Dubai/Abu Dhabi: Many Spaniards living in the UAE have strongly objected to Catalonia’s move to declare independence from Spain.
Speaking to Gulf News, several residents hailing from different parts of Spain including Catalonia said they would never approve of dividing their country based on a referendum which they consider illegal.
Diego Martinez from Dubai said the incidents in Catalonia on October 1 made him feel extremely sad. “It is hard to see when your country becomes a trending topic in all the social media because of these riots.”
The referendum held last Sunday was in violation of the constitution and Spanish and European legal frames, he said.
“There are evidences of people voting several times. The registers were far from accuracy, and the people voted on the streets without any control or supervision. This situation is the result of decades of a conflict where nobody wanted to hold dialogue, face it, or realise that there was a big issue growing bigger in inner Spain.”
He said the referendum should have been held according to the law and the constitution, under the supervision of the Spanish government and with participation of the whole country, “because the independence of one part of Spain involves and affects all of us.”
Unity is strength
“I always believed that Spain was a gifted country, accommodating many diverse people, culture, languages, gastronomy, and above all that peculiar bubbly effect that characterised Spanish people wherever they go. Having said that, I do not conceive a dismembered Spain, separating our regions and creating retrograde land divisions. Our unity makes our strength. Our unity makes our Spain,” she noted.
YCR, an expat from Spanish capital Madrid, said that she was ashamed of the Catalan referendum and its aftermath.
“I feel that both the central government and the Catalonian leadership are behaving like children. Catalonia has its concerns, and it is the right of the Catalans to be heard. But having a referendum, and then having people from the central government in Madrid react to it, is not the way to having those concerns heard.”
YCR, who lives in Abu Dhabi, also said that the referendum was illegal, and its results were also not representative of the real will of the Catalans.
“If there has to be a referendum, it should not exclude the rest of Spain. Every Spanish national should be allowed to vote, including those who live outside Spain, when a matter of such importance is being discussed,” she said.
YCR added that the leaders should sit down and have objective talks that are not driven by misplaced passion.
Apply law
“Everybody can have an opinion and there is ample space to discuss and agree or disagree, but at the end we have to abide by a set of rules and regulations. The Catalonia’s government has systematically broken this set of rules and regulations, and this is unacceptable. They have put families and friends against each other.”
“I cannot understand why people want to divide instead of living in unity. Catalonia is a beautiful part of Spain like Andalusia and or any other region in Spain. Our culture is very rich. We have got one of the best gastronomes in the world. Our cities are very beautiful. Spain is famous for sports like tennis, golf, badminton, football, basketball, and motorsport.”
“If a region and its government believes it is above the law, then action must be taken. In fact, the army should be sent in if unnecessary unrest is being stirred,” he said.
He said Catalonia, as a region of Spain, has the most autonomy compared to any region he knows of, including its own police and health system, and its own elections.
“But Catalonia is still a part of Spain, and many of us have friends and properties there. Breaking away from Spain because of the wishes of 30 per cent of Catalans is not justified, and if this movement continues, I believe the central government should revoke the region’s right to any autonomy,” he added.
Chance for peace
Egos on both sides should not direct the course of Spain, said Carlos Prada Perez, an account manager from the Catalonian city of Barcelona.
“I don’t know enough to say whether the Catalan call to secede from Spain is justified. Still, the use of force is not right, no matter what the issue. Perhaps the best solution would be to grant Catalonia as much autonomy as Basque Country, including in matters of economy,” said Perez who lives in Abu Dhabi.
Alex, the general Manager of a tourism company, from Mallorca, said: “The union has strengthened everyone already. The referendum by the president of the autonomous community of Catalonia is illegal and useless.”
