Roger Español has decided to return the Cross of Sant Jordi that he received in 2018 from Quim Torra “for his defense of the October 1 referendum.”
“I have to face a trial against those who came to autonomize us by force and I want to go very light, without burdens,” said Español, who lost an eye in the police action on 1-O. “I have always believed that that day not only was the question in question voted on, but also a way of doing things and a very clear path on how we had to reach the objective. There is nothing left of that brave and rebellious political positioning “, lamented the pro-independence protester, who also criticizes an amnesty that leaves “state violence” to “practically nothing.”
“This amnesty that the independence movement has prioritized leaves the accusation in Spain for the state violence of that day practically nothing. A fight that should have been collective has become a personal (or not) solution,” Español said in a thread in X.
“From my point of view, the only practical use of that 1-O was the judicial process against the “go for them” police, and thus be able to initiate other legal paths outside of Spain to seek justice and reparation,” stressed the pro-independence protester, who ran for the Front Republicà in the general elections of April 2019 and was a candidate for the Senate for Junts por Catalunya in the repeat elections in November.
“In the end, the pride of holding such recognition has been surpassed by a weight that I must defend and claim tooth and nail from those who granted it to me. It no longer makes sense,” Español continued. “Two months ago, after having gone back and forth and with much regret, I decided to return the Cross of Sant Jordi,” said the pro-independence protester, who finally reproached the Department of Culture for “not responding to emails.”
