Catalonia appeals for ‘dialog’ in letter to Madrid ahead of referendum

‘Leaders of Spain’s independence-seeking Catalonia region have called for “dialog” with the central government in an effort to fend off a political crisis over an upcoming referendum on separation from the mainland.
In a Friday letter addressed to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and King Felipe VI, Catalonia’s regional president Carles Puigdemont and Barcelona mayor Ada Colau complained that the state had mounted “an unprecedented repression offensive” against the autonomous region.
The letter also appealed for “political dialog, based on the legitimacy we all have, to make possible something that in a democracy is never a problem and even less a crime: listening to the voice of the people.”’
Read more: Catalonia appeals for ‘dialog’ in letter to Madrid ahead of referendum