After 7 years in exilethe leader of Together for Catalonia and former president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemontreappeared this Thursday in Barcelona. He was present at the welcome ceremony that his party organized for his return: “Today I have come here to remind you that we are still here, because we have no right to give up.“, said the Catalan leader.
In front of approximately 3,500 people, Puigdemont He gave a speech from a lectern on a stage set up in front of Barcelona’s Arc de Triomf. He was then expected to head to Parliament to attend the investiture ceremony. Salvador Illaalthough the police authorities did not see him in the group of leaders of his party that entered the Catalan chamber.
Spain: Carles Puigdemont’s speech
At the beginning of his speech, the former president of the Generalitat of Catalonia He launched a strong denunciation: “We have been persecuted for seven years for wanting to listen to the voice of the people of Catalonia. Seven years ago they began a harsh repression that has led us to the prison and exilewhich has affected the lives of thousands and thousands of people for being pro-independence, sometimes just for speaking Catalan, and They have turned the fact of being Catalan into a suspicious thing“.
The independence leader then assured that the “Repression has caused much damage” and that, in the future, “will continue to do so” while the ” is not stoppedpoliticization of justice“. However, despite the allegations, Puigdemont said: “Today I have come here to remind you that we are still here, because we have no right to give up.“.
For Catalan, “It is not, was not, and will never be a crime to hold a referendum. and obey the mandate of the Parliament of Catalonia,” in reference to the unilateral referendum of October 1, 2017, which ended with incidents, injuries and arrests. Finally, Puigdemont stated: “In a country where amnesty laws do not amnesty, we are not interested in being.” They have a problem of a democratic nature“.
The Police Hunt
In his appearance, if located by law enforcement officers, Puigdemont should be arrested as he is the subject of a national warrant of capture that was dictated by the Judge Llarenas of the Supreme Court for him crime of embezzlement and disobedience. In addition, the separatist leader was charged – last February – for an alleged crime of terrorismwithin the framework of the case in which the independence platform ‘Tsunami Democràtic’ was investigated.
Puigdemont did not set foot on Spanish soil Since October 2017when an illegal referendum was organized that declared unilaterally the independence of Catalonia and ended with hundreds of wounded. After this, the leader of Juntos He fled to Belgium to avoid going to jail.
TO 170 kilometers from Parliamenton the highway AP 7the Mossos d’Esquadra -the regional police of Catalonia- set up an operation that they called “cage“in order to find the former president. Even the trunks of the cars were searched and the motorcyclists were required to remove their helmets in order to identify them.
However, Puigdemont was able to sneak to the stage set up for give his speech and then he could fade away from it. For the moment, it is His current whereabouts are unknown.
Along these lines, a Catalan police officer was arrested for allegedly collaborating in the escape of the independence leaderAccording to AFP, the police spokesman did not provide further details, but local media reported that the officer was the owner of the vehicle that Puigdemont allegedly used to escape after addressing thousands of supporters in the Catalan capital.
At present, the Supreme Court He refuses to to amnesty the Catalan since he considers that the ex-president committed embezzlement of public funds to organize the self-determination referendum of October 1, 2017. In addition, the case considers that the politician enriched not having used his own money.
Source: Ambito
