Government offers its “full support” to Parliament President

Barcelona (ACN).- The President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, immediately expressed his support to Parliament President, Carme Forcadell, and the four members of the Catalan Parliament Bureau who are facing charges in court. Forcadell has been summoned to testify before the High Court of Catalonia (TSJC) for allowing a debate in the plenary about an independence resolution. She is accused of disobedience for not stopping the discussion, which was suspended by the Constitutional Court after a Spanish government complaint. She is summoned together with four members of the Catalan Parliament Bureau: Anna Simó, Lluís Corominas, Ramona Barrufet and Joan Josep Nuet. Simó, from the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), will testify on May 8, the same day as Forcadell, while Corominas and Ramona Barrufet, MPs from the liberal PDeCAT party, will face the court on May 12. Nuet, from left-wing coalition CSQP, and who was initially not included in the investigation, will finally testify as well on May 23.

Reactions to the citation came quickly. Forcadell herself tweeted, alongside a picture of her citation letter: “We have always worked to facilitate debates, not to stop them, because words should be free in the Parliament. We will continue in this fashion”. The President of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont also immediately expressed his support to Parliament President, Carme Forcadell, and the four members of the Catalan Parliament Bureau by giving all his “support, out of a commitment to democracy”.

The Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras showed his criticism towards the citation by tweeting: “Carme Forcadell, Anna Simó, Lluís Corominas, Ramona Barrufet and Joan Josep Nuet have been summoned to appear before the High Court for giving a voice to the citizens. Democracy?”. And in a press conference after the Executive Council, the Catalan Government’s spokesperson, Neus Munté expressed the support of the whole Executive and she assured that “they will accompany them at all times” during the days their colleagues are summoned to testify.

The coordinator of the alternative left coalition En Comú Podem, Xavier Domènech, reproached the Spanish state for “the repressive legal actions”. “It is a practice that does not fulfill a basic requirement of democratic action, which is to face the problems in a political way and not in court,” said Domènech in a press conference this Tuesday. He expressed his support to the MPs and the Parliament President, Forcadell, by saying: “this involves us all”. Similarly, the spokesperson of the left-wing coalition CSQP, Joan Coscubiela, said that “taking a political process before the courts is the worst way you can go”.

Although he was initially excluded from the investigation, the Secretary of the Parliament Bureau, Joan Josep Nuet, will also testify on May 23. He comes from a party that is not openly pro-independence, although some of its voters are. The spokesperson from the conservative Catalan People’s Party (PPC), Esperança García, sees this within the rule of law: “the ones, who are part of the Parliament Bureau and who allowed the voting of a suspended matter should be held accountable to the law”. In the same vein, the spokesperson of the Catalan Socialist Party (PSC) in the Parliament, Eva Granados, stated that calling the Secretary to court as well is within the “normal functioning of the law”, as he has participated in decisions that led to a debate in the plenary about matters related to the constituent process and the referendum.

At the same time, Nuet stated his innocence in this matter. After finally being included to testify before court, he posted on Twitter: “At the end, they included me in the complaint. I reaffirm the innocence of my colleagues and mine as well” and he added that he reiterates his “political ideas”.