Authorities could not prevent thousands of Catalans from taking the streets and voicing their choices. Catalan officials said that 90 % of those who voted supported independence in yesterday's vote. In the Maghreb region, the referendum of Catalonia almost went unnoticed. As Morocco showed support for Madrid, Algiers and the Polisario Front remained silent in an embarrassing way. The Catalan Independence Referendum did take place on Sunday 1st of October. The Spanish government's use of force and deployment of almost 10,000 members of the Guardia Civil did not really stop Catalans from taking part of the referendum. Polling stations which were guarded by the police were heavily visited by Catalans who wanted to vote. The images broadcast by international TV channels showed citizens waiting for hours to finally be able to say their final word. Despite the unprecedented enthusiasm of Catalans, the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy stood tall to the situation declaring that Catalans had been fooled into taking part in an illegal vote. «At this hour I can tell you in the strongest terms what you already know and what we have seen throughout this day. There has not been a referendum on self-determination in Catalonia», said Rajoy who defended police actions against the region's population. Common interests Although Morocco quickly backed Madrid's position and said it respected the «unity of States» against separatist projects, as opposed to Algiers and the Polisario which have not reacted yet. Tunisia and Mauritania have so far adopted the same position. Although Algeria has been trying to promote on many occasions its adoption of a policy that supports people's right to self-determine their fate, it decided to remain silent on what is happening in Spain similarly to Touareg in Mali, who was demanding the independence of Azouad, a region located in the north of the country. On the other hand, the leadership of the Polisario Front could only follow the policy of its sponsor. For its news agency, the referendum of Catalonia is a non-event. Only media out of bounds with the official line covered the 1st of October referendum but in a careful way.
