Catalunya's president says 'extremism' and violence could arise through blocking referendum
Thursday, October 2, 2014 @ 1:35 PM
CATALUNYA'S president has warned of an 'extreme risk of violence' in the streets unless the Constitutional Court allows the public consultation on independence to go ahead on November 9.
Artur Mas refers to a verdict dating back to 2003 from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which states that if governments do not resolve political challenges and the public feels it is deprived of its right to participate in making decisions, this tends to fuel 'public contempt for Parliamentary democracy', 'political extremism' and 'even violence'.
The central government's response has been to send extra riot police to Catalunya in anticipation of public upheaval on the streets.
Mas stresses that the Constitution is 35 years old and 'cannot be read or interpreted in the same way' as it was when it was originally created in the late 1970s.
Public consultations, if not actually referenda, are 'normal procedures' in 'international western democracies' including those of the UK, Ireland, Canada, France, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Italy and Switzerland, Mas stresses.
He cites the verdict by the Canadian High Court in relation to the French-speaking region of Québéc, which states that 'the system must reflect the aspirations of the population'.
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