[Marxism] Military intervention to oppose Catalonian autonomy?

[Dbachmozart@xxxxxxx]

Spain Holds General After Remarks 
By RENWICK MCLEAN
Published: January 7, 2006
MADRID, Jan. 7 - A Spanish Army general was put under house arrest on 
Saturday after he suggested that military intervention might be necessary to 
quell 
demands for greater autonomy from the northeastern region of Catalonia, the 
Defense Ministry said.
Recalling the dispute over Catalan autonomy that was a partial cause of the 
Spanish Civil War in the 1930's, Lt. Gen. José Mena Aguado, 63, said on Friday 
night that history appeared to be repeating itself as the nation debated 
Catalonia's recent requests for more self-government, and that the military was 
ready to act. 
"It is our obligation to warn that there could be serious consequences for 
the armed forces as an institution and for its members if the Statute of 
Catalonia is approved in its proposed form," he said during a speech to members 
of 
the military in Seville.
"The Constitution establishes a series of impassable limits for any statute 
of autonomy," he said, referring to the type of law that describes the 
relationship between Spain's regional governments and Madrid. "But if those 
limits are 
exceeded, which thankfully is unthinkable at this time, it would be necessary 
to apply Article 8 of the Constitution."
Article 8 establishes that the armed forces are responsible for defending 
Spain's "territorial integrity" and "the constitutional order."
The proposed statute, which was approved overwhelmingly by the Catalan 
regional Parliament in September, says that Catalonia is a nation unto itself 
whose 
powers of self-government are not restricted by the Spanish Constitution.
Critics of the proposal, who include both liberal and conservative 
politicians, say it could set the stage for an eventual declaration of 
independence if 
it were passed in its current form. 
Although democracy has taken root in Spain since the death of Gen. Francisco 
Franco in 1975, the military's history of intervening to settle political 
disputes continues to cast a shadow over Spanish politics. Today, many 
Spaniards 
remain wary of a strong military, and refuse to support significant increases 
in military spending.
Most political parties immediately condemned General Mena's comments, 
although a spokesman for the conservative Popular Party, the main opposition 
group in 
Parliament, said that statements like his were inevitable because Prime 
Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero had failed to vigorously oppose the 
Catalan 
proposal. 
In comments to the Spanish news agency Europa Press, the spokesman, Gabriel 
Elorriaga, said that Mr. Zapatero had stood idle while the Catalan proposal 
created a "serious constitutional crisis."
Mr. Zapatero has said that the proposal is unconstitutional and must be 
modified before he will support it.
Catalonia, a region of about seven million people in Spain's northeastern 
corner, has been home to a potent separatist movement for more than 100 years. 
The region is one of Spain's economic engines, and supporters of more 
autonomy say that it provides Spain with much more than it gets in return, 
particularly in taxes that go to support poorer regions, like Andalucia and 
Extremadura. 
In announcing the detention of General Mena on Saturday, the Defense Ministry 
said it would propose to Mr. Zapatero that the general, who is scheduled to 
retire in March, be relieved of his command. 
During his speech on Friday, Mr. Mena, who was scheduled to retire in March, 
suggested that others in the military shared his views.
"I have an obligation to know the feelings, concerns, and preoccupations of 
my subordinates," he said. "It is their express wish that I transmit them to 
the top authorities of the Army and to make them public."
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