Catalan vice president: "We’re going to Madrid to explain, not to ask permission”

Barcelona (ACN).- The Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras, on his way to Madrid to give a conference with Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, and Foreign Affairs Minister, Raül Romeva, explained in declarations to the press: “We are going to Madrid like we go to any other place in the world: to explain ourselves, but not to ask anyone's permission. The only permission we want and need is the permission of the Catalan people.” “We never miss an opportunity to explain our full commitment to democracy and the referendum,” Junqueras added. Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy raised the tone and demanded that the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, “have the guts to defend the referendum before Congress”.  

The Catalan government is committed to coming to an agreement on a referendum, especially “due to the work and support behind the National Pact for the Referendum”. However, the Catalan vice president does not have high expectations regarding the likelihood of coming to an agreement. “Our experience shows us that the State never really addresses these kind of questions. Nevertheless, we'll continue to fulfill the democratic mandate from the last elections held September 27, 2015,” the vice president added. Junqueras also admitted that the protests which they will face upon arrival in the Spanish capital are “not any surprise”. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva appreciated the mayor of Madrid’s courage in providing a room at the town hall for the Catalan government’s delegation.

It is was precisely this choice of the Auditorium Caja de Música, a room in Madrid’s town hall, that provoked criticism towards Madrid’s mayor, left-wing politician Manuela Carmena. For that reason, the Catalan foreign minister wanted to express his special gratitude to Carmena since her support “had also a personal cost”. “This is not about independence, this is about democracy. And the mayor of Madrid has been very brave and has clearly defended freedom and democracy.” “This is the kind of position we should expect from the central government, which, unfortunately, is not the case,” Romeva added.

Asked about the protests announced and organized by the extreme right-wing Falange group, and the attacks by the governing Popular Party in Madrid, Oriol Junqueras simply answered that they were “accustomed to it” and that it did “not surprise anyone”.

Oriol Junqueras and Raül Romeva traveled with several representatives of the Catalan Parliament including the artist Lluis Llach, the former Catalan minister Irene Rigau, who was suspended from office for the 9-N vote, as well as the representative for the Catalan Republican Left in Congress, Gabriel Rufián.

Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy raised the tone and demanded that the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, “have the guts to defend the referendum before Congress”.  Mariano Rajoy’s reaction comes after a report, published by national newspaper El País, on an alleged draft of the Catalan “law of transition”, which, according to the newspaper, foresees a declaration of independence in the event that the referendum cannot be carried out. Rajoy labeled this as “intolerable”, “a threat” and “extortion” towards his government.

The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, answered the accusations with a tweet saying that it would be “desirable that reactions came after our conference and not beforehand” and suggested “what about listening first?”.