The Diada de l’Onze de Setembre of this 2023 is politically marked by the possible investiture of Pedro Sánchez and the key word is “amnesty”, beyond the unfortunate tragic events that occurred this weekend such as the deadly railway accident in Montmeló, the tragic earthquake in Morocco or the death of a Catalan aid worker in the Ukraine. And the investiture and the amnesty have been openly or implicitly referred to by the different political leaders who have participated in the floral offering to the one who was councilor in cap of Barcelona in 1714 in the War of Succession, Rafael Casanova.
And if there is a necessary party for this to take place, it is JuntsxCatalunya, which through its general secretary, Jordi Turull, has claimed unilaterality and advance payment of the amnesty if an agreement is to be reached.
After the floral offering of Junts, Turull has recovered the most belligerent discourse and has asked “not to fall into the naivety” of ignoring the State that the independence movement is facing, for which reason it has indicated that unilateralism cannot be renounced, something which, in his opinion, “would be as much as giving up the nation.” The post-convergent leader has stated that any agreement they can reach will be to get closer to the goal of independence.
Looking ahead to the investiture, Turull has acknowledged that there are conversations but has assured that negotiations have not started and has defended the advance payment of any agreement. “We have defended payment in advance, we do not trust this State, words or promises are of no use to us, we have been deceived for too many years,” warned the independence leader, who recalled that for any agreement there must be a process of verification and “paying in advance will be one of the things that moves us” if there is the possibility of a hypothetical agreement.
Turull has also had words for Esquerra and for the executive chaired by Pere Aragonès, whom he has accused of vetoing Junts from the dialogue table in recent years for not accepting the members that their party proposed, including himself. In fact, implicitly, the defense of unilaterality also alluded to Esquerra to the extent that its president, Oriol Junqueras, currently absent from the Diada events due to covid, renounced it before granting pardons to the leaders of the process. .
On the part of Esquerra, it was its spokesperson Marta Vilalta who implicitly responded by recalling that the Diada is still marked by the “abnormality of repression” but highlighting the opportunity for the independence movement to be decisive in the Spanish context, which which, in his opinion, “reaffirms the Republican commitment to dialogue and negotiation.” For this reason, he has reiterated a “special call to the other political forces” to “work with the maximum complicity to defend those objectives that we want to achieve”, among which he has mentioned the Catalan Republic and more specifically the amnesty, self-determination and “those “day-to-day issues that are very important for the well-being of citizens” such as the transfer of Rodalies or putting an end to the fiscal deficit.
The Minister of the Presidency, Laura Vilagrà, has expressed herself in similar terms, who has shown her confidence that the Diada will demonstrate “the strength” of the independence movement, especially to face negotiations for the investiture in which the amnesty is the “starting point.” , not the final point.”
“The independence movement is in a position of strength on the state political agenda and must take advantage of it. We have cleared the way, political negotiation has led us to stop the repression with pardons and reform of the penal code, but it is not enough. It is time to amnesty. It is the starting point, not the end,” said the councilor after the Government’s offering to the Rafael de Casanova monument.
Vilagrà has also made it clear that there are other folders such as self-determination and the referendum, which “must be addressed at this political stage”, as well as increasing the resources of the Generalitat to “end the suffocation of its finances”, and the transfer by Rodalies.
Perhaps the most discreet of all has been the first secretary of the PSC, Salvador Illa, who after the floral offering of the Catalan socialists has been asked about the investiture and has prescribed “prudence, patience, discretion and Constitution”, the “four cardinal points of the PSC” on this issue, he said.
The leader of the opposition in the Parliament, has reflected that this Diada must serve so that Catalonia “affirms its will to be and coexist, recognizes itself in its plurality and looks forward to win a future full of opportunities”.
The leader of the Comuns in the Parliament, Jéssica Albiach, has pointed out that this Diada is a “turning point for a new beginning for Catalonia”, while celebrating that her party is promoting the debate on the amnesty, in her opinion , necessary to “complete the process of dejudicialization” of the Catalan conflict.
