Catalans ‘must stand together to fight rising jihadist threat’
POLITICIANS divided by Catalonia’s independence crisis must put aside their differences to tackle the growth of jihadism in the region, the former French prime minister said yesterday.
In an attack on the independence project, Manuel Valls said August’s terror attacks on Barcelona’s Ramblas and the resort of Cambrils seemed to have been “forgotten, as if it were just a bad moment, something isolated”.
He said that terrorist groups had “bet” on, or chosen, Catalonia as a breeding ground for extremism.
French counter-terrorism specialists were deeply worried about the presence of jihadist groups across their border with Catalonia, Mr Valls said. “The authors of the attacks were integrated people, they were Moroccan Catalans. Catalan politicians should reflect and understand that there are terrorist groups who have decided to bet on Catalonia,” he said. Since 2012, Catalonia has seen the highest number of antiterror arrests of any Spanish region, accounting for almost a third of such detentions nationwide. “The fight against terrorism should supersede internal problems,” he urged, adding that security forces need to work together to prevent more attacks.
This Saturday, he will appear in Barcelona alongside a campaign event for Ciudadanos, a unionist party, just days ahead of next week’s knife-edge election, which has been dominated by the secession crisis.
Political tensions have been rising, sometimes spilling over into violence.
Police were yesterday investigating the death of Victor Lainez, 55, outside a bar in Zaragoza, in neighbouring Aragon, allegedly for wearing braces bearing the Spanish flag. His suspected killer, a 33-year-old from Barcelona, and three friends allegedly called him a “fascist” before striking him from behind with an iron bar.
Meanwhile, Catalan politicians condemned a video in which two civilians riding a Spanish tank threatened Carles Puigdemont, the ousted president, and Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Podemos, the Left-wing party.
The Spanish ministry of defence is investigating the incident, which took place at a Zaragoza military base.