For the Catalan independent, He added: “Despite the efforts that tried to harm us greatly, I came here today to remind you that we are still here because we do not have the right to resign.””
He stressed that “the right to self-determination belongs to the people, it is a collective right. Let us not be confused, holding a referendum is not a crime and will never be. Seven years ago, 2.3 million people voted.” During his speech, Carles Puigdemont shouted “Viva Catalunya Libre!” [Viva a Catalunha livre] As he ascended the stage in front of the Arc de Triomphe, he was greeted with cheers of “President, President!” from the crowd.
Puigdemont reappeared in Barcelona in front of a crowd. Mossos d’Esquadra was deployed at 6am on Thursday in the Catalan Parliament.within the framework of the Protection of Access to Circulation Device to install Salvador Illa as President of the State, with the expected support of the European Reform Council and the House of Commons, with which the Socialists will reach 68 deputies, that is, just a majority.
“I came today to remind you that we are still here.He said in Catalan to thousands of his supporters.
Puigdemont, who was elected as a deputy in the Catalan elections on May 12, announced on Wednesday that he intends to participate in the parliamentary session called to vote on the installation of the socialist Salvador Illa as president of the autonomous government of Catalonia.
Puigdemont, who led Catalonia’s unilateral declaration of independence in October 2017, remains subject to an arrest warrant in Spanish territory and has admitted, in a video posted on social media, that he faces arrest upon his return to Spain.
Puigdemont announced on Wednesday that he had begun his “journey back from exile,” saying he remained committed to taking part in the Catalan parliament on Thursday to swear in the new regional leader after May’s elections in which Puigdemont’s party came second.
In connection with the events of Catalan politics and my return after seven years in exile, I wrote this letter. The Spanish Supreme Court’s refusal to implement the amnesty law is nothing less than a hybrid coup.
📑 “Seven years in exile, pardon, investigation and imprisonment”… pic.twitter.com/XgOpTe9kIv
– krls.eth / Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) August 6, 2024
“The fact that, in order to do so, I risked arbitrary and illegal detention is evidence of the democratic anomaly that we have a duty to denounce and combat.“, according to a video clip posted on social media.
Parliament begins work without Puigdemont
Meanwhile, the Catalan parliament has begun the plenary session to install the new autonomous government, as planned, but the whereabouts of independence deputy Carles Puigdemont are unknown.Puigdemont spoke for a few minutes to his supporters who were in a square near the Catalan parliament, then got down from the platform installed there and walked a few meters, surrounded by his party leaders and hundreds of other people, who carried posters and independence flags.
Puigdemont, who was elected as a deputy in the Catalan elections on May 12, appeared to be heading towards the entrance to Parque da Cidadela, the Catalan parliament building, where the prime minister’s swearing-in session will take place at 10:00 local time (09:00 Lisbon time). Socialist Salvador Illa has started as the new president of the regional government (known as the state).
Access to Parliament had been protected and monitored by a police barrier since the early hours of the morning, but Puigdemont did not reach this location, where he could have been detained..
Ana Romeo, RTP correspondent in Spain
The separatist leader appears to have disappeared among a crowd of supporters.
Controversial amnesty law
Spain’s parliament passed an amnesty law in May pardoning those involved in the failed secession attempt in 2017, but the Supreme Court upheld arrest warrants for Puigdemont and two others also accused of embezzlement, ruling that the amnesty law would not apply to them.
The amnesty law has been heavily criticised by the opposition and is the subject of several legal debates, and on July 1 the Supreme Court ruled that it only applies to some of the crimes the independence leader was accused of, which he again condemned on Wednesday. It justified the “rebellious attitude of some Supreme Court judges”.
Carles Puigdemont remains the target of an arrest warrant, despite an amnesty negotiated by Pedro Sánchez in exchange for Junts’ support for his government, and he could be arrested.
The consequences of Carles Puigdemont’s return – which the far-right Vox party, which has described him as a “coup leader”, has promised to await “at the door of parliament” – remain unclear, but it could alter the process of Salvador Illa’s installation, especially if he is arrested and placed in pre-trial detention.
The secretary general of the Junts per Catalunya party, Jordi Turull, announced that in this case, he would request the suspension of the inauguration session.
Away from these considerations In recent days, Salvador Illa has focused his attention on defending the agreement that should make him the first president of the Catalan executive not to come from the ranks of a nationalist party, since 2010..
The agreement, signed with the Reform and Reform Committee and a small far-left party, has already come under heavy criticism.
To get the support of the European Reform Council, the Socialists had to make a promise long awaited by the pro-independence movement: full control over taxes collected in the region, similar to what already happens in the Basque Country..
This measure, which still needs to be approved by the Madrid parliament, is already in the sights of the opposition, but also some figures from the Socialist Party, such as Alfonso Guerra, former right-hand man of Felipe González, who has condemned “the path towards federalism and the independence of Catalonia”.
“I don’t know how many coups we’ve had, how many times we’ve destroyed Spain,” Pedro Sánchez joked. “But today Spain and Catalonia are stronger and more united,” he boasted.
With agencies
