MADRID, September 29 (RIA Novosti) - The Spanish government on Monday announced it was going to appeal Catalonia's independence referendum decree before Spain’s Constitutional Court.
"The upcoming poll [in Catalonia] runs against the Spanish constitution. We will fulfill our duty and challenge the poll that is against the interest of the Spanish people. Nothing and nobody can breach the principle of a single and inviolable sovereignty that underlies our existence, or take away from the people of Spain their right to decide on what their country is," Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said at a press conference following a special cabinet meeting.
Artur Mas, the head of Spain's northeastern region of Catalonia, on Saturday signed a decree scheduling the independence referendum for November 9. A Catalan polls law came into force the same day allowing the region to hold plebiscites without Madrid's permission.
"I regret that Mas has called this poll. It is illegal and will divide the Catalans. An initiative cannot be passed when it is unlawful. The worst thing is that [Mas] knew it from the very beginning. But there is still time to change the course and negotiate," Rajoy told journalists.
The referendum decree and the Catalan polls law will be put on hold for five months after the Spanish Constitutional Court takes them in for a review. The top court is also entitled to extend this time limit if it fails to decide on the issue in due course.
The day after the majority of Scots voted against secession from the United Kingdom on September 18, the Catalan parliament approved a law allowing a referendum on independence.
Catalans are to be asked two questions: whether they want Catalonia to become a state, and if yes, whether they want this state to be independent. The voting age threshold will be set at 16.
Catalan separatists have been accusing the government in Madrid of draining the region of tax revenues and constraining its linguistic and cultural autonomy. The central government, however, claims Catalonia benefits from the union with Spain and enjoys a wide autonomy.
