This is what Crimea would have looked like if the Russians hadn't intervened. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4937860/Riot-police-clash-voters-Catalonia.html http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-...-shooting-rubber-bullets-brutally-beating-pea
"Intervene," not "invade." As usual, most Americans prefer to believe or invent the fake narrative rather than reality.
As we've previously discussed, it was an invasion. In your mind it was justifiable, but it was an invasion.
The intervention was justifiable. 1. The Coup in Kiev resulted in the installation of an illegal Ukrainian government. 2. Crimean leaders asked for help. 3. Russian soldiers legally stationed on the Crimean base left the base to protect the endangered people of Crimea from what have been a brutal repression. An invasion would have been met with fierce resistance from the citizens of Crimea. The only resistance from these people was directed toward the Ukrainian army (many of which defected to the Crimean side). But it makes you feel better to call what transpired an unprovoked act of Russian aggression or an invasion. But back to Spain. How would you characterize the Spanish government reaction to the Catalonian referendum?
It has nothing to do with how I feel. It was an invasion because it meets the definition of an invasion. Again, you're entitled to think it was a justifiable invasion. As pathetic as this sounds, I haven't followed the story closely enough to judge it.
I've had a chance to read up on this a little more and have formed at least an initial opinion. I think Madrid is out of line - not because they're not letting Catalonia secede. My understanding is that the Spanish Constitution doesn't allow for secession of its regions. If that's the case, then the Catalans are SOL unless they're willing to secure their independence by force. I'm not of the view that a nation has a moral obligation to just grant sovereignty and land to a group of people just because they want it. However, Madrid used force to try to stop the referendum, and that was idiotic. I would have let the referendum happen and then simply refused to grant it legal effect. However, I would at least try to accommodate the Catalans' concerns. I'd try to grant them more autonomy and stop ripping them off as they have been. If something can be worked out, then good. If it can't be, then the Catalans need to decide just how badly they want independence. If they're truly committed, then they can try to overthrow Spain through force.
Spain could hire the Russians to invade for them and refer to it as a humanitarian mission to save the Catalans from themselves. The Russians could go sans uniforms to pretend like no one would notice who they were.
