24.04.2014 - 10:52
The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, took advantage of the Sant Jordi festivities to make it clear to correspondents of foreign media that he is determined to go forward with the referendum, as he explained in an interview on El Punt Avui TV. The prestigious London newspaper Financial Times is one of the media outlets who reported his comments in the foreign press: “We will not halt this process. If we halt this process and there is no alternative, the frustation here will be absolute,” said Mas, who insisted that he is “100% committed to calling the Catalan people for a vote on next November 9th”.
From the Financial Times:
Catalonia’s president has vowed to press ahead with a fiercely contentious referendum on independence from Spain, warning that he now saw little chance of a negotiated settlement with Madrid that could tackle the region’s economic and political grievances.
Artur Mas said he was “100 per cent” committed to calling a regional vote on Catalonia’s future status in November – just two months after Scotland’s independence referendum. “We will not halt this process. If we halt this process and there is no alternative the frustration here will be absolute,” he told a group of foreign journalists in Barcelona.
