2024-01-30 16:26:00
Spanish deputies face a vote with an uncertain outcome on the amnesty for Catalan independentists / Photo: AFP.
This Tuesday, Spanish deputies faced a vote with an uncertain outcome on the amnesty bill for Catalan independentists. who could reject it because they consider that it does not protect them from all crimes that could be attributed to them based on two new complaints presented by judges from Madrid and Barcelona.
The radical change in the parliamentary panorama, which until before the new complaints presented a placid process that would conclude with the pardon of the secessionists of 2017, came after the two new complaints that reinforce the siege on the independence leader Carles Puigdemont for terrorism and for attacking vital interests of Spain, two crimes that are now outside the amnesty.
The deputies of Puigdemont’s Junts per Catalunya stated in a statement that they will not support the ruling of the law if the socialists do not bow to their demands to protect it in the face of presumed “boycott” attempts by the “judicial establishments.”
The amnesty was non-negotiable condition imposed by the separatist parties in exchange for supporting the re-election of Pedro Sánchez
“It is still being negotiated and we will negotiate until the last minute to introduce changes” to the text, Junts added. “If these changes are not accepted, Junts will not be able to vote in favor of the law,” they added.
The amnesty was non-negotiable condition imposed by the separatist parties in exchange for their support essential to the re-election of the President of the Government, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, in mid-November.
This measure would lead the courts to drop charges against hundreds of independence activists and leaders for their involvement in the attempted secession of Catalonia in 2017, one of the worst political crises in contemporary Spain.
Firstly, it would benefit Puigdemont, who was Catalan regional president at the time of the events, and who He could thus return to Spain more than six years after settling in Belgiumevading Spanish justice.
Pedro Sánchez agreed to amnesty with the nationalist parties in exchange for his re-election / Photo: AFP.
The new positions
Two judges asked on Monday to extend the investigation of two cases that could affect Puigdemont, one for alleged terrorism and another for allegedly maintaining contacts with Russia to obtain support for the independence of Catalonia.
After these latest events, Junts’ last-minute doubts could frustrate its approval and return the bill to a parliamentary committee, where it could be amended.
The alleged contacts with Moscow could cost the independence leader a charge of treason
“Junts has always defended that the amnesty law proposal must include everyone and must be immediately applicable. The amnesty proposal being voted on today does not guarantee these two objectives, especially given the drift of various judicial bodies to boycott the law and leave many pro-independence supporters out,” they argue in their statement.
The session will begin on Tuesday afternoon and It seemed that the text was going to be approved without problemsthanks to the support of the socialist deputies, the extreme left and the Catalan and Basque parties.
However, the alleged contacts with Moscow could cost the independence leader a charge of “treason”, a charge that would not be covered by the amnesty.
The attempted secession of Catalonia in 2017 represented one of the biggest political crises in contemporary Spain / Photo: AFP.
Democratic Tsunami
The second judicial front that threatens Puigdemont is that of the mysterious organization Tsunami Democratico, which called for the different protests in 2019 against the harsh prison sentences imposed on pro-independence leadersand which included the blockade of the Barcelona airport, the AFP news agency reported.
In this case, Judge Manuel García Castellón estimates that Puigdemont is suspected of having committed “terrorism” crimes by directing this shadow organization.
The Popular Party promised to do everything possible to slow down the passage of the bill through the Senate
In response, the socialists were already forced last week to agree with the independentistas on the drafting of an amendment so that the amnesty law protect separatists accused of terrorism, provided they do not commit “serious human rights violations.”
If it is approved in the Deputies, the Popular Party (PP, conservative), the first opposition party, promised to do everything possible to slow down the passage of the bill through the Senate.
To this end, it has already modified the chamber’s regulations and will request reports on the text before amending it, which will force the Congress of Deputies to pronounce again for final approval.
The Government “has exchanged impunity for power”, and represents “the worst version of politics”, launched the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, on Sunday in a demonstration in the center of Madrid against this amnesty, which was attended by 45,000. people.
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