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#CatalanReferendum: European Commission says 'this is an internal matter for Spain'

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The images shared on Twitter, Facebook and on news channels show an excessive use of force by the Gardia Civil against those Catalans who chose to go ahead and vote in Sunday’s (1 October) independence referendum – a referendum which had already been pronounced ‘illegal’ by the Spanish constitutional court, writes Catherine Feore.

The folly of the Spanish central government in pursuing such an aggressive approach is hard to fathom. It is especially so, given the reaction to the previous weekend's arrests and the public and international reaction to what appeared to be oppressive actions against elected representatives.

Had the referendum quietly gone ahead without resistance, the central government could simply have stated that it was illegal, that it was not properly monitored and that those who voted represented the most extreme wing of Catalan independence – so any result could have been described as invalid.

Instead of losing local and international support they could have calmly outlined their actions and explained their position. Until yesterday, it would have been hard to describe the Catalans as an oppressed people, in fact it could be argued that the Catalans have worked hard to not only have Catalan as an officially recognised language but have eliminated Spanish from primary schools. Who is the oppressor in this scenario?

Yesterday, Carles Puigdemont, president of the autonomous region stated: "The [Catalan] government will take to the Parliament of Catalonia, seat and expression of the will of the citizens, the results, so that they can act in accordance with the previsions of the Law of the Referendum.”

The illegal referendum had a turnout of just over 42%, unsurprisingly this group largely reflected the pro-Independence position. In no way can this be taken as a vindication of the region’s position.

Both Mariano Rajoy, prime minister, and the Catalan President stood in front of their national and European flags when making their pronouncements.

Puigdemont made a plea to the European Union , which has defended the Spanish government’s position that they are defending the rule of law: "The European Union cannot continue looking in the other direction. We're European citizens suffering the violation of rights and liberties, directly violations of the European Charter of Fundamental Rights… [Europe] will have “to maintain the moral authority in and out of the continent when these abuses scandalise the men and women of good around the world.”

Rajoy has taken a hard line defending the police action. He also thanked the EU and the international community for their support.

Reactions from European heads of government have been muted. Charles Michel, Prime Minister of Belgium – who faces his own secessionist parties – tweeted that he condemned the use of violence and that the parties should return to dialogue.

It is clear at this point that Puigdemont believes his moment has arrived.

What will happen next is a matter of conjecture, but the dynamic has changed over the weekend. Polling organizations thought that a legal referendum would have produced a narrow victory for a ‘No’ vote. Whether the actions of the Spanish government have changed the hearts and minds of voters remains to be seen. The ball is very much in the Spanish government’s court.

The European Commission spokesperson, Margaritas Schinas, read out a response stating that the decision to go ahead with the referendum was not legal and that it was an internal matter for Spain. He said that the European Commission has to respect the constitutional order of Spain. They added that violence should never be an instrument in politics.

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