A FORMER SNP MP who was an observer at the Catalan referendum earlier this month has joined growing criticism within the party at the EU inaction over Spain’s crackdown on independence supporters.

Dr Paul Monaghan told The National yesterday that the positions of EU President Donald Tusk, his European Commission counterpart Jean-Claude Juncker and Guy Verhofstadt, who leads the Alliance for Liberals and Democrats for Europe Group, were “untenable”.

He said EU leaders are “defending the indefensible” in the Spanish government’s handling of the referendum and its aftermath.

Monaghan was speaking as a pro-union demonstration in Barcelona descended into violence with fascists giving Nazi salutes as they clashed with police, on the eve of Spain taking over control of the Catalan government.

Monaghan, who was an observer at the October 1 referendum, said: “I think the response of the European Union’s current leaders is really disappointing.

“I think the EU should be mindful of its articles and its treaties promoting democracy, the right to speech and the right to exercise a franchise — and I don’t really think it is doing that just now.

“It seems to be more focused on what it believes are economic issues rather than the human rights and the interests of the Catalan people.”

He said pressure was mounting on Europe: “For whatever reason Juncker, Tusk and Verhofstadt are absolutely getting behind Rajoy and the actions of his government and in my view are defending the indefensible.

“I think the position of the current leaders of the EU is untenable and I think that over time they will be forced to reconsider their position and start to focus on the rights of the Catalan people rather than supporting the extreme policies of the Spanish government.

“I was in Catalonia for the referendum and I observed violence from the Spanish unionists before the vote, which supports the view that relatively large numbers of people are being bussed in from other parts of Spain to Barcelona to make the point that the union of Spain is important.

“The idea of violence from the unionists is not a new one, I observed it myself when I was there — it’s just being repeated now.”

A defiant Carles Puigdemont, meanwhile, has said that “only the Catalan Parliament” had the power to fire him or change government.

In a recorded televised statement that was broadcast as he sat in a cafe in his hometown of Girona, he said only the parliament could elect or dismiss the government, and he vowed to “continue working to build a free country”.

“The best way we have to defend the achievements to date is the democratic opposition to the application of Article 155,” a reference to the constitutional clause that gave Madrid direct control of Catalan affairs.

“Our will is to continue working to fulfil the democratic mandates and at the same time seek the maximum stability and tranquillity.”

Joaquim Gomez Ribas, a Catalan journalist in Edinburgh, told The National it was time for European leaders to act. It is impossible to create a republic without the support of Catalan people but it is even more impossible to suppress Catalan autonomy if people are totally against it and do not obey the Spanish government,” he said.

“The legitimacy of the Catalan Republic will not come just from the people but also from the international opinion. This is why it is really important to see if in the next days any country recognises Catalonia as an independent state which should force the European Union to finally intervene and mediate to find a dialogue to end the conflict.”

Rajoy has described the declaration of independence as “a criminal act”, and Spanish prosecutors say Catalan officials could face rebellion charges as early as today. The offence carries a sentenced of up to 30 years’ imprisonment. However, a Belgian government minister has said his country could grant political asylum to Puigdemont, because he might not receive a fair trial in Spain.

In a Belgian TV interview, immigration minister Theo Francken said Puigdemont’s extradition to Spain would not be automatic: “Spain would file an extradition request, and it would be up to a civil court to decide. If the asylum procedure is effective, so effective protection of asylum is achieved because it is a political refugee, it will not be so easy to grant extradition to Spain. Of course this would put us in a difficult diplomatic situation with the Spanish government, but it is possible, by law, to apply for asylum in Belgium, a request that, like all other requests of asylum, will be examined in an objective, correct and independent way.”

Tensions between Belgium and Spain has been evident since the referendum. Prime Minister Charles Michel, who governs with the N-VA flamenco coalition, was the first European leader to criticise the police violence against the Catalans.