Politics

The Spanish prosecutor is preparing to file charges against the Catalan Government after it published an official offer of tenders for ballot boxes that could can be used for the independence referendum, the CNA has learntlearned. Sources close to the Spanish General Prosecutor, José Manuel Maza, said that they will present the case once the bid for the supply of the ballot boxes is completed. “They give us no other choice,” the same sources said, without offering any more details. The Catalan Government spokeswoman, Neus Munté, warned that “it doesn’t make any sense” to open a judicial investigation for into this as matter since “there is no law forbidding the purchase of ballot boxes”. She also said the Government won’t “tolerate any threats or intimidation” from the Spanish government towards the companies interesting in bidding.

The Catalan Government published an announcement on Tuesday in its Official Journal inviting companies to bid to supply ballot boxes for the independence referendum. The executive needs up to 8,000 ballot boxes and is offering to pay up to €184,000. Companies will have 15 days to show their interest in providing them, and the Government will choose the best offer. In the same public call for tenders the Generalitat is also offering €16,000 for cardboard ballot boxes. The announcement is the first step towards the celebration of the independence referendum. The Catalan Government is expected to announce a date for the vote before summer. Catalans were promised an independence referendum by autumn 2017.

“It is not a crime to speak up, discuss, and vote in a parliament,” said Carme Forcadell, President of the Catalan Parliament, in a press conference this Monday after testifying before the High Court. She and four members of her Bureau are facing charges for disobedience for not stopping a vote on a unilateral independence referendum in the Catalan chamber. Forcadell insisted that her Bureau will not bend before “those who want to restrict the freedom of a democratic parliament”. She also accused the High Court of violating the principle of parliamentary immunity when its obligation is to guarantee the right of elected representatives to debate freely and to vote in order to exercise their duties. On the other hand, the Bureau’s First Secretary, Anna Simó, representative of the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) who was also summoned before the judge this Monday, argued that no court can prohibit a debate in Parliament on the issues that citizens are concerned about.

Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva, joined the international gathering this weekend to commemorate the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, the biggest example of Nazi brutality in Austria. On Sunday, Romeva unveiled a plaque at Mauthausen Concetration Camp to “pay homage to the memory of all the victims of the Nazi concentration camps and to those who survived them”. Around 2,000 Catalans died at the Mauthausen-Gusen camp between [falten les dates aquí]. “We ourselves lived through our own Civil War just before World War II and we are very familiar with the ugly face of fascism and the ravages of violence,” added Romeva. Other associations such as Amical Mauthausen and the Catalan Association of Friends of Israel also participated in paying their respects.

The President of the Catalan Parliament, Carme Forcadell, and her First Secretary, Anna Simó, have been summoned before the High Court this Monday for allowing a debate on independence plans in the Catalan Parliament. The Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, members of the Catalan Executive and Parliament as well as representatives of numerous civil organizations and mayors of Catalan towns accompanied the two elected representatives to the High Court in Barcelona. Big crowds of citizens also demonstrated in front of the Court under the motto “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Forcadell says the case against her and the rest of the Parliament Bureau is unprecedented and endangers “free debate in Parliament”.

The Catalan Government is taking the first steps to buying the ballot boxes for the independence referendum, CNA has learned. The executive is about to publish an announcement in the Catalan Government Official Journal that invites companies to bid to supply the ballot boxes. Catalonia is expected to need 8,000 ballot boxes for its independence referendum, which the government wants to celebrate in the autumn with or without permission from the Spanish State. Companies will have 15 days to show their interest in providing the ballot boxes once the offer is officially published, something that is expected to happen in the next few days. According to the Catalan Vice President, Oriol Junqueras, buying the ballot boxes shows the government's “commitment” to the referendum.

Around 600 jurists signed a manifesto in favor of holding a referendum on independence in Catalonia in accordance with the Spanish government. The signers of the text, which was presented on Wednesday at the Bar Association, gave “full support” to the celebration of such a vote. Furthermore, they stated that the referendum is “legitimate and legal” and that “it fits” within the Spanish Constitution. They also warned that “continuous opposition” from Madrid to coming to an agreement about the referendum justifies “other options” for Catalonia’s citizens to be able to express themselves on how they want to decide their future. Catalonia's Minister of Justice, Carles Mundó, was also present at the signing of the manifesto.

Inés Arrimadas, leader of Ciutadans, the main opposition party in the Catalan Parliament, considers the plan of the governing pro-independence coalition Junts pel Sí (Together for Yes) and the radical left CUP (Popular Unity Candidacy) to declare independence “in one day and without a debate” as an insult to Catalans. In an interview with the CNA she insisted that “everyone knows” the independence vote “is not going to take place”. According to Arrimadas, the leaders of the pro-independence groups are waiting to see who ends up being “the black sheep” and what the excuse will be when the referendum fails to be carried out. Therefore she considers the independence process in Catalonia “a vicious circle”. The leader of the opposition party took advantage of the opportunity to attack the recently approved legal reform that allows an “express disconnection”, and that first passed parliamentary procedures despite the opposition’s disapproval.

The United Nations should ask Spain to respect the wish of the Catalan people to hold an independence referendum. This is the message that a group of Catalan civil society organizations sent to the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, in a letter published on Wednesday. “We want the UN to take a position,” said Beni Saball, lawyer and secretary of the Sobirania i Justícia organization. Pau Miserach, president of another of the signing entities, the Grup d’Estudis Polítics, added that the “supranational law” set by the UN “obliges” the Spanish government to “study, analyze, understand, and accept the Catalan reality”. According to him, “secession is not forbidden as such” by any international treaty and the Vienna Convention of 1969, ratified by Spain in 1980, recognizes the right to independence.

The APPG group on Catalonia, created last March in the British Parliament by MPs from the main parties in Westminster, have sent a letter to Spain’s President, Mariano Rajoy, expressing their “concern” over the prosecution of the Catalan Parliament’s president, Carme Forcadell, who faces court “for simply permitting the debate” on independence in the Chamber. The signers consider it “a clear breach of the fundamental democratic right to free speech” and “urge” the Spanish Government “to drop the prosecution”. Forcadell was brought before the court in December accused of disobedience for allowing the pro-independence roadmap to be put to vote among the Catalan MPs on the 27th of July and will face trial again on Monday for the same case.

The President of the Catalan Government, Carles Puigdemont, has announced that in the coming weeks the Spanish government will receive a proposal for dialogue and negotiation over the referendum from the Catalan government. The president said this during his closing speech at the Catalan National Assembly’s annual meeting on Saturday in Granollers. In comments to the CNA, government sources confirmed this will be the last proposal from the Catalans to Spain. In his speech the Catalan president urged the Spanish government to set aside their prejudices and to assume part of the responsibility, which is necessary to solve the problem. “We assume our part and to whatever extent necessary,” he added.

The Catalan and Flemish governments have decided to suspend a joint commercial mission to Morocco they were due to start on May 7. The trip, which was to be led by Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, and Flemish Minister-President, Geert Bourgeois, was cancelled after the Moroccan government “unilaterally” decided that no political leader from the country would meet with the two presidents. Sources from the Catalan Government said to the CNA that Spanish diplomats urged Rabat to avoid political meetings with the Catalan government during the trip. Pugidemont and Bourgeois regretted the decision in a joint press release, warning that it will negatively affect “more than 30 Catalan and Flemish companies” that aimed to improve their commercial relationship with Morocco.

The Ombudsman of Catalonia, Rafael Ribó, presented on Friday the report “Regression of human rights: freedom of speech of elected representatives and separation of power in the Spanish Kingdom” to the President of the Catalan Parliament, Carme Forcadell, which warns of a “deterioration of the principle of separation of power in Spain”. Ribó criticized the suppression of “freedom of speech of elected representatives” and their “criminal prosecution”, which infringes “European law”. The Ombudsman denounced the criminal prosecution of elected representatives “at many different levels”, from local representatives to members of Parliament, and highlighted the case against Carme Forcadell and four members of her Bureau for allowing a debate in the plenary about an independence resolution.

CSQP (Catalonia Yes We Can), a left-wing coalition in favor of holding a referendum but not necessarily independence, says it will support a unilateral referendum if it has international guarantees. CSQP’s spokesperson, Joan Coscubiela, said that the Venice Commission, the Council of Europe's institution in charge of these kind of processes, has to endorse the referendum before his party can support it. Governing cross-party pro-independence coalition Junts Pel Sí celebrated this stance, saying the group “has taken a step forward” by joining those that consider the celebration of a referendum in Catalonia even if it is “without Spain’s permission”.

The creation of the debate group on Catalonia in the House of Commons is a thorn in the side of Spanish diplomats. The CNA has received confirmation that a Spanish diplomat met with at least two founders of the group, the Scottish National Party MP, George Kerevan, and the Plaid Cymru MP, Hywel Williams, in order to “explain his point of view” to them on the Catalan issue. In comments to the CNA, Williams said that “it is not up to Spain's diplomatic service” to “advise” members of parliament on the “activities” of the chamber. Even though Williams described the meeting's atmosphere as “extremely cordial, as these things are”, he admitted the diplomat was “clearly against” some of the motions on Catalonia that he had promoted recently.