Tunisian Nobel Peace laureate supports Catalan referendum

Ahmed Galai makes a declaration in favor of “democracy and the October 1” vote

Ahmed Galai, Nobel Peace Laureate 2015 (by Helle Kettner)
Ahmed Galai, Nobel Peace Laureate 2015 (by Helle Kettner) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

September 4, 2017 01:56 PM

Tunisian Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Ahmed Galai, supported on Monday the Catalan referendum to be held on October 1. He made an institutional declaration Monday evening to support “democracy and the October 1” vote alongside the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont. He said that Catalonia is a nation and, as a nation, it has the "right to self-determination". "Ballot boxes should never be considered a problem or the cause of a conflict," added Galai. 

In the same event, Puigdemont reaffirmed that Catalonia will vote on October 1. According to him, Spain banning the referendum would not be democratic at all. "A referendum should never be branded a scam, on the contrary, the scam would be to prevent it. A coup can never be carried out with ballot boxes, on the contrary. A coup d’état would be banning them," he said.