MADRID - The Spanish region of Catalonia is set to have an independence referendum on October 1 after a contentious parliamentary session in which separatists fought back opposition protests. Now that it has been approved legislatively, Catalonian Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont is expected to sign the measure into law either late Wednesday or early Thursday. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy repeated a few days ago that there is no way he would allow the economically important region to break away. "The Catalonians cannot carry out this referendum as planned because they are not allowed to do so either by the constitution or existing law." Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria called the planned referendum a "violent act" similar to what one might expect from a "dictatorial regime."

Source: The China Post September 07, 2017 03:11 UTC