José Rico
4/3/2019 El periódico
ENGLISH
Ex-leader of "Unió ( Democratic Union of Catalonia, Christian Democrat) reveals a frustrated mediation between both presidents before "N9" (An illegal consultation on independence organized by the Catalan government on November 9th, 2014).
Ex-president of Spain offered exploring a political agreement in case CiU promised to endorse it.
Despite a noisy reaction by the Popular Party and other right wing organizations in view of (president) Pedro Sanchez´s proposal to bring an independent witness ("relator") into the dialogue between the central government and the Generalitat (Catalan government) so as to acknowledge the true nature of conversations, the trial of the "Procés" (pro independence leaders) in the Supreme Court is helping cast light on the multiple attempts at mediation made throughout the Catalan conflict when the tenant of "La Moncloa" (Spain´s presidential palace) bore the name of Mariano Rajoy. Two of the attempts were revealed by "El Periódico of Catalonia"; the first by Iñigo Urkullu - president of the Basque Country who tried to stop "in extremis" both; the DUI (the unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan government) as well as the declaration of Article 155 of the constitution (authorizing Rajoy´s intervention of the Catalan regional government sanctioned by the Senate) and the second; a mediation which took place between 2013 and 2014 led by three emissaries: Joan Rigol, Pedro Arriola and José Enrique Serrano.
However the latter was not the only secret mission carried out in the previous months to the 9N. Josep Duran Lleida (historical leader of the CiU coalition in Spain´s Congress in Madrid) reveals now a third one.
In an interview published today (March 2nd, 2019) in El Periodico of Catalonia, Duran assures that before N9, Rajoy accepted exploring a political accord which could have later been voted by Catalans as long as the CiU coalition (then in office in Catalonia) committed to endorsing it in Catalonia. However, according to the ex leader of the now extinct "Unió", the person who derailed such an agreement was then president of the "Generalitat" (Catalan government) Artur Mas, who once on top of the pro independence wave alleged he could not ensure such a proposal would be validated by the secessionists at the voting station.
"Before the N9 consultation conversations between Arriola (Spanish government mediator) and Rigol (Catalan government mediator) took place and at a given moment, Rajoy and I spoke about a potential political proposition which would have been subjected to popular vote. With all the common sense, Rajoy asked if such a proposal would be endorsed by us. I replied "of course" and that I would check with Mas (Catalan president). At that moment Mas rejected the poposal, fearing the reaction of the pro independence voters. Rajoy became angry - and I agreed with him - for two reasons: first, because Mas did not wish to endorse anything which could have come out of a negotiated agreement and secondly, because Rajoy found out through the media about the double-question that was going to be submitted to consultation on N9. It was then that Rajoy said 'Enough¡'", reveals Duran during the interview.
This episode is included in 'The Risk of the Truth' (Editorial Planeta), the political memoirs which the veteran Christian Democrat leader published last Tuesday. According to Duran, it was a real attempt to reach a political solution aiming to avoid a train collision, stating; "such failure was far from being of Rajoy's exclusive responsibility," although he criticizes the ex president of the (Spanish) Government for not having later tried again to "reignite dialogue".
Nonetheless this is not the only dart thrown during the interview by Duran against Mas, with whom he never maintained the best of relationships. He blames Mas for having climbed into the bandwagon of the pro independence movement for "lack of political talent" , "getting carried away by mediocre advisors, whose analysis led to the present situation." Duran accuses the same milieu of having "invented" the concept of "right to decide" equating it with the right of self-determination, which, in his opinion, "is reserved for realities that have nothing to do with Catalonia´s"
Regarding the fuze which unleashed the 'procés (pro independence process); the slamming of Rajoy to a tax deal in 2012, Duran holds the view that Mas "went to La Moncloa - presidential palace - with the will to close the door, having done nothing to prevent it from being closed ". However the hardest grudge against 'expresident' Mas is "having delivered Catalonia to the CUP" (ultraleft pro independence coalition); something which "I never, never, never - and I will repeat it over and over again - would have expected from Mas".
On Pujol, Puigdemont, Junqueras …(ex presidents and ex VP of the Catalan government, respectively)
The ex leader "Unió" blames "ERC´s" (center left pro independence party) pressure on Mas's for the latter´s resignation from the presidency of the Generalitat and confesses he was perplexed by Mas´s appointment of Carles Puigdemont, "a person who has always been crazy," as replacement.
In such a settling of accounts, Duran accuses Jordi Pujol - the man who disappointed him by not anointing Duran as successor (for the Catalan presidency), in favor of Mas - to have used his years of government to prepare the Catalans "tacitly" so that they would "carry on assuming the sovereignist creed ", going as far as assuring that "underneath " he has always been pro independence.
Puigdemont (ex Catalan president) and Oriol Junqueras (ex vice-president now under trial) are not free from Duran's scourge either.
Duran accuses the (recent Catalan) expresident of having squandered the "revenue" which could have been obtained from the great mistake committed by the Spanish government on October 1st 2017 (date of the illegal referendum), by having opted for the unilateral route, reminding it was the ERC leader (Junqueras), "who today appears as the kindest person, who actually squeezed Puigdemont so that he would not call elections instead opting for a DUI (UDI, unilateral declation of independence). "
Regarding the present situation, the former Christian Democrat leader applauds (Pedro) Sanchez's (President of Spain) attempt to "deflate the conflict", regretting that he has been played by the separatists at the game of "seven and a half". He reproaches the pro independence leaders who, "by claiming more and more cards," have shown that they simply "don´t want a dialogue."
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