REVIEW - Catalan Leaders Continue Row With Spanish Government

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2020) The struggle led by the Catalan separatist authorities against Spain's central government is continuing after a lull, while the government of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in coalition with the far-left Unidas Podemos political party negotiated the support of the Catalan separatists in the Spanish parliament.

The head of the Catalan regional government, Quim Torra, is again summoned by the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) on Wednesday to testify for an alleged crime of disobedience. The case revolves around Torra's refusal to comply with the Central Electoral Commission's demand to remove a poster in support of fugitive Catalan politicians from the facade of the Palace of the Generalitat in Barcelona ahead of the parliamentary elections in Spain in November 2019.

On September 20, 2019, the court ordered Torra to remove the poster calling for the freedom of the "political prisoners and exiles" in 48 hours. However, this was not done until September 27, after the court decided to engage law enforcement agencies in the order's execution.

An investigating judge of the Civil and Criminal Chamber summoned the Catalan president on Wednesday morning after not having received a response from the Generalitat to set a day compatible with Torra's exercise of public duties. The judge has agreed to take into consideration the complaint by the Citizen Promotion Association, which filed the contentious appeal against Torra for the incident. In particular, in 2019, the court took the measure of having the banner withdrawn by the Catalan police, the Mossos d'Esquadra. Two policemen had removed the banner with the ribbon and hours later the Generalitat hung a new one with the slogan saying "Freedom of opinion and expression: Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."

This is thus the second call for Torra for alleged disobedience. The leader was already convicted in December 2019 for not obeying the order of the Central Electoral Commission and keeping the same banner in the electoral period of the general elections of April 2019. The TSJC imposed a penalty of 18 months of disqualification and 30,000 Euros ($35,310) worth fine for disobedience. The verdict was appealed to the Supreme Court of Spain, which is yet review the case in September, and Torra continues to serve as the head of the Catalan regional government.

On Tuesday, Quim Torra asked prime minister Sanchez "to stop hostilities [against the independence movement] if he wants to resume dialogue to de-escalate the situation in Catalonia.

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Torra also warned that any decision concerning the imprisoned politicians would make Catalans stronger, reinforce their reasons and invite them to better prepare to definitely stop being "prisoners of an authoritarian state that does not accept the democratic will of the Catalans."

TORRA AND UPCOMING CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENTS

The Catalan leader, as well as the head of the Basque country, Inigo Urkullu, declined Spanish prime minister's invitation to the Conference of Presidents in San Millan de la Cogolla scheduled for Friday, citing the epidemiological situation. However, the reason for the refusal is believed to be the leaders' separatist feelings, as the meeting is to be attended by King Felipe VI, who is supposed to hold an informal meeting with the prime minister and the regional leaders before the start of the actual conference, dedicated to the coronavirus crisis and its repercussions.

Earlier in July, the Catalan parliament endorsed a report by a commission that looked into Madrid's crackdown following its 2017 secession bid and called for the Spanish king to abdicate. The review criticized the central government's decision to suspend Catalan autonomy and reimpose direct rule from Madrid after the October 2017 independence referendum. Catalans accused King Felipe VI of playing a key role in the return of direct rule, which they called a "coup d'etat." The Catalan autonomy was suspended for almost seven months after 90 percent of those who voted in the referendum backed secession.

On Wednesday, Sanchez once again invited the leaders, noting that their "attendance at this crucial meeting is very important," according to the respective letters he has written to them.

It is clearly part of a negotiation of Sanchez with the Catalans since Sanchez wrote in his letter to Torra that the government had the will "to be sensitive to the needs and requests of the autonomous administrations" but asked for the same understanding towards the effort it was making to arbitrate the different interests to guarantee solidarity between territories.

Apart from that, the Government also warned Torra, Urkullu and Isabel Diaz Ayuso, the Madrid Community's president, that it was obligatory to attend the Conference of Presidents.

Given the current situation, the political guerrilla warfare between the Catalan separatists that hold the presidency in Barcelona and the Spanish government is not finished. The presence or absence of Torra at the conference, that the king will partly attend, would be the next sign of a warming or freezing point of the negotiations.