Catalan MP: Independence declaration would be mistake

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If Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont unilaterally declares independence of Spain's Catalonia region, it would be a "historical mistake," said Fernando Sanchez Costa, a pro-unity member of parliament (MP) of Catalonia.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced last Saturday that his government would ask the Senate to approve its plan to trigger Article 155 of Spain's constitution, allowing it to suspend Catalonia's political autonomy, dismiss the Catalan administration and call a regional election there within six months. The Senate is expected to approve Rajoy's request on Friday.

"We still have time for dialogue, for coming to an agreement," Costa told CGTN in a recent interview, expressing his hope that Puigdemont would not declare independence.

"It would be a very very important mistake, a historical mistake if he proclaims independence," he said. "We can lose everything. Everything. Just because some people want to enter history and want to be remembered in the books of history."

The MP believed Madrid could impose further measures in Catalonia "if things go wrong" after the central government takes control of the region.

The next few days could prove crucial in the battle of wills that has followed an independence referendum on October 1, which Madrid declared illegal and the Catalan government said endorsed its claim to statehood.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont presides over a cabinet meeting at Generalitat Palace in Barcelona, Spain, October 24, 2017. /Reuters Photo

Puigdemont kept friends and foes guessing on Wednesday on whether he intended to declare independence unilaterally and spurned an invitation to explain his position to the Senate in Madrid on Thursday.

"The Spanish government has an obligation and a duty and we have sworn to make that our constitution is respected," Costa stressed.

He hoped a new election in Catalonia would draw a "new political map" in the region.