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And you thought we had problems with Quebec?
Ahhhhhh Catalonia!!!! Any news that refers to this little region deserves attention (Wheres Emery??)
Anyways Catalonia and it's need for autonomy and belief that it has a separate culture etc (not to mention Basque region either).. reminds me a lot of Quebec here. I just found this article kind of interesting.
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Spain Arrests General Over Threat Against Government (Update1)
Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Spanish Defense Minister Jose Bono ordered the arrest of one of Spain's leading generals after the general suggested the army would intervene should the government grant further autonomy to the northern region of Catalonia.
Lieutenant General Jose Mena Aguado, the commander of Spain's army, was placed under house arrest for eight days from Saturday and will be fired at the next meeting of the Spanish cabinet, the Ministry of Defense said in a press release on its Web site.
Mena said in a Jan. 6 speech that a proposed law governing Catalonia's relationship with Spain would have ``serious consequences'' because it threatens the unity of Spain, newspapers including El Pais and El Mundo reported. He said that the military would be obliged to act under Article 8 of the Spanish constitution should the law be approved.
``Let's not forget that we have sworn and promised to follow the constitution and ensure that it is followed,'' El Pais reported Mena as saying. ``For soldiers, any oath or promise is a question of honor.''
Mena's views represent an isolated case within Spain's armed forces, a government survey of troops showed, El Pais reported today, citing unidentified members of the government. Mena said in his speech that his concerns were widely shared by other soldiers that he had spoken to, the paper said.
Catalan Vote
The Catalan regional government voted Sept. 30 last year in favor of a new statute which describes Catalonia as a nation and gives the region greater control over tax collection and its judiciary. The plans must be approved by the national parliament in Madrid before they become law.
Article 8 of the constitution says that the mission of the armed forces is to defend Spain's territorial integrity and constitutional order.
Officers from the Spanish military tried to unseat the government in 1981, three years after the democratic constitution was established. They held lawmakers in the Spanish Parliament at gunpoint and fired shots into the ceiling of the chamber.
The attempted coup failed after King Juan Carlos made a television address denouncing the plotters.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?...yk&refer=europe
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