Unionists pressure Rajoy to not negotiate "privileges" with Mas

New Spanish platform calls for "mobilization" to prevent "opaque maneuvers";Prepares Madrid act for 11 September.

JOAN RUSIÑOL Madrid
1 min
Presentació del manifest unionista a Madrid

Outside the doors of Madrid's parliament and in the burning sun, the proponents of the unionist platform Libres y Iguales (Free and Equal) have read their founding manifesto, which calls for a "mobilization" of Spanish society against the Catalan independence movement. It is an attempt to combat, they say, the pro-independence argument. Relying on constitutional values, they have risen like a wall against "opaque maneuvers designed to offer new privileges to nationalism at the expense of Spain's sovereignty".

This carries a special significance, presumably just a few days before the meeting that Spanish president Mariano Rajoy will have with Catalan president Artur Mas. For this reason they reject any "negotiation that, with the pretext of avoiding conflict," would set "limits" on Spain's sovereignty. To put it another way: they want the political parties-- they named the PP, the PSOE, UPyD and Ciutadans-- to firmly oppose the 9 November consultation.

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