Carles Puigdemont, the leader of Catalonia, who saw through a vote for independence on Sunday in the face of State interference and police violence, has not yet declared unilateral independence and is open to talks with Madrid.
Puigdemont has urged international mediation to settle matters between Madrid and Catalonia, but stressed that the results announced by the regional government after yesterday's pro-independence referendum should stand.
The Catalan leader said he is now to refer to his regional parliament to decide what to do next which could include a unilateral declaration of independence. The Catalan government already has demanded that the Guardia Civil and National Police forces withdraw from the region.
Partly due to Madrid’s interference in the voting process, a referendum that Spain’s Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and constitutional court both declared illegal, the referendum result was a massive 90.09% in favour of independence of Spain.
Puigdemont says there is no open dialogue with Madrid and that mediation may be necessary, possibly though the intervention of the European Union even though Brussels has made it quite clear that this is a Spanish problem and it wants nothing to do with it.
The Catalan leader accused Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of not recognising that "there is a political problem" and has announced a commission to study the violence metered out on Sunday where 893 Catalans were injured by State forces using batons and rubber bullets in a failed attempt to stop people voting.
The UN has asked the Spanish government to investigate "all acts of violence" occurring yesterday and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, said he was "disturbed" by the violence and that that police actions should be "proportionate."
