by Mark Mclaughlin
Agence France-Presse
GLASGOW, United Kingdom (AFP) — The Scottish National Party on Monday urged the Spanish government to “respect the overwhelming ‘si’ vote” in the Catalan independence referendum in a resolution at its annual conference.
Members unanimously passed the motion, which called the banned referendum earlier this month an “expression of the democratic will of the people of Catalonia.”
The motion also called on the UN and the EU to resolve the political impasse over the referendum.
Scottish nationalists have expressed solidarity with the Catalan people in a series of demonstrations and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has backed the right of the Catalan government to hold a vote on secession.
Following the vote, she said she was “increasingly concerned by images from Catalonia,” as Spanish police forced their way into many polling stations and fired rubber bullets at protesters.
The conference resolution recognised “that the decision over Catalonia’s future direction is a matter for the people who live there” but said it was “concerned by any state which seeks to deny people’s right to democratically express their will.”
It accused Spanish police of using “disproportionate and unnecessary force against Catalan citizens” and condemned Spain’s “attempts to electronically sabotage the vote.”
During a debate on the motion, SNP lawmaker Joanna Cherry, who was in Catalonia during the vote, said she saw “repression on a scale I never expected to see in a Western European democracy.”
Members paid tribute to “the patient, determined and non violent behavior of the voters of Catalonia” and stressed the party’s support for the right to self-determination.
The SNP and other pro-independence parties in 2014 lost a vote to leave the United Kingdom, polling 45 percent against 55 percent who opted to remain.
Scottish independence is not on the agenda of the three-day conference after Sturgeon formally shelved plans until Brexit negotiations advance.
‘Consequences’ for Spain
Alyn Smith, Scottish National Party Member of the European Parliament, warned Spain it would face repercussions for its crackdown.
“There will be police investigations, judicial investigations,” he told AFP.
“There will be consequences and it is right that we should add our voice to the defence of international law and fundamental personal freedoms.”
SNP lawmaker Sandra White said the EU would be “complicit in these attacks on the Spanish people” unless it spoke out.
White repeated her criticism on the European response to the Catalan referendum at a Monday rally in Glasgow, Scotland’s second city, attended by around 200 supporters of the ‘yes’ vote.
The protesters rallied around Glasgow’s memorial to the Spanish Civil War, carrying banners reading “Solidarity With Catalonia” and “The Situation Is Just A Bit Messi” in reference to the Barcelona football star.
Demonstrator Sergi Besa, from Figueres in Catalonia, told AFP she was happy with the Scottish response.
“I’m very grateful during all the process, because the SNP has backed us up in a very nice way, you know, one of the few that did so, you know, it’s to be thankful for. Thanks very much,” the 37-year-old said.
© Agence France-Presse