EU shows cowardice over Catalonia’s bid for independence
■ I have friends in Barcelona, and when we go there, a mustsee with them is the traditional dances and music, held outside of the parliament building on the square.
This expression of nationality was banned during the Franco dictatorship, as was the speaking of the Catalan language.
Catalonia remains a peaceful region, and has stood by such a culture, while keenly aware that it is recognised as separate from Spain.
As the Spanish authorities in Madrid accuse the Catalan government of ‘rebellion’, and issue a European arrest warrant for ousted president Carles Puigdemont, we are reminded of history repeating itself.
In 1940, the Gestapo arrested the then-president of Catalonia in exile, Lluis Companys, in France, and handed him over to Franco’s Madrid, whom he stood in opposition to.
He was thrown into prison, starved, and tortured for five weeks, before having a one-hour ‘trial’ for “rebellion”.
He was then taken out of there, put up against a wall, and executed.
Those who now criticise Puigdemont and his cabinet for declaring a peaceful Declaration of Independence for Catalonia would do well to remember from where the current government in Madrid gets its own ‘inspiration’.
Puigdemont, and his government, are the leaders of the Catalan people.
So by removing them Madrid, in effect, feels that it will also subjugate the whole of the Catalan people, once again.
Where is the EU in all of this, apart from showing cowardice in the face of democratic wishes through the ballot box being rejected?
Robert Sullivan