The Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, asks the Spanish president, Mariano Rajoy, to stop the “repression” against Catalonia and calls for a two-month negotiation period. In a letter sent to Rajoy on Monday, Puigdemont makes a new call for dialogue after tensions between both governments peaked in the past few weeks. “We want to talk, which is what consolidated democracies,” Puigdemont writes. “Let’s not allow the situation to get any worse,” he adds.

Yet, he does not make clear whether or not he declared independence when he addressed the Parliament last week to give the results of the October 1 referendum. Rajoy asked Puigdemont for clarifications and set today as the deadline, while threatening to suspend Catalonia’s self-rule if the answer was affirmative. A second deadline is set on Thursday.

“Firm intention to find the solution rather than generate confrontation”

In the message, Puigdemont insists on the need to open a dialogue. “The priority of my government is always to seek solutions by way of dialogue,” the letter reads. In addition, according to him, the fact that the independence declaration was suspended last week demonstrates the government’s "firm intention to find the solution rather than generate confrontation”.

“Democratic mandate to declare independence”

Although he avoided giving a yes or no answer to Rajoy’s official request, Puigdemont stated that on October 1, “more than two million Catalans entrusted to the Parliament the democratic mandate to declare independence.” Furthermore, he reminds Madrid that “80% of citizens have repeatedly expressed their intention to decide their future by way of an agreed referendum.”

“We want to talk, which is what consolidated democracies do”

In his written reply, Puigdemont also attaches the referendum law, reports about police violence against referendum voters and a transcript of his address in the Catalan Parliament. On October 10, Puigdemont said that Catalonia had “earned the right to be an independent state”, but suspended the official declaration and proposed putting the effects of independence on hold for a few weeks in order to allow time for dialogue.

Sedition charges

In his letter, Puigdemont also refers to the leaders of pro-independence organizations and the head of the Catalan police, who will give testimony today in the Spanish National Court in relation to sedition accusations for their role in the September 20 demonstrations, when thousands of people peacefully took to the streets to protest the arrest of several high-ranking officials.

Article 155

The ball again lies in Rajoy’s court. As Puigdemont’s response falls short of the yes or no answer which Rajoy had asked for, it is yet to be seen whether Rajoy will continue to deploy Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution in order to take over the Catalan government. In any case, Puigdemont expressed “surprise” that Rajoy mentioned Article 155 in a statement last Wednesday.

Pressure from pro-indy allies

Puigdemont’s letter will probably not satisfy some of his pro-independence allies either. The anti-capitalist CUP — the only partners of Puigdemont’s ruling coalition in the Parliament — had asked him to officially declare independence as a response to Rajoy’s call for clarifications.

Catalan News, ACN | Barcelona

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Puigdemont Sends Evasive Article 155 Reply To Rajoy

Oct 16 2017—NEWS—Catalan First Minister wants a two-month dialogue period and sedition charges dropped against Catalan police chief Trapero.

The beginning of Carles Puigdemont’s Article 155 reply to Mariano Rajoy.
After days of expectation and talks with his separatist allies, the First Minister of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, sent an evasive reply to the central government’s Article 155 notification, which on Wednesday began the process of suspending home rule in the region.

The Spanish Prime Minister’s office, Moncloa, was seeking a simple “yes” or “no” reply by 10 a.m. on Monday on the question of whether Mr. Puigdemont had or had not declared independence last Tuesday.

Anything other than “no”, the First Minister was warned, would lead to the activation of the rest of the process to suspend home rule.

Mr. Puigdemont has chosen more obfuscation. His four-page reply—two of text and two of links in support of his argument—neither confirmed nor denied he had proclaimed a new Catalan republic last week, but asked for dialogue and set a period of two months for talks.

He did not say what he would do if talks did not take place by the middle of December.

“The situation we are living through”, the letter begins: “is of such transcendence that it demands political solutions and replies that are up to the job”.

Both “the majority of society” and Europe would only understand a solution based on “dialogue, negotiation and agreement”.

Mr. Puigdemont says he was “surprised” by the central government’s decision to begin the process of suspending home rule, and that his proposal of dialogue was “sincere” and “honest”, not “a demonstration of weakness”.

He argues that despite “violent police action”, “more than two million Catalans” entrusted the regional parliament with a “democratic mandate to declare independence”.

Most “no” voters stayed at home on October 1 and opposition parties refused to take part in an illegal referendum campaign. 90% of those who voted chose “yes”.

“The priority of my government is to seek the path of dialogue with all intensity.”

“The suspension of the political mandate that came out of the ballot boxes on October 1 demonstrates our firm will to seek a solution and not confrontation.”

As well as not replying clearly to the Article 155 notification, and demanding dialogue with the central government, Mr. Puigdemont makes two specific requests of Madrid.

First, he would like the Spanish government to lift “the repression of the people and government of Catalonia”.

That means he would like sedition charges against the chairmen of Omnium Cultural, Jordi Cuixart, and the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Jordi Sánchez, and Catalan Police chief Josep Lluis Trapero, dropped.

He also says fundamental rights in the region have been violated, the Internet and media outlets “censored” and public accounts frozen. He makes a second mention of the “brutal police violence against a peaceful civilian population” on October 1.

The second thing Mr. Puigdemont wants is a meeting with Mariano Rajoy, “that allows us to explore the first agreements”.

“Let us not allow the situation to deteriorate further.”

The Deputy Prime Minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, is expected to make a statement shortly in response to Mr. Puigdemont’s reply.

Deputy PM Says Puigdemont Now Has Until Thursday To Rectify

Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría said on Monday morning that Carles Puigdemont now had until Thursday morning at 10 a.m.—the second deadline mentioned in last Wednesday’s formal Article 155 notification—to rectify and return to the rule of law, after the Catalan First Minister sent an evasive reply to Madrid.

“It is not difficult for Puigdemont to return to a sensible position” by then, said Mrs. Sáenz de Santamaría, framing the Article 155 process as seeking to return legal government to the region rather than suspend home rule.

“It has never been easier for someone to avoid the Constitution being applied.”

Published: 12:12 pm, Oct 16 2017 (link)

Rajoy Sends Letter To Puigdemont In Reply To His Reply

The Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, replied to Mr. Puigdemont’s reply on Monday morning, sending his own letter back to Barcelona. He said he “deeply lamented” the Catalan First Minister’s lack of clarification on the matter of independence.

Mr. Rajoy insisted such clarification was now “absolutely necessary, and that the formal notification was indeed the first step of the Article 155 process, but that it was really a chance for Mr. Puigdemont to rectify before it was too late:”a call for political clarity“.”The First Minister of the Catalan government cannot treat citizens like this on a matter of such importance. He has a duty to explain to them what has happened and if his will is to comply with current laws or not.“The PM reminded Mr. Puigdemont that Europe and its member states had expressed their views”contrary to independence and a break with the principle of legality".

He wrote that separatists’ actions were generating a fractured society in Catalonia.

The Spain Report

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