MADRID (AP) – Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday accused Catalan separatists of working to destroy centuries of Spanish unity and vowed not to allow them to succeed.
Speaking after the government filed a challenge against a Catalan regional parliament decision to set up a road map for independence by 2017, Rajoy said the Catalan move was an attack on Spain’s sovereignty and democracy.
“We’re talking about the defense of an entire country,” he said. “They are trying to liquidate the unity of a nation with more than five centuries of history.”
The government called on the Constitutional Court to suspend the Catalan resolution while it is being studied and warn Catalan officials against taking any further secessionist steps.
The court was to meet later Wednesday.