Cs says government is 'sectarian,' makes coexistence impossible

Ciutadans (Cs), the biggest party in the Catalan parliament, accused the government today of being "sectarian" and making coexistence in Catalonia impossible.

During a debate organized precisely at the request of the Cs group, the unionist party said that the executive led by Quim Torra "antidemocratically" controls society and discriminates those against independence.

They accused the Education minister of "imposing" symbols in schools such as yellow ribbons, and said the same is true for police stations.

"You must be very sectarian, Mr. Bargalló, for imposing on others things that they do not believe in, and continuing to say that nothing is happening," said Cs spokesman Carlos Carrizosa, in comments directed to the Education minister, Josep Bargalló.

"When a government puts all its efforts into what divides people, it deepens social fracture," said Carrizosa, urging the executive to leave aside independence and work instead on "things that can be agreed on," like social issues.

Carrizosa said that people against independence are always "target of insults" and asked the Government what it plans to do to stop this. Moreover, the Cs spokesman said that many people are considering leaving Catalonia because they are "fed up" with the independence process and consider coexistence "impossible." He went on to say that the political debate is dividing friends and families and some WhatsApp groups are even avoiding discussing politics to avoid confrontation.

CatECP: don't attack schools

However, Cs accusations against the Catalan school system or the police were faced with opposition from other groups in the chamber, and not only those in favor of independence.

Catalonia in Common (CatECP), a party neither in favor of nor against independence, said Cs will "always be alone" if attacks the school system in Catalonia. "What puts coexistence at risk is attacking our model of public schools, it's shameful," said MP Susanna Segovia. She stressed that, as the daughter of immigrants from other parts of Spain, she proudly took her education in the Catalan system. "There is no bigger consensus in this country than the school model, every political party defended it, until you arrived," she said.

CUP: 'We deny there is a social fracture due to independence'

The far-left CUP, in favor of independence, denied that Catalonia is suffering "social fracture" due to the independence process. "We deny this," said MP Vidal Aragonès. However, he insisted that there is a division in the population due to "class", as in many other European countries hit by the economic crisis.

ERC: 'You're the Kings of confrontation'

ERC, one of the parties in the coalition government in Catalonia, accused Cs of being "the kings of confrontation" and "provocation." "You live comfortable in conflict, and uncomfortable in consensus, stop lying, stop attacking and stop destroying," said ERC MP Anna Caula. She urged Cs "not to divide" citizens and "stop for a second and think" about their attitude.

JxCat: Coexistence is not broken

The party of Catalan president Quim Torra, Junts per Catalunya (JxCat), denied that there is a problem of coexistence in Catalonia, as suggested by Cs. "This is fallacious, coexistence has never been broken in Catalonia," said MP Aurora Madaula. "Coexistence has never been lost, even though you insist on imposing your distorted view of reality," she replied to Cs.

From the Socialist group, Ramon Espadaler said that pro-independence parties and Cs "need each other" because their speeches "feed one another."

The People's Party, meanwhile, supported Cs but urged the unionist to present a motion of no confidence against the government now that pro-independence forces have lost their majority.