Politics

The Ombudsman of Catalonia, Rafael Ribó, presented on Friday the report “Regression of human rights: freedom of speech of elected representatives and separation of power in the Spanish Kingdom” to the President of the Catalan Parliament, Carme Forcadell, which warns of a “deterioration of the principle of separation of power in Spain”. Ribó criticized the suppression of “freedom of speech of elected representatives” and their “criminal prosecution”, which infringes “European law”. The Ombudsman denounced the criminal prosecution of elected representatives “at many different levels”, from local representatives to members of Parliament, and highlighted the case against Carme Forcadell and four members of her Bureau for allowing a debate in the plenary about an independence resolution.

CSQP (Catalonia Yes We Can), a left-wing coalition in favor of holding a referendum but not necessarily independence, says it will support a unilateral referendum if it has international guarantees. CSQP’s spokesperson, Joan Coscubiela, said that the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's institution in charge of these kind of processes, has to endorse the referendum before his party can support it. Governing cross-party pro-independence coalition Junts Pel Sí celebrated this stance, saying the group “has taken a step forward” by joining those that consider the celebration of a referendum in Catalonia even if it is “without Spain’s permission”.

The creation of the debate group on Catalonia in the House of Commons is a thorn in the side of Spanish diplomats. The CNA has received confirmation that a Spanish diplomat met with at least two founders of the group, the Scottish National Party MP, George Kerevan, and the Plaid Cymru MP, Hywel Williams, in order to “explain his point of view” to them on the Catalan issue. In comments to the CNA, Williams said that “it is not up to Spain's diplomatic service” to “advise” members of parliament on the “activities” of the chamber. Even though Williams described the meeting's atmosphere as “extremely cordial, as these things are”, he admitted the diplomat was “clearly against” some of the motions on Catalonia that he had promoted recently.

On the 80th anniversary of the Guernica Bombing, Spain’s denial of historical justice or reparation of its civil war victims was the focus of a conference at the European Parliament. NGO’s, relatives of Spanish Civil War victims and the Francoist dictatorship, and MEPs called on the European Parliament to help promote “truth, justice, and reparation”. Roger Heredia, co-founder of the DNA bank for civil war victim identification in Catalonia said that “the Spanish State systematically violates human rights” and insisted on the necessity of raising awareness among the European MPs about how Spain ignores reports from both the Human Rights Council and the UN-Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.

Spanish diplomats tried to pressure the moderator of an event with former Catalan president, Artur Mas, in Brussels. The correspondent from the French newspaper Libération, Jean Quatremer, admitted on Tuesday that when he agreed to present the event with the former Catalan president, he received some “news from Madrid”. “They called to ask me why I had accepted, and if I was sure about what I was getting into, and obviously I was,” said the correspondent, stressing that he is not in favor of independence. During the conference, Mas defended the demands for a referendum in Catalonia and said regretfully that “the only” dialogue that the Spanish state offers to the Catalan people is with “the judges”.

The President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, immediately expressed on Tuesday his support to Parliament President, Carme Forcadell, and the four members of the Catalan Parliament Bureau, who are facing charges in court for allowing a debate on independence in the Parliament. Puigdemont said on Twitter: “All my support, out of a commitment to democracy”. The Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras showed his criticism towards the citation by tweeting: “Carme Forcadell, Anna Simó, Lluís Corominas, Ramona Barrufet and Joan Josep Nuet have been summoned to appear before the High Court for giving a voice to the citizens. Democracy?”. And in a press conference after today’s Executive Council, the Catalan Government’s spokesperson, Neus Munté expressed the support of the whole Executive and she assured that “they will accompany them at all times” during the days their colleagues are summoned to testify.

Carme Forcadell, the President of the Catalan Parliament, will testify before the High Court of Catalonia (TSJC) for allowing a debate in the plenary about an independence resolution. She is accused of disobedience for not stopping the discussion, which was suspended by the Constitutional Court after a Spanish government complaint. The High Court has also asked four members of the Catalan Parliament Bureau to testify: Anna Simó, Lluís Corominas, Ramona Barrufet and Joan Josep Nuet. Simó, from Catalan Republican Left (ERC) will testify the same day as Forcadell, while Corominas and Ramona Barrufet, MPs from the liberal PDeCAT party, will face the court on May 12. Nuet, from left-wing coalition CSQP, and who was initially not included in the investigation, will finally testify as well on May 23. “We have always worked to facilitate debates, not stop them, because words should be free in the Parliament. We will continue in this fashion,” tweeted Forcadell alongside a picture of her citation letter.

Two of the members of the Swiss Parliament delegation who visited Barcelona last week understand that Catalonia will organize a unilateral referendum if the Spanish state continues in its opposition. The Swiss parliamentarians, Socialist Mathias Reynard and Christian-Democrat Yannick Buttet warn that the Spanish Government’s rejection of dialogue pushes Catalonia towards a unilateral independence referendum and that it is “reasonable” for the pro-independence parliamentary majority to fulfill its democratic mandate. “I am not saying that it is the best solution, but I understand the Catalan Government’s stance,” said Reynard. “What will be essential from a foreign point of view, is participation. We need to know how many Catalans vote, if the referendum is organized in a unilateral way,” added Buttet.

The entire Executive, led by Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, and Catalan VP, Oriol Junqueras, reiterated its commitment to “organize, call, and celebrate” a referendum on Catalonia’s independence and apply its results, despite Spain’s “threats and attempts to limit Catalonia’s self-government,” said Puigdemont. In a symbolic event held in the iconic ‘Pati dels Tarongers’ courtyard, at the Catalan Government headquarters, the executive aimed to send a clear message of unity regarding its determination to fulfill the democratic mandate of the 2015 27-S Catalan elections, which led to a pro-independence majority in the Parliament. The celebration of a referendum is one of the Parliament's main goals.

All the members of the Catalan Government, led by Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, and Catalan VP, Oriol Junqueras, will attend an official event on Friday to reiterate their commitment to calling a referendum. The initiative also aims to spread a message of unity among the pro-independence political parties which form the governing coalition, Junts Pel Sí. Indeed, in the last few weeks, some discrepancies between the Catalan Democratic Party (PDeCAT) and the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) regarding how to carry out Catalonia’s pro-independence roadmap have been used by the main opposition parties to question the Government’s stability and its commitment toward the referendum.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Catalonia, created in March by MPs and Peers from all the political parties, held its first debate on Wednesday. Under the title ‘A Democratic Solution for Catalonia’, the event featured eight speakers, including SNP MP George Kerevan, who is one of the main promoters of the APPG, Plaid Cymru MP Hywel Williams, the Daily Mirror’s Political editor, Jason Beattie, and former Consul for Great Britain in Barcelona, Geoff Cowling, among others. “There is only one democratic solution and it is to let the people vote,” said Kerevan and warned that stopping them “is not the European way”. He also criticized the Spanish Government's decision to ban democratically-elected Catalan political representatives from public office. More than 150 people attended the event, hosted at Atlee Suit, at the British Parliament.

Catalan VP, Oriol Junqueras, said the Government will unilaterally declare independence if it is blocked from calling a referendum in September. According to Junqueras, this possibility already forms part of the electoral program of governing coalition, Junts Pel Sí. “Technically it is called the unblocking clause,” explained Junqueras in a conference with Columbia University Professor, Xavier Sala i Martin, and added that it was included in Junts Pel Sí’s platform in the event that the Spanish State block the referendum. Nevertheless, Junqueras insisted that he is convinced that the referendum will be called, that it will take place, and that the pro-independence supporters will win it.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Catalonia, created at Westminster this past March, will hold its first official event this Wednesday. After being inaugurated by Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, on the 14th of March, the APPG will debate ‘A democratic solution for Catalonia’, with the aim of discussing both the right to discuss self-determination in the Catalan Parliament and the Spanish judiciary cases against democratically-elected Catalan officials. SNP MP George Kerevan, who chairs the group, will take part in the debate, together with Plaid Cymru MP, Hywel Williams, Former Consul General in Barcelona for Great Britain, Geoff Cowling, Daily Mirror´s Head of Politics, Jason Beattie, and former Catalan government official and Lecturer in Sociolinguistics, Michael Strubell, among others.

The Catalan Government believes that the communiqué published by the US Embassy in Spain in relation to Catalonia was “a request of the Spanish Government motivated by the success of Puigdemont’s recent meetings with US representatives”. Puigdemont’s agenda in the US included a private meeting with former US President, Jimmy Carter, after which the institution said in a memo that “neither he nor The Carter Center could be involved” in the negotiations for the referendum. The Catalan executive told the CNA that the US Embassy's statement, published only in Spanish, which described Catalonia’s push for independence as an internal matter of Spain, “shows that the Catalan question is part of the political and diplomatic agenda and therefore is not an internal matter”.

Catalan VP, Oriol Junqueras, insisted this Wednesday on the pro-independence parties’ commitment to calling a referendum this September. He underscored the unity within the group despite the fact that some representatives from the main parties within the governing Junts Pel Sí coalition had expressed differing positions regarding how the referendum should be carried out.  While pro-independence left-wing ERC’s Marta Rovira announced that a task force of unemployed persons could be organized to carry out referendum-related tasks, the Catalan Government’s Spokeswoman, Neus Munté, said this was a decision that “is not part of the Government’s plans”. “We are all committed to the referendum and we are going to do it together,” said Junqueras, playing down the disagreement.