PEDRO Sanchez has offered a referendum in a bid to settle the independence dispute between Spain and Catalonia – but he said it would not be a poll on separation, more a form of what Scotland came to know as “devo max” during David Cameron’s time as UK Prime Minister.
Speaking as the Spanish and Catalan parliaments prepared to return after their summer recess, Sanchez, the Spanish Prime Minister, said he would offer Catalonia “a referendum of self-government, not self-determination”.
He said: “What is at stake in Catalonia is not independence, it is co-existence. When we talk about self-government we talk about a new statute.”
Sanchez said only 43% of people had voted in the October 1 referendum in Catalonia, while 79% voted in the December 21 election forced by the controversial imposition of direct rule on the wealthy state under Article 155 of the Spanish constitution.
“Catalan society is divided into two blocks and the dynamics of blocks must be transcribed to solve it,” he said, adding that his government had “the will to explore all the options to solve this crisis”, but within the legal framework.
He warned that, although re-imposing direct rule was not uppermost in his mind, he would have no hesitation using it in the same way as his predecessor Mariano Rajoy.
“This is a legitimate, perfectly constitutional instrument, to relocate Catalonia to the statute, the legality and the Constitution,” he said. If it became necessary to use it again, “the government will do it”, he added.
“Independentism does not have to repeat the mistakes of the fall of 2017. Irrespective of what President Torra says, the government of Spain will not rise from the table of the bilateral commissions,” he said, referring to a long-dormant joint-governmental meeting that had its first resumed meeting earlier this year.
Catalan President Quim Torra will deliver his view on the future of the Catalan independence movement in a speech tonight. It is likely to cover legal action against the previous government, his intentions towards dialogue with Sanchez and his plans for making independence a reality. However, he has already called for a march for civil rights in Catalonia and demanded a self-determination referendum.
A sticking point in any negotiations between the two will be the forthcoming trials against more than two dozen political leaders for their part in last year’s drive for independence.
Nine former ministers and civic leaders – some of whom have been incarcerated for almost a year – could, if found guilty, face sentences of up to 30 years in prison, which Torra described as “a great farce”.
But he urged the independence movement to remain united: “If we are united, we will win. Do not have any doubt, any fear.”
For his part, Sanchez repeated that his government had to respect the autonomy of the judiciary and that the autonomy of the prosecutor’s office was enshrined in the constitution.
Catalan president Quim Torra
The Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) yesterday dismissed his comments. Spokesperson Marta Vilalta said: “We have not made the mobilisations of recent years for more self-government or a new statute. What the people are demanding is voting on the issue of funds, the right to self-determination, that Catalonia becomes an independent country. It is on this issue that we demand a solution.”
She urged the Spanish Government to “be courageous” and face the fact that Catalan citizens want to be able to decide “the future they want”, through the ballot box.
Vilalta said the ERC would not change its strategy, adding: “We continue to say that we continue betting on dialogue and negotiation and defend the right to self-determination of our country from institutions, the government and the mobilisations.”
She stressed the unity and joint strategy of the indy movement and would not be drawn on a potential agreement on the suspension of the jailed and exiled former ministers, including sacked president Carles Puigdemont, who is in exile in Belgium.
Vilalta added: “We have no specific news about the resolution of this debate ... I cannot confirm the specific resolution.”
Meanwhile, plans appear to be well advanced for ensuring that next Tuesday’s National Day in Catalonia – La Diada – will be a loud and colourful expression of support for independence. Catalan Government spokesperson Elsa Artadi said last night: “Catalonia’s National Day of September 11 means that we were in the past, that we are now and that we will be in the future. We will be what we want to be as a people.”
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