Spain: Rajoy asks the independenceists to give up climbing
The leader of the Spanish government on Wednesday called on the separatist leaders of Catalonia to "give up the escalation" claiming a referendum of self-determination.

 Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Wednesday called on the independence leaders of Catalonia to "give up the escalation" as thousands of Catalans demonstrated to demand a referendum of self-determination.

"This referendum is a chimera". "Do not go any further, come back to law and democracy, this referendum is a chimera," Mariano Rajoy said in a televised address. "Give up once and for all this escalation of radicalism and disobedience," said the head of government. "There is still time to avoid greater evils," he warned after 14 executives from the Catalan regional government were arrested, provoking street protests against the Spanish government and the police.

 Comparto con vosotros mi declaración institucional pic.twitter.com/B6dqWC1aPX

 - Mariano Rajoy Brey (@marianorajoy) 20 September 2017
A "totalitarian attitude of Madrid" denounced by Catalonia. The draft referendum defended by the separatists on Wednesday caused new tensions between Barcelona and Madrid after the arrest of the Secretary of State for the Catalan Economy, Josep María Jové, during police operations conducted by the Civil Guard. The president of the regional executive, Carles Puigdemont, condemned the "anti-democratic" and "totalitarian" attitude of the central government in Madrid and called on the Catalans to defend democracy against a "repressive regime" by participating en masse in the referendum of the 1st October.