ANKARA
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Margallo says Tuesday the government will use "all means" to prevent the Catalan Parliament's attempts to hold a referendum on November 9.
Margallo, during a breakfast press briefing in Madrid, stressed that the attempts by the governments will be according to "only the law, but the whole law."
Catalonia is Spain’s richest region and it’s 7.5 million people account for 16 percent of the Spanish population.
Margallo referring to Thursday's Scottish referendum, said the separation of any EU member will set a "terrible example".
Catalonian regional government's plan to hold a referendum on independence in November has been rejected by the Spanish Parliament since it was first suggested in February.
Meanwhile, the minister's comments have already met with some reactions from separatists around the country.
Aitor Esteban, spokesperson for Basque Nationalist Party in the parliament, asked Margallo if he is also considering "deploying tanks".
Esteban evaluated Margallo's comments as "worrying and too harsh", and said that the government does not want to open the doors of democracy and freedom of expression to its citizens.
Antonio Hernando Vera, spokesperson for Spanish Socialist Workers' Party in the parliament, also disagreed with the Spanish foreign minister.
"He is adding fuel to the fire," said Hernando. "We are in a time when our citizens are demanding their representatives to act with serenity and common sense, but the minister's words do not seem the right thing."
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