment when Catalonia's leader declares that the region will break away.
"Many people believe -- and he seems to be moving in that direction -- that he will use this opportunity to declare, or to announce the results of the referendum which, as far as he was concerned, were overwhelmingly in favor of independence," Dominic Thomas, chair of the department of French and Francophone Studies, University of California Los Angeles, told CNN.
Whatever happens this week, it's clear that there are deep divisions over the issue, not only between Madrid and Barcelona, but within Catalonia as well.
Rajoy vowed on Saturday to use every tool within the law to stop any meaningful declaration of independence, including a never-before-used clause in the Spanish Constitution to suspend Catalonia's autonomy.
"We are going to stop independence from happening. On that, I can tell you with absolute frankness, that it will not happen. It is evident that we will take whatever decision that we are permitted to by law, in view of how things are unfolding," Rajoy told the El Pais newspaper in an interview.
"The ideal scenario would be that there were no need for drastic solutions, but for that there would need to be rectifications."
Source: CNN
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