Without cracks or fissures, the independence movement yesterday exhibited its support for former president Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí. Representatives of all the political formations and entities of that political spectrum, as well as the Government of the Generalitat, traveled to Brussels to accompany the leader of Junts and the former ministers before the verdict of the General Court of the European Union (TGUE).
The senior staff of the post-convergents was the one that had the most representatives, and the party, shortly after the ruling was announced, took advantage of the circumstance to make a “massive” appeal to its electorate to mobilize on July 23 at the polls. Especially given the abstentionism promoted by certain sectors of the independence movement. The slogan of the formation was a bugle call to “demonstrate” at the polls “the support of the independence movement for exile.”
Laura Borràs, president of JxCat, stressed that the sentence only makes the independence movement “more determined than ever.” “Now and always with you, President Puigdemont,” said Jordi Turull, general secretary of the posconvergentes.
Pere Aragonès delegated the representation of the Government in Brussels to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Meritxell Serret, who was with Puigdemont in Belgium until March 2021. His last hope, like that of those affected by the sentence, now lies with the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Serret made explicit the Government’s support and how Junts took the opportunity to appeal to the pro-independence electorate and “reinforce the democratic front to face the threat that comes from the right.”
The president of the Generalitat did not want to give up the game for lost either. “There is still a way in Europe,” he reacted from Twitter. “In the face of repression, we continue to defend that organizing a referendum is not a crime, but a democratic right for all peoples,” he added.
Oriol Junqueras, president of ERC, went further and assured that the TGUE does not defend “the MEPs in exile in the face of a political decision to pursue independence” because, according to him, it is based on a request that “no longer makes sense” since the crime of sedition has been eliminated from the Penal Code.
The CUP also supported Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí in Brussels. “Once again it is shown that there is no possible de-judicialization,” said the anti-capitalist Albert Botran. Xavier Antich, president of Òmnium Cultural, spoke directly of “persecution and obsession against exiles.”
The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) was also there. He expressed his concern at the decision of the TGUE to “ignore all the irregularities” in the petition for request. The president of the association, Dolors Feliu, warned the European Union that “if it wants to lead democracy, it has to protect the fundamental rights of the representatives of the citizens of Europe”, referring to the condition of MEPs of the three affected.
