Catalan vice president says Spain has left no other option but to "secede"

Catalonia's lawmakers meet in Barcelona Thursday for a session many fear will lead to a unilateral declaration of independence by the region facing a takeover from Madrid for its secessionist push by week's end.

On a day that could make or break already tenuous relations between Spain and its wayward northeastern region, the 135-member Catalan parliament, in which separatists hold a majority, is set to meet from 5:00 pm local time (1500 GMT) to formulate a plan.

At the same time, a senate committee will gather in the Spanish capital to work on a blueprint for seizing the region's institutions, police, and finances unless it backs off from independence ambitions.

Both parties are standing firm.

Catalan vice president on side of secession

"The government is not giving us any option other than defending the civil liberties of citizens through the best institutional instruments," Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueres told Spanish television on Wednesday.

In an interview Junqueras said his party – one of two in the separatist coalition now governing Catalonia – rejected calling an early regional election as a way out of the political deadlock because it believes that Catalans already have chosen independence.

Junqueras said his party would "work toward building a republic, because we understand that there is a democratic mandate to establish such a republic."

He said he was speaking only on behalf of his Republican Left party and not for the regional government. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont is to address regional lawmakers in parliament Thursday evening.

Puigdemont maintains silence

Puigdemont on Wednesday turned down an invitation to address senators in Madrid before the week is out, leaving little hope that Spain's power grab can be avoided.

He also kept his silence on whether to call for a new regional election, a move which might prompt the Madrid government to postpone its plan to take over Catalonia's institutions and police.

Junqueras ruled an election out, saying it would be wrong and illogical "to renounce the democratic mandate that we have from citizens."

Catalonia is one of 17 regions, with varying degrees of autonomy, that make up Spain.

Some members of Puigdemont's executive branch have urged him to avoid a full-on clash with Madrid by not declaring independence, but instead calling early elections for a new Catalan parliament.

Puigdemont instead plans to attend a session of the Catalan parliament in Barcelona, the region's capital, beginning on Thursday and ending on Friday, officials said.

Possibility of suspending the Catalan Parliament

Spain has announced plans to fire Catalonia's government and directly manage its affairs after it held an independence vote that was declared illegal by the country's constitutional court. 

The never-before-used Article 155 of the constitution is designed to rein in rebel regions. 

It gives the government ill-defined and untested powers to act when the country's "general interests" come under threat.

The senate is set to approve measures stripping Puigdemont and his executive of all power.

The measures would come into effect on Saturday, and remain in place for up to six months – until elections are called and a new Catalan parliament sworn in. 

Spain's Senate is expected to approve the Catalan takeover measures on Friday. Puigdemont could address the Senate to argue with them, but has chosen to stay in Barcelona instead.

The Spanish government spokesman, minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo, said the decision was not surprising and showed that Puigdemont is not interested in establishing a dialogue.

Puigdemont called an urgent brainstorming meeting with his cabinet, majors and pro-independence civil groups late Wednesday night.

Spanish PM sees Article 155 as "only possible" solution

In Madrid, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said his government's plans to take control of Catalonia's key affairs and halt the region's push for independence were "exceptional" measures he hoped would not be needed for long.

The conservative prime minister told Parliament that invoking constitutional authority over Catalonia was the "only possible" way to bring the region back in line with Spanish law, which he said the separatist Catalan government has violated repeatedly.

"The government's response is the only one possible, given the stance of the Catalan institutions," Rajoy said. "I am fulfilling my duty and I am doing it in the face of a rejection of our laws, of our Constitution and of the millions of Catalan citizens who can see that their [regional] government has flouted the law."

Rajoy said he hopes the measures will be brief, but they will only be lifted once order is restored in Catalonia.

Rajoy said the aim of Article 155 of the Spanish constitution is not to suspend Catalonia's self-government but "to restore legality, boost the social co-existence that has been broken in Catalonia and tackle the economic consequences that its decisions are provoking."

Protesters and rallies continue

A few hundred protesters gathered Wednesday outside the offices of the Catalan government, the Generalitat, demanding "independence" and "liberty" from Spain.

On Thursday, university students will demonstrate in Barcelona against Spain's plans to take over Catalonia's government and the arrest of two pro-independence leaders.

Whatever the outcome, observers fear the standoff will spark unrest in the region where tourism numbers have dropped and close to 1,500 companies have removed their legal headquarters since the referendum.

Month-long crisis

The worst political crisis in Spain in decades was sparked by a "Yes" vote in a banned October 1 referendum on independence for the semi-autonomous region which accounts for 16 percent of Spain's population and 20 percent of its economic output.

The region of 7.5 million people is fiercely protective of its language and culture and has long struggled for autonomy – which was restored after the repressive 1939-1975 rule of dictator Francisco Franco.

Catalans, however, are deeply divided on independence from Spain. About 43 percent of eligible voters – some 2.3 million – turned out for the unregulated referendum.

Spain's Constitutional Court has ruled against the October 1 referendum Catalonia's government held and central authorities in Madrid say the vote's results are invalid. The vast majority of those who voted backed independence, but the vote had numerous problems, including police violence to stop it.