Government calls for CUP to keep “unity unflawed” amid controversy for Catalan mayor arrest

Barcelona (CNA).- Catalan Government Spokeswoman, Neus Munté, called for pro-independence radical left CUP to keep “unity unflawed” and “not to fall into the trap” after the relationship between the latter and governing cross-party ‘Junts Pel Sí’ became tense over the arrest on Friday of Berga’s Mayor and pro-independence radical left CUP member, Montse Venturós. According to Munté, “there will be more episodes in which Catalan institutions, elected representatives and Catalan police will have to be defended”. Munté’s statements were a veiled reference to CUP MP and Venturós’ lawyer, Benet Salellas, who has accused the Catalan Ministry for Home Affairs, which is responsible for the police, of obeying an order from the Spanish justice which “is against Catalonia’s pro-independence process” and allowing Venturós’ arrest for refusing to take down the pro-independence flag from the town hall building.

Munté wanted to emphasise that Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police, act like judicial police and therefore the arrest warrant “came from a judge”. “It is not possible to suggest that there is a political directive, it is simply not possible”, she lamented.

At a press conference after this week’s executive meeting, Munté insisted that for the pro-independence process to move forward “there should be no flaws”. “What is clear after Friday’s events is that we can’t fall into the trap and we must keep unity flawless, since there will be more episodes in which we will have to defend our institutions, our elected representatives and our police”, she stated.

Munté pointed out the “gravity” of arresting Venturós and the “prosecution of a mayor’s action and her freedom of speech, expressed through hanging a pro-independence flag”. “We have to be very careful when attributing responsibility for this prosecution”, she added.

Tense relationship before passing the new budget bill

Despite all this, Munté dismissed the possibility that the current tension between the two pro-independence forces may affect the passing of the budget for 2017. “Absolutely not”, she replied to journalists. “We are working hard for the good of the budget and we have to be discrete”, she stated.

Controversy over the Catalan police action

The Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, was responsible for Venturós’ arrest at her house on Friday morning at around 8.00 CET and her detention at Berga’s police station, where she waited to be brought before a judge. The Mayor of Berga referred to the arrest and the privation of freedom for hanging a pro-independence flag as “insulting”. “We obey a popular mandate, we had a very clear popular mandate that said we had to keep the flag on the town hall”, she stated. 

In a similar vein, the pro-independence radical left CUP MP Eulàlia Reguant regretted the fact that the Catalan police decided to accept the request by the Spanish judiciary to detain Venturós. “From the beginning we have asked the Mossos not to respond to these judiciary requests from the Spanish State”, she recalled. Reguant admitted that her party colleagues are “angry and sad” after the arrest, but that they will assess the situation “calmly”. In an interview, CUP MP and Venturós’ lawyer, Benet Salellas, criticised the Catalan Ministry for Home Affairs, which is responsible for the police. He accused the body of obeying an order from the Spanish justice which “is against Catalonia’s pro-independence process”. Salellas also expressed his disapproval of the arrest procedures. “Venturós was arrested while alone at home: the normal procedure would have been to do so during the day and in the Town Hall, so that everyone could see what was going on”, he explained.