Puigdemont demands amnesty and a rapporteur as a “precondition” for the investiture of Sánchez

Along with this, the former president has warned that certain “preconditions” must be established to start the negotiation: “recognize the legitimacy of the independence movement”, the “abandonment of judicial channels” and amnesty; a rapporteur to mediate and verify the agreements, and the promotion of Catalan in the European Union. All these conditions, the Junts leader has assured, fit into the Constitution and can be carried out before the vote on the investiture of Pedro Sánchez.

These requirements set by the former president are prior to the negotiation that, according to his point of view, must lead to an agreement like the one that “no regime or Spanish government has been able to reach since 1714.” In other words, a new constitutional agreement with which the State recognizes Catalonia as a nation and, therefore, with the right to self-determination (although not necessarily independence).

“The possible pact is not just any pact but with Junts, a formation that has been cornered and relentlessly despised by the two major Spanish parties”, said the MEP, who recalled that they added their PSC and PP votes , together with the commons, to seize the mayoralty of Barcelona from Xavier Trías, and later he made reference to the “elements of the conflict”, which he has cited in order: the sentence against the Statute, the “criminalization of 1-O”, non-compliance with investments and the application of 155.

“October 1 was not a crime, nor was the unilateral declaration of independence, nor were the protests,” said the former Catalan president, who is proposing amnesty for hundreds of sentences framed in the process. But the amnesty is not an end point for Puigdemont, who has positioned it as a requirement to start a negotiation for the investiture, rather it is the beginning of a path that, in his opinion, should lead to a self-determination referendum.

Amnesty, rapporteur, Catalan… and agreement on self-determination

Thus, he has ensured that the “prerequisites for embarking on the path of negotiation” go through four axes. The first is the recognition of the “legitimacy of the independence movement”; the second, the end of the judicialization of the conflict; the third, the “creation of a mediation and verification mechanism that provides guarantees of compliance and monitoring of the agreements; and the fourth “setting as the only limits those defined by international agreements and treaties that refer to human rights (individual and collective) and fundamental freedoms”.

“None of these preconditions is contrary to the Constitution, nor of course any European treaty. They do not even require a lengthy legislative process. These are preconditions that must be met before the deadline expires in order to avoid new elections. [dos meses después de que el 27 de septiembre se ponga en marcha el reloj en la primera votación de la investidura fallida de Alberto Núñez Feijóo], and that if they occur, they commit us and oblige us to work for a historical commitment that resolves the conflict in the legislature. It only depends on political will ”, he has asserted.

“Catalonia is a nation, an old European nation that has seen its national status attacked by the Spanish political regimes since 1714,” said the former Catalan president, who sees independence as the only possible way for “Catalonia’s survival as a nation”. “It would correspond to the Spanish political leaders to deny this conclusion, but not through promises and words, but through deeds”, he said before going into the specification of his demands.

The former Catalan president has set out his conditions for a negotiation for governance at a conference in a hotel in Brussels, where Junts leaders have traveled to participate in an inter-parliamentary conference convened by Puigdemont, who they have received standing up with applause . In the front row were the former president of Parliament Laura Borrás and her successor, Anna Erra i Solà, currently in office, the former minister Jordi Turull, and the deputy spokesperson for ERC in Congress, Teresa Jordà, among others. The seven Junts deputies, whose votes are key to governability, and other representatives of the independence movement, such as the CUP deputy Carles Riera, also attended.

an expected conference

The negotiation of the ‘yes’ of Puigdemont returns him to the epicenter of Spanish politics, a situation that the former president will not miss once his popularity in the community capital skyrockets again. The conference was attended by all the Spanish media and also some representatives of the international press.

The conference had been scheduled since last week and took place one day after the former president received the second vice president, Yolanda Díaz, in her capacity as leader of Sumar, who traveled to Brussels to discuss the investiture of Sánchez with the MEP . The PSOE stands apart from that meeting and maintains its path of negotiation, although it preserves everything that has to do with amnesty, a proposal -defended for almost six years by the pro-independence parties- which the Socialists have always denied, but which is now on the table.

“We have worked on several formulas, but due to a matter of discretion we are not going to present them yet. Amnesty is not the only formula. The important thing is the objective, to heal the wounds of the past. Set the score to zero. There are some slower formulas, others more expensive. I think we have to go stage by stage. Right now I am not authorized to talk about other formulas”, said the leader of En Comú Jaume Asens, who also participated in the meeting between Díaz and Puigdemont, after which he was convinced that the ‘yes’ of Junts to the investiture de Sánchez is closer.