Foreign Affairs Magazine on Catalonia: “Of all examples, Spain chose the wrong Serbian one”

This is how Foreign Affairs starts its article about the actions of the Spanish government to prevent the unilateral declaration of independence in Catalonia.

“It has now threatened to shut down the Catalan regional government if it considers the independence referendum result, as Serbia did with the Kosovar government in 1990. Since October 1 it has maintained a massive presence throughout the region—with police sent in from other parts of the country—despite apologizing for this week’s violence”, Foreign Affairs magazine writes.

Joseph Huddleston, the writer of this article, finds another similarity between Milosevic in 1990 and the Spanish government today at the mobilizing of the army.

“On Thursday it dispatched hundreds of soldiers to the region, also mimicking the Serbian government’s reaction to Kosovo’s declaration. To many Catalans, all of this resembles an external force occupying a territory rather than a legitimate law enforcement presence attempting to maintain the peace”, the author notes.

Foreign Affairs says that the reaction of the Spanish government is exaggerated, and, if escalated, it could bring other more severe consequences, including an armed conflict.

“This has surprised even Madrid’s Catalonian allies, who are not as fierce as before to oppose the independence”, the article continues, noting that just 42% of the population participated in these elections. If Madrid had restrained itself, most of the Catalonian would have probably ignored the referendum.

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