Hardly a week has passed to the Kurdish referendum that we have witnessed another one. This time it was held in Spain. However, results were same in the Middle East and Europe; people want their states of their own. Despite Spanish government’s efforts to sabotage the process, just below 90% of those who voted cast their vote in favour of independence.
This is a crucial development in Europe, which has to face other fledgling separationist movements. The Spanish response to the referendum and how other nations react to it is also in focus. The way Spanish government tried to put a stop to the process is very different from how the United Kingdom persuaded people of Scotland not to go for the option of independence. In case of the former, the government resorted to violence, whereas in the latter, the state relied on political argumentation. Scotland returned to normalcy once the vote failed, but even if the vote is legally declared unconstitutional, Catalonia will still be seething.
However, referendum has already led Spain and the European Union towards a crisis. First, on violence that was used against Catalonians to bar them from the voting process, the majority of members of EU remained silent on Spanish repression. The silence of the member states reveals these countries being fearful of the possibility of other separatist movements in their own countries. The second set of queries includes questions such as; should an independent Catalonia join the EU? Should it join the euro? What would happen if Spain blocked Catalonia’s membership? What would happen to Spain’s economy shorn of the Catalonian powerhouse that produces 20% of the country’s wealth? What would happen to Spain’s sovereign debts?
The way Spain and the European Union settle all these questions and issues will impact movements of self-determination around the world in the days to come.