catalan independence

CSQP (Catalonia Yes We Can), a left-wing coalition in favor of holding a referendum but not necessarily independence, says it will support a unilateral referendum if it has international guarantees. CSQP’s spokesperson, Joan Coscubiela, said that the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's institution in charge of these kind of processes, has to endorse the referendum before his party can support it. Governing cross-party pro-independence coalition Junts Pel Sí celebrated this stance, saying the group “has taken a step forward” by joining those that consider the celebration of a referendum in Catalonia even if it is “without Spain’s permission”.

The creation of the debate group on Catalonia in the House of Commons is a thorn in the side of Spanish diplomats. The CNA has received confirmation that a Spanish diplomat met with at least two founders of the group, the Scottish National Party MP, George Kerevan, and the Plaid Cymru MP, Hywel Williams, in order to “explain his point of view” to them on the Catalan issue. In comments to the CNA, Williams said that “it is not up to Spain's diplomatic service” to “advise” members of parliament on the “activities” of the chamber. Even though Williams described the meeting's atmosphere as “extremely cordial, as these things are”, he admitted the diplomat was “clearly against” some of the motions on Catalonia that he had promoted recently.

Spanish diplomats tried to pressure the moderator of an event with former Catalan president, Artur Mas, in Brussels. The correspondent from the French newspaper Libération, Jean Quatremer, admitted on Tuesday that when he agreed to present the event with the former Catalan president, he received some “news from Madrid”. “They called to ask me why I had accepted, and if I was sure about what I was getting into, and obviously I was,” said the correspondent, stressing that he is not in favor of independence. During the conference, Mas defended the demands for a referendum in Catalonia and said regretfully that “the only” dialogue that the Spanish state offers to the Catalan people is with “the judges”.

The President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, immediately expressed on Tuesday his support to Parliament President, Carme Forcadell, and the four members of the Catalan Parliament Bureau, who are facing charges in court for allowing a debate on independence in the Parliament. Puigdemont said on Twitter: “All my support, out of a commitment to democracy”. The Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras showed his criticism towards the citation by tweeting: “Carme Forcadell, Anna Simó, Lluís Corominas, Ramona Barrufet and Joan Josep Nuet have been summoned to appear before the High Court for giving a voice to the citizens. Democracy?”. And in a press conference after today’s Executive Council, the Catalan Government’s spokesperson, Neus Munté expressed the support of the whole Executive and she assured that “they will accompany them at all times” during the days their colleagues are summoned to testify.

Carme Forcadell, the President of the Catalan Parliament, will testify before the High Court of Catalonia (TSJC) for allowing a debate in the plenary about an independence resolution. She is accused of disobedience for not stopping the discussion, which was suspended by the Constitutional Court after a Spanish government complaint. The High Court has also asked four members of the Catalan Parliament Bureau to testify: Anna Simó, Lluís Corominas, Ramona Barrufet and Joan Josep Nuet. Simó, from Catalan Republican Left (ERC) will testify the same day as Forcadell, while Corominas and Ramona Barrufet, MPs from the liberal PDeCAT party, will face the court on May 12. Nuet, from left-wing coalition CSQP, and who was initially not included in the investigation, will finally testify as well on May 23. “We have always worked to facilitate debates, not stop them, because words should be free in the Parliament. We will continue in this fashion,” tweeted Forcadell alongside a picture of her citation letter.

Every year on 23rd April, the UNESCO World Book Day, Catalans celebrate their patron saint, Sant Jordi's Day (Saint George). It is one of the Catalans’ most cherished national days, when people give books and red roses to friends and loved ones in celebration of love and literature. Traditionally men used to give a red rose to women and women gave men books in return. But the tradition has evolved and nowadays men and women both give and receive books and roses to each other as well as to friends and even co-workers. This year’s Sant Jordi's Day was an especially sunny day in Catalonia. The streets of Barcelona and all around the country were flooded with books and flower stands, where people lined up to buy books and roses or just stroll around enjoying the magic moment. Like every year hundreds of authors from Catalonia but also from all around the world came to the Catalan capital to sign their books and to join the festive atmosphere. In addition, emblematic buildings such as Gaudi’s Casa Batlló on the famous Passeig de Gracia was decorated with red roses and encouraged visitors to learn about the legend of Sant Jordi.

Two of the members of the Swiss Parliament delegation who visited Barcelona last week understand that Catalonia will organize a unilateral referendum if the Spanish state continues in its opposition. The Swiss parliamentarians, Socialist Mathias Reynard and Christian-Democrat Yannick Buttet warn that the Spanish Government’s rejection of dialogue pushes Catalonia towards a unilateral independence referendum and that it is “reasonable” for the pro-independence parliamentary majority to fulfill its democratic mandate. “I am not saying that it is the best solution, but I understand the Catalan Government’s stance,” said Reynard. “What will be essential from a foreign point of view, is participation. We need to know how many Catalans vote, if the referendum is organized in a unilateral way,” added Buttet.

The Spanish government is politically persecuting the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, warned the two organizations on Tuesday following news that they have been fined an additional €90,000. The Spanish Data Protection Agency is asking them to pay this fine for having a non-operative database in the United States while a new international protocol for data stored in this country was being drafted. The fine comes after the Spanish authorities levied a €240,000 fine against each of these two organizations, widely known in Catalonia for their work organizing huge demonstrations in favor of independence. The ANC and Òmnium say that they are being financially strangled simply because they promote the organization of an independence referendum.

The Spanish Constitutional Court officially notified the Catalan Government about the suspension of the referendum allocations in the 2017 budget on Tuesday. The Court warned the Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and all the members of his government about the criminal consequences of disobeying the suspension. “We will keep going,” responded Puigdemont in a tweet, which included a picture of the five Court notifications that he has received so far against the plans for a referendum. The Catalan Government spokeswoman, Neus Munté, confirmed that the executive will appeal the suspension on the grounds that the organization of “electoral and participatory processes” is a competence “recognized” by the Catalan Statute, the organic law that defines the powers of the Catalan government.

Former Catalan President Artur Mas has been sentenced to a two-year ban from holding public office for allowing a non-binding and symbolic vote on Catalan independence in 2014. Barcelona's High Court has found him guilty of “disobedience” and is also asking him to pay a fine of €36,500. Former Vice president Joana Ortega and former Education Minister Irene Rigau have also been banned from taking public office for a period of 1 year and 9 months and 1 year and 6 months. They will have to pay fines of €30,000 and €24,000, respectively. The prosecution was asking for a 10-year ban from public office for the three politicians.

The Catalan Government does not exclude the possibility of organising an independence referendum before September 2017, the date initially signalled by President Carles Puigdemont, if “circumstances” make this option the most “convenient”. That is according to the Presidency Minister and Spokeswoman of the Government, Neus Munté, who nonetheless stressed that the date of the vote should allow enough time to organise it properly. Munté did not specify, however, under which circumstances the Catalan Government would try to move forward the referendum. The Spanish Vice President, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said that the date of the vote does not matter as a referendum will “always be against the Constitution”.

The Spanish president, Mariano Rajoy, is not going to offer a new fiscal deal to Catalonia similar to the one already enjoyed by the Basque Country and Navarre. In an interview with Spanish radio, Rajoy said that he is against such a deal because it would “create enormous problems” in Spain. The People’s Party leader also confirmed that he will never allow a referendum on independence in Catalonia. “I cannot do it and I don’t want to do it”, he said, after the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, stressed in Brussels that his government wants a referendum agreed with Spain. Rajoy warned that he won’t act “against Spanish unity, national sovereignty or the equality of all Spaniards”. “For me, the 7 million Spaniards that live in Catalonia are the same as those in the rest of Spain”, he stated.

The European Union has a role to play in resolving the current stalemate in Catalonia, according to some of the MEPs that attended on Tuesday the Catalan President’s talk in the European Parliament. “This is a European issue, I have no doubt about that. Maybe some people are in denial”, said Social Democrat MEP from Portugal Ana Gomes. The Catalan request for a referendum on independence is “reasonable”, added the Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy, who was also in attendance at the conference. According to Renate Weber, a Liberal MEP from Romania, the issue should be solved through a democratic dialogue because, otherwise, “the international role will play a role”. The former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia and now MEP in Brussels, Ivo Vajgl, said that the idea of explaining the Catalan Government plans in the European Parliament was “excellent” because Europe needs information on the issue.

The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, urged the European Union to “be part of the solution” to the Catalan situation and engage in a conflict that has now become “a European problem”. In a packed room in the European Parliament on Tuesday evening, Puigdemont said that Catalonia will celebrate a referendum on independence this year even if the Spanish government refuses to acknowledge it. The Catalan president highlighted the judicial process against pro-independence politicians and the “intransigence” of the Spanish executive, which has so far refused all Catalan calls to discuss the issue of an independence referendum. “About 80% of Catalans are in favour of calling a referendum, regardless of what their vote would be”, said Puigdemont, adding that a vote has been “a constant request” by Catalonia in recent years. “The issue at stake is not independence but democracy”, he warned.

Catalonia is seeking an agreement with Spain to celebrate an independence referendum but if Madrid continues to refuse to negotiate, the vote will go ahead anyway in 2017. This is the message that the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, will send to the European Parliament in a conference on Tuesday evening that is expected to be attended by about 300 people, including MEPs, international journalists and diplomats. Puigdemont will be accompanied by his two most senior ministers: Vice President Oriol Junqueras and Minister of Foreign Affairs Raül Romeva, both former MEPs and both in charge of organising the referendum. The talk has caused a stir amongst Spanish unionist MEPs, who have urged their colleagues to avoid it. The leader of the Spanish People’s Party in the European Parliament, Esteban González Pons, wrote to all his Brussels colleagues saying that the referendum plans are “an unconstitutional act, which goes not only against Spain, but also against the deepest principles and values of the EU”. Puigdemont, said on Twitter that the so-called “dialogue operation” of the Spanish Government with Catalonia “has already arrived in Brussels”. In an ironic remark following González-Pons’ letter, the Catalan President regretted the Spanish People’s Party (PP) stance on the issue.