Why does catalunya

Catalan leaders were handed sentences of between nine and 13 years in prison after being found guilty of sedition by Spanish courts. Video of alleged police brutality during the referendum drew international outcry, and recent scenes of street violence show that heavy-handed tactics are still being deployed.

It would be undemocratic not to let Catalans exercise their right to self-determination. The Catalan people have clearly rejected attempts by the government in Madrid to roll back the autonomy which Catalonia has gained since the death of Franco in However, such a move — coming soon after the controversial raids — would probably prove hugely counter-productive. Why do some Catalans want independence and what is Spain's view? A demonstrator holds up a Catalan separatist flag in Barcelona.

What is going on in Catalonia? Why do some Catalans want independence? How strong is support for independence? But even though successive pro-independence Catalan governments have purported to speak for all Catalans, polls have consistently shown the region is evenly split on the independence issue.

Meanwhile, popular support for seceding from Spain — which reached a record high of While some Catalans have long dreamed of independence, the issue has only risen to the fore in recent years.

Calls for independence grew as Spain endured a painful and protracted economic crisis. Critics have accused him of a cynical manoeuvre to redirect that fury against the central government in Madrid.

Mas was subsequently barred from holding public office for two years. Pro-independence parties managed to get a law for the referendum passed in the regional parliament in early September , despite furious objections from opposition MPs, who said usual procedures had been disregarded. The Spanish government of the then prime minister, Mariano Rajoy, also insisted the vote would not go ahead and deployed thousands of police officers to Catalonia.

Demonstrators took to the streets in fury and have repeatedly clashed with police in some of the worst street violence to hit Spain in decades. If the separatists do ever manage to split away, it would be hard for Catalonia to win recognition internationally. New states mostly emerge from situations where ethnic groups have been victims of genocide or other major human rights abuses. Kosovo was a huge humanitarian crisis for Europe - even so, many countries refuse to recognise it as independent.

Catalonia has its own language and distinctive traditions, and a population nearly as big as Switzerland's 7. It's also a vital part of the Spanish state, locked in since the 15th Century. Barcelona has become one of the EU's best-loved city-break destinations, famed for its Summer Olympics, trade fairs, football and tourism. Generations of people from poorer parts of Spain have moved there for work, forming strong family bonds with regions such as Andalusia.

During this crisis, the Catalan economy has suffered. Thousands of businesses, including major banks and energy firms, have moved their headquarters out of the region. The EU has treated the crisis as an internal matter for Spain, deaf to the separatists' pleas for support.

However, there have been warnings that the issue is damaging Spain's democratic credentials. In the Economist Intelligence Unit, which compiles an influential annual democracy ranking, said Spain risked being downgraded from a "full democracy" to a "flawed" one over its handling of the situation.