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Spain seizes Catalan referendum posters and summons mayors

Spanish police on Monday seized more than 100,000 posters promoting a planned independence referendum in Catalonia, while prosecutors summoned mayors who have agreed to help hold the disputed vote.

Spain seizes Catalan referendum posters and summons mayors
A Spanish Civil Guard stands next to a pro-referendum placard reading in Catalan "Vote to be free". Photo: AFP

Three Catalan mayors were ordered to appear for questioning Tuesday at provincial offices of public prosecutors, Catalonia's Municipal Association for Independence (AMI) said on its website.

As of Monday, a total of 37 mayors have received a summons as part of a criminal probe ordered last week by Spain's public prosecutor, who has threatened to arrest the more than 700 mayors who support holding the October 1st referendum deemed unconstitutional by Madrid.

Faced with a determined Catalan government, Spain has multiplied its efforts to try to block the vote.

READ MORE: Catalonia will face 'brutal impoverishment' as an independent state

Spain's Guardia Civil police force confiscated 113,000 pro-referendum posters bearing the logo of the Catalan government from a company in Sabadell, a town some 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Barcelona, the interior ministry said.

It brings the total of confiscated pro-referendum pamphlets and posters to 1.5 million since Friday across Catalonia, it added in a statement.   

In addition, Spain's central government on Friday took over the payments of essential services and public workers' salaries in Catalonia to make sure the region does not use public money on the vote.

Catalonia's regional government responded on Monday by challenging this measure in Spain's Supreme court.   

Catalonia's vice president Oriol Junqueras accused Madrid of seeking to discreetly take away Catalonia's autonomy with the measure and vowed it would not stop the referendum from taking place.

“Citizens will vote, there will be ballot boxes and ballots,” Junqueras said during a meeting with the foreign press in Barcelona.   

Polls show Catalonia's roughly 7.5 million residents are deeply divided on independence.

A survey commissioned by the regional government in July showed 49.4 percent of Catalans were against independence while 41.1 percent were in favour.

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Swiss decision to purchase US fighter jets could force second referendum

Switzerland's decision to purchase US-made fighter jets could be put to a referendum,

Swiss decision to purchase US fighter jets could force second referendum
Swiss fighter jets. Photo: JOE KLAMAR / AFP

Switzerland’s government on Wednesday backed the purchase of 36 F-35A fighter jets from Lockheed Martin to replace its fleet and five Patriot air defence units from fellow US manufacturer Raytheon.

Switzerland’s current air defence equipment will reach the end of its service life in 2030 and has been undergoing a long and hotly-contested search for replacements.

“The Federal Council is confident that these two systems are the most suitable for protecting the Swiss population from air threats in the future,” the government said in a statement.

‘No Trump fighter jets’: Swiss don’t want to buy American planes

The decision will now be put to the Swiss parliament — and also risks being challenged at the ballot box, with left-wingers and an anti-militarist group looking to garner enough signatures to trigger a public vote.

The F-35A was chosen ahead of the Airbus Eurofighter; the F/A-18 Super Hornet by Boeing; and French firm Dassault’s Rafale.

For the ground-based air defence (GBAD) system, Patriot was selected ahead of SAMP/T by France’s Eurosam.

“An evaluation has revealed that these two systems offer the highest overall benefit at the lowest overall cost,” the government statement said. Switzerland is famously neutral. However, its long-standing position is one of armed neutrality and the landlocked European country has mandatory conscription for men.

“A fleet of 36 aircraft would be large enough to cover Switzerland’s airspace protection needs over the longer term in a prolonged situation of heightened tensions,” the government said.

“The air force must be able to ensure that Swiss airspace cannot be used by foreign parties in a military conflict.” 

Long path to decision 

Switzerland began to seek replacements for its ageing fleet of fighter jets more than a decade ago, but the issue has become caught up in a political battle in the wealthy Alpine nation.

The Swiss government has long argued for the need to quickly replace its 30 or so F/A-18 Hornets, which will reach the end of their lifespan in 2030, and the F-5 Tigers, which have been in service for four decades and are not equipped for night flights.

In 2014, the country looked set to purchase 22 Gripen E fighter jets from Swedish group Saab, only to see the public vote against releasing the funds needed to go forward with the multi-billion-dollar deal.

Bern launched a new selection process four years later, and a referendum last year to release six billion Swiss francs ($6.5 billion) for the purchase of the fighters of the government’s choice squeezed through with 50.1 percent of voters in favour.

During the referendum campaign, the government warned that without a swift replacement for its fleet, “Switzerland will no longer be in a position to protect and even less defend its airspace by 2030”.

Currently, the fleet does not have the capacity to support ground troops for reconnaissance missions or to intervene against ground targets.

Meanwhile Switzerland’s current GBAD system is also old and lacks the capacity to meet the widening spectrum of modern threats.

The military currently relies on a range of Rapier and Stinger short-range missiles that have been in service since 1963.

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