Catalan Referendum Police Violence Immoral - Belgian Politician

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Violence committed by the Spanish police after the referendum on Catalan independence reveals the European Union's lack of an adequate response and the fact that the EU authorities have given up their moral principles, Bart Claes, a member of the Belgian right-wing Vlaams Belang (Flemish Interest) party, told Sputnik.

"The Catalan referendum shows very clearly the mendacious nature of the eurocratic establishment. On the one hand, the EU always raises its finger with the most pretentious tone when the police wound 4 or 5 civilians abroad, but when it comes to one of their own regimes wounding 800 peaceful demonstrators, those lofty principles don’t apply? The EU certainly lost its 'moral high ground' with these events," Claes said.

On Tuesday, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont declared that sovereignty is the only form of maintaining self-governance for Catalonia. Puigdemont emphasized that the recent independence referendum reveals the willingness of Catalans to live in a sovereign republican state.

Catalonia's independence referendum, which is not recognized by the Spanish authorities, was held on October 1. The official results of the vote showed that 90.18 percent, or more than 2.28 million voters, supported the secession of Catalonia from Spain, with a turnout exceeding 43 percent. On Tuesday, Spanish King Felipe VI said that the actions of the Catalan government were illegal, accusing it of "inadmissible disloyalty."

The referendum was overshadowed by violent clashes between independence supporters and Spanish police.