Junts per Catalunya close European election campaign in London

Arriving to a standing ovation and cries of “independence”, President Carles Puigdemont and ministers Toni Comín and Clara Ponsatí brought their whistle-stop tour of European cities to The Wesley Hotel near London’s Euston Station, promising to be the voices of Catalonia’s political prisoners and exiles in the European Parliament.

Introducing them, Anna Forn, daughter of one of those political prisoners, said that the Spanish judiciary’s decision to detain the Catalan politicians, yet to be convicted of any crime, for up to a year-and-a-half (and counting) was “a shame for the European Union”. “But,” she added, “we have three free voices who have challenged the Spanish state from the first moment in exile.”

Forn referred to Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí, who head the list for Junts per Catalunya – Lliures per Europa (“Together for Catalonia – Free for Europe”) in Spain, a country they have not been able to return to since they left for exile in October 2017. Forn’s father, Quim, is the Junts per Catalunya candidate for mayor of Barcelona, an election taking place on the same day as the European Elections in Spain and Catalonia. If elected (and polling suggests he will win a seat in the town hall, but will not come close to the mayoralty), he will not be able to take up his seat or his role, in the same way other political prisoners were prevented from taking their seats in the Catalan Parliament following the election in 2017. He is, however, still allowed to campaign from the videoconference room at Soto de Real prison in Madrid. Like many of the political prisoners, he has appeared via live feed at numerous campaign events in Catalonia’s capital city, and given media interviews, all timed around the tight prison and judicial schedule.

Forn, the younger, said she was in London to give her father the voice he wanted to have, to be the spokesperson for the situation they found themselves in. For her, she said, it was with pride she introduced Puigdemont, Comín and Ponsatí, members of the government “who made the 1st October referendum possible.” She was not the only one.

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#CC18: 7 Days to Christmas

El Cant dels Ocells is a traditional Catalan Christmas song, telling of nature’s joy of the birth of Jesus, and in normal circumstances I would offer one of the many, many beautiful versions of this song here to celebrate the start of the last week before Christmas.

But these are not normal circumstances. Because as we all prepare to enjoy Christmas with our families and loved ones, there are 16 Catalan politicians and political activists who cannot.

In tribute to the political prisoners, El Cant dels Ocells was given new lyrics, which are sung every week when hundreds or thousands of supporters make the pilgrimage to Lledoners prison, where seven of the politicians are held, to audibly provide solidarity.

I had the honour of being part of one such demonstration of solidarity during my visit to Catalonia in September. Whilst my live video of the song appears to have been lost to the online ether, someone else has posted a video from the same day, with many of the flags of my fellow Foreign Friends of Catalonia visible. The video starts with words of thanks from the exiled President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, before the crowd starts singing right next to the prison.

The plight of the political prisoners, still being kept in prison without trial for, in some cases, over a year, has been denounced by the likes of Amnesty International and the UN Human Rights Office have criticised the Spanish Government’s response to the self-determination referendum in October 2017 and called on the Spanish Government not to pursue the charges of rebellion.

Whilst the political prisoners would like to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights, their efforts are being blocked by Spain’s Constitutional Court, which has led to four of the prisoners going on hunger strike. They may well still be on hunger strike when we are sitting down to enjoy our turkey and trimmings on Christmas Day, as, even with two of them now residing in the hospital wing of the prison as a result of their hunger strike, they have shown no intention to end it.

So as we make our final preparations to be with our loved ones, let us take a moment to remember that in the European Union, in the 21st century, there are nine political prisoners who cannot share in that joy. Let us remind them, and each other, that they are not alone, that we are always by their side, and that we want them out of prison and home with their families as soon as possible.

Llibertat Presos Polítics!

The lyrics roughly translate* as follows:

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VilaWeb: Puigdemont among the candidates to win the Nobel Peace Prize according to Time magazine

This is a translation of an article from Catalan newspaper VilaWeb entitled “Puigdemont, entre els candidats a guanyar el premi Nobel de la Pau segons la revista Time“. VilaWeb publishes some of their own articles in English here.

According to the north-American magazine Time, President Carles Puigdemont is in the running to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced Friday evening in Oslo. The award is given every year to the person or group which has contributed the most in the advancement of world peace.

“The figurehead of last October’s unofficial Catalan independence referendum has effectively been living in exile in Belgium since he fled the country to avoid arrest by Spanish authorities. The vote precipitated a crackdown by Spain that put hopes for an independent Catalonia on ice for the foreseeable future”, Time says.

Last year, the winner was the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and this year, in addition to Puigdemont, there are nominees such as Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in, the leaders of North Korea and South Korea who are immersed in a process of opening of relations, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Pope Francis, among others.

This year there are 331 nominees for the prize, of which 216 are individuals and 115 are groups, according to the Nobel committee. It is the second highest number of candidates, after 2016.

Ciudadanos versus freedom of expression: the story of #RiveraQuitameEste

On Wednesday, the leader of the centre-right Ciudadanos party took to Barcelona to remove yellow ribbons from the streets. The social media response became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter. This is why.

Ciudadanos (in English, Citizens, or simply Cs) is a party which presents itself as the party of the Spanish political centre, a more progressive alternative to the established Partido Popular (Popular Party, PP). In Europe, it sits in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group with the UK’s Liberal Democrats and, ironically, their ideological opposites in Catalonia, the Partit Demòcrata Europeu Català, (Catalan European Democratic Party, PDeCAT).

It’s liberal credentials have been questioned, however, by analysis of the party’s policies. Originally designating itself as a centre-left party and, more recently, centrist, analysts have variously described Cs as a centre-right or even right-wing party. For the purposes of this article, I will, where necessary, use the term “centre-right”, whilst acknowledging that a precise location on the political spectrum is a matter for intense debate.

Cs was born in Catalonia in 2006, originally in response to Catalan nationalism, among other social issues, but soon became a significant force in Spanish politics. They currently have 32 of the 350 seats in the national parliament, the Congress of Deputies, after winning 13.1% of votes in 2016, and sought to use their influence in a failed attempt to oppose the confidence vote against Mariano Rajoy and his PP government in June.

Whilst they are the fourth largest party nationally, in the elections to the Catalan Parliament in December they topped the poll, winning 36 of the 135 seats and 25.4% of the popular vote. However, they still sit as an opposition party against the votes of the Catalan nationalist groups Junts per Catalunya (Together for Catalonia, JuntsxCat), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (Republican Left of Catalonia, ERC) and Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (Popular Unity Candidacy, CUP), with a combined total of 70 seats – an overall majority – and 47.6% of the popular vote. The perception of winning an election but remaining in opposition clearly irritates Cs’ leader in Catalonia, Inés Arrimadas, who believes she should be the region’s president instead of Quim Torra, the compromise candidate from the JuntsxCat parliamentary group.

Torra’s election did not come easy. In fact, he was the fourth choice for president. The first was Carles Puigdemont, the leader of PDeCAT and incumbent president, until he was deposed by the Spanish government when they invoked Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution, sacking the Catalan Government and calling fresh elections. That, in turn, was in response to the Catalan Government’s decision to press ahead with a referendum on independence on 1 October 2017, which the Spanish Government and Constitutional Court ruled was illegal, and subsequent declaration of independence following a 92% vote in favour of secession (on a 43% turnout). Puigdemont’s decision to seek exile in Belgium rather than face (as he and many Catalans see it) a political prosecution caused complications and his bid was halted in favour of building a workable government in Barcelona. To many Catalans, though, he remains the legitimate president. Continue reading →

Not one step backwards (no surrender)

In the Bruce Springsteen song “No Surrender” we are reminded of it; from the same humility but also determination, we sing together to neither go backwards nor surrender.

We are conscious that it would be the retreat and surrender of future generations, and we don’t have that right.

MHP Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó

With those words, spoken whilst still awaiting the outcome of extradition proceedings in Germany, the former President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, implored supporters of independence that there can be no retreat from the progress made so far.

The Catalan Government was forcibly removed from office immediately after the independence referendum and subsequent declaration of independence last October. Six members of that Government are now in prison awaiting trial and a further five are in self-imposed exile. They are:

Oriol Junqueras – Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance
In prison since 2 November 2017
Joaquim Forn – Minister of the Interior
In prison since 2 November 2017
Dolors Bassa – Minister of Social Welfare, Employment and Family
In prison since 23 March 2018, previously in prison between 2 November 2017 and 4 December 2017
Raül Romeva – Minister of Foreign Affairs, Institutional Relations, and Transparency
In prison since 23 March 2018, previously in prison between 2 November 2017 and 4 December 2017
Josep Rull – Minister of Planning and Sustainability
In prison since 23 March 2018, previously in prison between 2 November 2017 and 4 December 2017
Jordi Turull – Minister of Presidency and Spokesperson of the Government
In prison since 23 March 2018, previously in prison between 2 November 2017 and 4 December 2017
Carles Puigdemont – President
In exile since 30 October 2017
Antoni Comín – Minister of Health
In exile since 30 October 2017
Meritxell Serret – Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food
In exile since 30 October 2017
Lluís Puig – Minister of Culture
In exile since 30 October 2017
Clara Ponsatí – Minister of Education
In exile since 30 October 2017

Other politicians and civil society leaders are also in prison or self-imposed exile (or on bail awaiting trial) for their role in the referendum. These include:

Jordi Cuixart – President of Òmnium Cultural
In prison since 16 October 2017
Jordi Sànchez – President of the Catalan National Assembly
In prison since 16 October 2017
Carme Forcadell – President of the Parliament of Catalonia
In prison since 23 March 2018, previously in prison between 9 November 2017 and 10 November 2017
Meritxell Borràs – Minister of Governance, Public Administration and Housing
Previously in prison between 2 November 2017 and 4 December 2017
Marta Rovira – General Secretary of the Republican Left of Catalonia
In exile since 23 March 2018

In recognition of these political prisoners and exiles, a group of supportive Catalan singers and songwriters, organised by director Hèctor Suñol, performed a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “No Surrender”, with lyrics powerfully reminding Catalans that, despite everything that has happened, they should not lose faith.

Starting in April, Suñol crowdfunded some €5,000 for the project, which was released on 13 July. The video includes archive footage of the political prisoners and exiles and the police violence against voters on the day of the referendum. It starts with a dedication from Carles Puigdemont (quoted above).

The video is, above all, a reminder that, whatever obstacles are placed in the way, democracy and the will of the people will, ultimately, prevail.

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