'Nonsense to ignore millions of Catalans that want independence', says spokeswoman

Madrid should listen Catalans about independence, expressed the spokeswoman for the Catalan government and minister of the Presidency, Elsa Artadi. On Monday, Artadi said that demands for independence should absolutely be amongst the topics addressed in the upcoming meeting between the Catalan and Spanish presidents.

"It would be nonsense to ignore that millions of Catalans don't want to continue being Spanish," said Artadi. "It wouldn't make sense to not talk about this, it's purely logical," she added. Pro-independence parties won more than 2 million votes in the last election, and hold an overall majority in Parliament, with 70 out of 135 seats. Unionist groups have 57 seats, while Catalunya-En Comú Podem, which is not in favor or against independence but supports holding a referendum, has 8 MPs.

The Catalan president, Quim Torra, and the Spanish president, Pedro Sánchez, are expected to meet soon. Artadi is one of the closest allies of the Catalan leader and has the task to prepare the summit, in coordination with the Spanish Minister of Territorial Affairs, Meritxell Batet.

"Ordinary issues, such as the list of 45 promises not fulfilled by the Spanish government, should be addressed in sectorial meetings," said Artadi, insisting on the need to address the deep political conflict in the upcoming meeting. "For us, the priority is to address the political situation in Catalonia, to address whether or not Catalans can express their opinions or not, to know if repression will continue, or whether it will stop," she added.

The contact between the two leaders, who have already spoken over the phone, will be the first between a Catalan and Spanish president since the referendum and the police crackdown against it. Nine Catalan leaders are currently in pre-trial prison in the Madrid region, while seven others are abroad because they did not trust the Spanish system to guarantee them a fair trial.