President Torra thinks impact of direct rule should ‘worry any democrat’

The new Catalan government is committed to shedding light on the effects of direct rule, which was in force in Catalonia for seven months and only ended on Saturday with the appointment of a new government. President Quim Torra confirmed on Wednesday in Parliament that his executive will launch what he called the Commission for the Deployment of Self-government. This body will be in charge of creating a “plan of action to evaluate and repair the effects” of direct rule from Madrid.

The reasons for this initiative lay in the impact of the unprecedented measures imposed on Catalonia by the ousted Spanish government, which should “worry any democrat,” said Torra. According to the president, the past seven months without a cabinet have been “disastrous” for Catalonia. Addressing the chamber, Torra claimed that public servants have already told the new ministers about some of the repercussions of direct rule from Madrid during this period. “Defenselessness before the law, financial aid denied, files closed, the slowing up of procedures and increased bureaucracy, the constant questioning of any initiative” are some of the problems listed by Torra that the administration has faced.

The Catalan president believes that in this time, the public and entities “have suffered from a loss of rights, and persecution.” He therefore announced the creation of a civil and political rights office, which will “work alongside the ombudsman with the aim of putting an end to the violation of rights.” Among the rights he mentioned were freedom of speech, the right to protest and the right to peaceful assembly.

Torra also announced the launch of a round of talks this week, beginning with the leader of the opposition.