Catalan leader’s letter leaves Spain in dark over independence intentions

Catalonia’s leader has not clarified whether he declared independence from Spain in a letter to the central government and has renewed a call for dialogue.

Last week, Spain had set a Monday deadline for Carles Puigdemont to explicitly say whether or not he proclaimed that Catalonia was breaking away from Spain.

Puigdemont last week said he was ready for Catalonia to “become an independent state” following an independence referendum on October 1 that went ahead despite a court ban.

But he immediately said he was suspending secession to allow time for negotiations with Madrid.

His ambiguous announcement fell far short of satisfying Puigdemont’s separatist allies, who are agitating for an immediate break from Spain, and received short shrift in Madrid.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy gave Puigdemont until 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) Monday morning to clarify whether or not he declared independence, and said the central government was ready to take direct control of the region unless he backs down.

In Monday’s letter, Puigdemont did not answer “yes” or “no” to the question “have you declared independence in Catalonia” as demanded by the Spanish government. He called for two months of dialogue and requested that Spanish authorities halt “all repression” in Catalonia.