Catalan President sacked by Madrid calls for peaceful resistance to Spain’s power takeover

Published time: 28 Oct, 2017 12:41Edited time: 28 Oct, 2017 14:37

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People celebrate and wave Catalan separatist flags in front of the Catalan regional government headquarters after the Catalan regional parliament declared independence from Spain in Barcelona, Spain, October 27, 2017 © Yves Herman / Reuters

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who was fired by the Spanish government over the region’s declaration of independence, has called on the people to non-violently resist Madrid’s takeover bid.

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In a televised address on Saturday, Puigdemont said Madrid’s decision to suspend the autonomy of the province and appoint Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria as Catalonia’s provisionary head goes against the will of the people.

“It's very clear that the best form of defending the gains made up until now is democratic opposition to article 155,” Puigdemont said in a brief statement aired on public regional TV3 broadcaster. He further pledged to “continue working to build a free country”.

Madrid’s move came after the Catalan Parliament voted to declare the region independent from the Spanish government on Friday.

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Spanish Prime Minister Rajoy announced the dismissal of Puigdemont and his cabinet, as well as the head of the regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra. He also dissolved the Catalan parliament and announced a snap election will be held in the region on December 21.

READ MORE: Madrid sacks Catalan government, snap elections scheduled for December 21