Catalan Left-Wing CUP Party Demands Government Head Proclaim Republic

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The left-wing Catalan party Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) sent a letter on Friday to the head of the autonomy's government Carles Puigdemont demanding that he proclaim republic in Catalonia.

"Only by proclaiming the republic will we be able to show respect for what most people expressed in the vote, only by proclaiming the republic we will be able to identify ourselves as a participant ready to monitor the civil and political rights of the population, which are still at risk," the CUP party said in a letter published on its website.

Party representatives noted that any other response to the demand of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy "would mean supporting all his threats, contempt and deterrence, as well as the return to Spain's constitutional legislation, with which the majority decided to break."

On Tuesday, Puigdemont said that the vote results had shown that Catalonia had received the right to become an independent state in the form of a republic. However, Puigdemont urged the regional parliament to suspend the declaration of the region's independence and instead push for talks with the central authorities. Following the speech, Puigdemont and a number of lawmakers signed the declaration of independence, which has no legal force.

On October 1, the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia held a referendum on independence, which the Spanish authorities do not recognize.