Is One Tank Enough?

Spanish journalist Alfonso Ussía, in a recent article published in La Razón titled The Tank, threatened the citizens of Catalonia and boastfully said they are all a bunch of cowards.

“A few months ago many separatist town mayors in Catalonia were scared because jet fighters were flying over their hometowns. Those were just military maneuvers by the Spanish Air Force, and they take place to defend Catalonia from the attacks of hostile Mediterranean nations. In Catalonia the army and the navy are also there to defend the national territory.”

But which is this hostile Mediterranean enemy he is referring to?

“Sending the Tanks? Sending just one tank would be enough. During the II Spanish Republic, twenty guardia civiles were enough to disarm thousands of Catalan policemen, while the separatist politicians scurried away into hiding. Tanks? We will send them only if they are necessary to enforce the law.”

It is clear from Ussia’s statements that the ‘hostile’ Mediterranean nation he is talking about is no other than Catalonia. As he clearly states, Spain has already used the force of the army to quench Catalan democracy in the past and it may well do so again if Catalans insist onpursuing independence.

According to the Spanish National Institute of statistics (INE), the Spanish economy has been shrinking for 8 quarters in a row. Another record to add on top of one of the highest unemployment rates of the EU. However the Spanish Government has recently conceded a credit of 877 million Euros to the Ministry of Defense for the purchase of heavy military equipment. This is another example of how the Spanish Government has just given up on the suffering of its citizens and keeps on spending on superfluous but dangerous and expensive toys to please the army. Why, in the middle of the biggest economical crisis ever, is Spain wasting such amount of money on mass-killing devices? Are they going to invade the rock of Perejil again?



Source: Boletin Oficial del Estado