To get results, Ponsati must start again

Sir, – What lessons can be learned from the situation facing St Andrews University professor Clara Ponsati (“Students take to the streets in support of Fife professor”, The Courier, April 3)?

No doubt there are many flaws in the European Arrest Warrant system that mean she could possibly be returned to Spain to face trial and lengthy imprisonment.

The controversy is certainly an emotive one among academics and pro-independence supporters in both Catalonia and Scotland.

There are civil liberty issues at stake here, but there are also issues that relate to how democracies work in Europe.

Professor Ponsati has placed on record her admiration for the system that led to Scotland having a referendum in 2014, the outcome of which both sides had pledged to respect.

Pressure in both the Holyrood and Westminster chambers led to the British Government temporarily ceding control of the constitution to allow the poll to be run from Edinburgh – a legal referendum which could not be challenged in the courts.

The supporters of Catalonian independence have to learn from this.

They need to press for changes to the constitution to make Spain a much less centralised state.

That means first and foremost parliamentary pressure in Madrid.

If they get those changes there will be a case for referendum on autonomy in Catalonia itself. But as any SNP supporter ought to know this can be a long haul – a long one but not an impossible one.

If Prof Ponsanti and her supporters want to get results rather than just sympathy they need to start the journey afresh.

Bob Taylor.

24 Shiel Court, Glenrothes.

Pro-independence Catalan politician Clara Ponsati walks from Edinburgh Sheriff Court with lawyer Aamer Anwar on March 28 after handing herself in to Scottish police.