‘Europe is supporting Spain like a zombie’
With Catalonia’s independence vote threatening to turn ugly, its leader tells Hannah Strange the EU must back his people’s will
Europe “cannot keep looking the other way” over the independence referendum in Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan president, said yesterday, insisting the bloc must confront the “abuses” unfolding within its borders.
In an interview with The Daily
Telegraph ahead of the vote on Sunday, Mr Puigdemont insisted the referendum would go ahead despite Spanish attempts to block it.
If the referendum returned a “Yes” for secession, the Catalan government would stick to its pledge to declare independence 48 hours later, he said.
But the Catalan leader dismissed the idea of an abrupt split from Spain, saying there would be “no alternative” but dialogue with Madrid, and Europe, on a stable and agreed transition to an independent state. This, he said, would be “a moment for Europe”.
“Europe that is looking the other way, staying silent, supporting Spain like a zombie – in that moment, Europe cannot keep looking the other way,” Mr Puigdemont said. He added: “The whole world is seeing it, that there is a problem”.
The EU has until now largely avoided making statements, restricting itself to expressions of support for the Spanish constitution. But pressure is mounting on Brussels, with Manuel Valls, the former French prime minister, yesterday urging “important voices” in the EU to weigh in, warning that Catalan independence would mean “the end of what is Europe”.
The United Nations meanwhile signalled concern over the Spanish crackdown, with human rights experts warning Spanish authorities of their responsibility to protect civilians’ democratic rights.
Spanish police have seized millions of ballot papers and been given orders to cordon off facilities intended for use as polling centres.
A huge security contingent has been deployed, with more than 4,000 Guardia Civil officers stationed in hulking cruise ships moored in Barcelona, and Tarragona to the south.
Mr Puigdemont, who has been threatened with arrest by the Spanish Attorney General, suggested that by ignoring what he described as serious abuses of fundamental rights, the EU was risking its moral authority. “How can we later criticise other countries outside the EU for adopting such measures to repress opponents, when we are tolerating this inside the EU, with European citizens? To me, the EU says there is a charter that protects you, you have fundamental rights, and they are staying silent when they are violating my fundamental rights.” Last week, police arrested 14 people – mostly high-ranking Catalan officials – in a sweeping round of raids, sparking angry protests across Spain. Warnings of prosecution have been issued to anyone facilitating the vote, with 700 Catalan mayors already summoned to court.
In the face of a popular backlash in Catalonia, Madrid defended its actions to the last, insisting its hand had been forced by those “in breach of the law”.
José Antonio Nieto, state security secretary, said yesterday that the government did not want to suppress freedom of expression but would act with “absolute determination” to prevent illegal acts. He added if the law was complied with, there would be no need for a “violent” response.
The question of legality and proportionality is much contested, with both sides offering differing interpretations. The government in Madrid, backed by top judges, insists there is no constitutional provision for such a referendum and the Catalan government is mounting “a coup” in the autonomous community. But the Catalan government – supported by its own experts – takes a different view.
Mr Puigdemont did not accept that the Spanish constitution definitively prohibited a referendum, claiming there were “formulas” that could enable a vote. He also insisted the law could be changed, if it were not for a “complete absence of political will”.
“We have to stay in Spain, just because? Because the law says so, because the police say so?” he asked. “In the 21st century it is unacceptable.”
The crackdown has only increased popular support for the vote, Mr Puigdemont claimed and latest polls appear to bear that out. While predictions vary considerably, recent surveys of likely voters forecast a win for the “Yes” camp of up to 70 per cent, though Madrid is trying to prevent as much voting as possible and it is unclear how many “No” voters will head to the polls. Observers will be watching closely – but the bigger concern is how much violence might spring from the result.
Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, has accused the Catalan independence movement of suppressing a silent majority who oppose secession, and of sowing division and hate in the region.
Pressed by The Daily Telegraph on complaints that anti-independence Catalans have been labelled fascists and traitors, Mr Puigdemont acknowledged incidents on the fringes but insisted Catalan leaders and the mainstream opposed such views.
The Catalan leader said he would respect a “No” vote, promising to call fresh elections in that event. But even then, this dispute is unlikely to go away.
‘We have to stay in Spain, just because? Because the law says so, because the police says so?’