By By Robert Myles Mar 1, 2013 in World A Spanish general has caused outrage in Spain by hinting that Spain’s armed forces should not rule out invading the north eastern region of Catalonia centred on Barcelona if Catalan secessionists should attempt to break away from the rest of Spain. Location map showing Catalonia in relation to Spain Wikimedia Commons The controversy started on February 27, when “The fatherland comes before and is more important than democracy. Patriotism is a feeling and the Constitution is nothing more than a law." El Pais said the general had it made it clear from the outset that his was not an impromptu speech. The present nationalist controlled El Pais reports that General Chicharro, who has served for 42 years in the Spanish armed forces, had warned that problems would arise if the present Spanish government formed by the Talk of unity of the Spanish nation evokes strong memories in Spain of the What has caused alarm following General Chicharro’s speech were a series of rhetorical questions posed by the general. With reference to the ‘indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation’ he asked, “So what do the military do?” adding cryptically, “The rules are one thing, practice another.” He then continued, “If the defence mechanisms of the constitutional order do not work, by act or omission, then ...". The El Pais reports that if the general had intended his remarks to be ambiguous, his audience seemed to be in no doubt as to their meaning. His speech got a standing ovation, punctuated with shouts of “Bravo! Bravo". Yesterday General Chicharro "At no time have I uttered any justification for autonomous military intervention against secession. Quite the contrary. I have already made clear the military is subordinate to government," adding that "what has probably led to the reporter being confused was the consideration of legal issues in depth in the hypothetical case of a state of necessity.” General Chicharro’s explanation of his remarks notwithstanding, what will concern constitutional nationalists in Catalonia and supporters of Spanish democracy generally is that this is not the first time in recent months when members of the Spanish military have caused controversy. Last year, pro-Catalan website General Juan Antonio Chicharro, an officer in Spain’s marine reserve made the remarks at a conference in Madrid last month but his novel approach to Catalan secession from Spain only came to light when Spanish daily El Pais published details of the Madrid event on Wednesday of this week. El Pais had reported on a conference in Madrid entitled “Armed Forces and Constitutional Order” which a number of leading academic and judicial figures are reported to have attended.According to the Irish Times , General Chicharro said that patriotic sentiment came before the rules of democracy faced with a “separatist-secessionist offensive” by Spain’s north eastern region where many aspire to a separate Catalan state.The controversy started on February 27, when El Pais ran an article headlined “La patria vale más que la democracia” — "Our country is better than democracy". In the article, El Pais reported the General Chicharro as having said,El Pais said the general had it made it clear from the outset that his was not an impromptu speech.The present nationalist controlled regional government in Catalonia have made no secret of their intention to hold a referendum on independence from Spain in 2014. The Spanish government in Madrid, however, has countered that such a move would be illegal and has said it would oppose a referendum vote through constitutional means.El Pais reports that General Chicharro, who has served for 42 years in the Spanish armed forces, had warned that problems would arise if the present Spanish government formed by the People’s Party – the Partido Popular — were to lose its absolute majority at the next general election. If the Partido Popular were to rely on the pro-Catalan nationalists to form a coalition, the price of co-operation might be a re-writing of Article 2 of the Spanish constitution which enshrines the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation.Talk of unity of the Spanish nation evokes strong memories in Spain of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) where wounds still run deep nearly three quarters of a century after the end of hostilities. During the Civil War, Catalonia was almost exclusively pro-Republican standing firm against the Nationalist forces of the fascist dictator General Franco until being overwhelmed when Franco’s armies invaded Catalonia at the end of 1938. The invasion of Catalonia was the prelude to the swift end of the Spanish Civil War on April 1, 1939 but following the unconditional surrender of the Republicans, harsh reprisals against Republicans continued. Thousands of Republicans (not just Catalans) were imprisoned whilst estimates of those executed vary from 30,000 to 200,000.What has caused alarm following General Chicharro’s speech were a series of rhetorical questions posed by the general. With reference to the ‘indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation’ he asked, “So what do the military do?” adding cryptically, “The rules are one thing, practice another.” He then continued, “If the defence mechanisms of the constitutional order do not work, by act or omission, then ...".The Irish Times reports that when asked what the armed forces should do in such a situation, the general made clear he favoured some form of physical response.El Pais reports that if the general had intended his remarks to be ambiguous, his audience seemed to be in no doubt as to their meaning. His speech got a standing ovation, punctuated with shouts of “Bravo! Bravo".Yesterday General Chicharro defended his speech and said at no time had he advocated military intervention. In a letter to Spanish news agencies Efe and Europa Press General Chicharro wrote,General Chicharro’s explanation of his remarks notwithstanding, what will concern constitutional nationalists in Catalonia and supporters of Spanish democracy generally is that this is not the first time in recent months when members of the Spanish military have caused controversy. Last year, pro-Catalan website Help Catalonia reported Spanish army colonel Francisco Alamán as having said in an interview that Catalonia would only be independent “over my dead body and that of many other soldiers,” arguing that the Spanish army has solemnly sworn to defend “the non-negotiable principle of Spain's unity,” and that they will defend it “even with our lives.” More about spanish politics, democracy in spain, Barcelona, Catalonia, catalan independence More news from spanish politics democracy in spain Barcelona Catalonia catalan independence spanish constitution spanish civil war catalan nationalists catalonia independen... Spanish People s Par...