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                  Spain Challenges Catalonia Independence Bid

   by VOA News

   The Spanish government filed a legal challenge Wednesday to a decision
   by lawmakers in the country's northeastern Catalonia region to seek
   independence.

   The regional parliament approved a roadmap for secession in a vote
   Monday that supporters hope will lead to separation within 18 months.

   Lawyers for the government asked the Constitutional Court to suspend
   the resolution immediately while it is being studied.

   Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the government's action is about
   "defending a whole country." He has promised to use all political and
   legal means to stop an independence push.

   Catalonia is an autonomous region of 7.5 million people that accounts
   for about 20 percent of Spain's economic output.

   The independence movement there is more than a century old, but gained
   momentum several years ago with Spain's economic crisis.

   A year ago, the region held a referendum on independence that the
   government dismissed as invalid.  About 80 percent of those who voted
   supported independence.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/spain-challenges-catalonia-independen
   ce-bid/3053024.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/spain-challenges-catalonia-independence-bid/3053024.html