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El govern d’esquerres espanyol emetrà indults per a nou separatistes catalans empresonats, en una acció que el primer ministre Pedro Sánchez diu que obrirà el camí a la reconciliació sobre la qüestió més divisòria del país, però que l’oposició diu que soscava l’ rule of law.
The nine politicians and activists were jailed for their roles in an illegal independence referendum in 2017. In a speech held this Monday at the Liceu Opera House in Barcelona, Sánchez said his cabinet would meet Tuesday to pardon the rest of the Catalans’ prison sentences.
“The government has decided to pave the way for reconciliation,” the prime minister said. “If there’s a time to unite, it’s now.” He argued that pardons would have an impact not only on the nine inmates, but on the hundreds of thousands of people who followed them.
The government says the measure is an attempt to promote dialogue and calm tensions over the Catalan independence dispute, the most sensitive issue in Spain. But pardons are deeply unpopular in much of the country and fiercely opposed by opposition parties and many judges. A recent survey suggested this 61 percent of the population opposes it, with only 29.5% in favor.
The nine imprisoned Catalans were sentenced up to terms of up to 13 years in 2019 with charges of sedition included. Among them is Oriol Junqueras, the former deputy director of the regional administration and leader of the largest separatist party, the Esquerra Republicana Catalana or ERC.
The case revolved around the conduct of Catalans during the 2017 independence referendum, which led to an aborted declaration of independence shortly afterwards and a period of direct government by Madrid. The nine Catalans have been in prison for more than three years, but will be released as soon as the partial pardon is issued.
Protesters hold Catalan independence flags during a protest in Barcelona on Monday © Joan Mateu / AP
Sánchez represented the step as a step towards negotiations between the national and Catalan administrations to end an agreement on the status of the region. But the Catalan pro-independence coalition government demands self-determination and an amnesty. It is divided between the ERC, which is more inclined to dialogue with Madrid, and Junts per Catalunya, the youngest and most radical partner of the regional government, which keeps open the option of returning to unilateral action, such as another referendum.
A reaction against Catalan separatism has fueled the right in the last elections and the country’s opposition argues that the minority government has undermined the rule of law in exchange for the separatists’ votes in parliament.
“Sanchez is selling stability and national unity for a few more months of red carpets and an official plane,” Pablo Casado, leader of the popular center-right party, told ABC over the weekend. “He believes in nothing but his own power and staying in power, even at the expense of leaving behind an absolutely broken, disunited and conflicted country.”
The Spanish Supreme Court, which imposed the original rulings, has also strongly opposed the pardons, calling the move “unacceptableAnd noting that the prisoners had shown no remorse.
But church and business organizations have in recent days shown their support for the Sanchez movement. The Cercle d’Economia, an organization that brings together much of the business elite of Catalonia, has also welcomed the pardons. “If things return to normal, you will be welcome,” Antonio Garamendi, head of the Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations, said last week.
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