Trials of Catalan activists - the what the why and how great academic centers are unwittingly contributing to undermining a European democracy

Twelve former Catalan politicians and activists are currently facing trial before the Spanish Supreme Court for charges ranging from misuse of public funds to disobedience and rebellion. The prosecutions are a consequence of their involvements in the acts leading to the so-called ‘unilateral declaration of independence’, issued by the Catalan Parliament in September and October 2017 and which triggered the biggest constitutional crisis Spain has witnessed since its democratic transition.

The Catalan Regional Government (Generalitat) in 2017, sought to subvert Spain’s constitutional order. despite the Constitutional Court’s constant warnings, rulings and prohibitory injunctions, and relying on the alleged legitimacy it had been awarded by the supposed ‘will of the Catalan people’. This Cabinet passed laws which sought to suspend the operation of the Spanish constitution in Catalonia, with the hope that leading to a situation of de facto independence would force the Spanish state to recognize its formal independence.
In doing so, an attack was launched against the most fundamental provisions of the Spanish constitution: Articles 1(1), 1(2) and 2, which hold that Spain is a country “subject to the rule of law”, the foundations of which lie on the country’s “indissoluble unity” and on a “national sovereignty” belonging to “the Spanish people” as a whole. Contrary to what is claimed by individuals such as Thursday’s speaker, this is no constitutional anomaly or the sign of a totalitarian state.France, Italy, Germany, Norway, Switzerland and Brazil all contain similar provisions, as does the USA in Texas v White (1869) 410 US 179, where it was held that that the United States federation was “indissoluble” and “perpetual”. As recently as 2016, the German Constitutional Court struck down a secessionist referendum in Bavaria, arguing that the sovereignty of the German state rested on the German people as a whole, not on individual Länder.

These acts of open breach of the Spanish Constitution led to the application by the Spanish Central government of Article 155 which involves the suspension of the regional autonomy and the dismissal of the Cabinet at the time,. The implementation of the Article 155 was authorized by the Senate. Once again, this is not unique to the Spanish constitution: it is based on the concept of Bundeszwang (Article 37 of the German Constitution), and similar provisions can be found in the constitutions of Austria (Art 100), Italy (Art 126) or Argentina (Art 75).

Following her escape from the country of the former President, Carles Puigdemont and several of his "ministers" , a European Arrest Warrant was issued against them by the the Spanish Audiencia Nacional (Court of Appeal) although later withdrawn . Since then they have been touring Europe, lecturing on the biased Spanish judiciary, the oppressive nature of the Spanish state (as the title of Thursday’s talk implies) and the fact the country allegedly has political prisoners.

Spain, is a member of the European Union and of the Council of Europe and a country with what is often considered one of Europe’s most progressive constitutions, does not have political prisoners. Similarly, the Supreme Court’s trial of the secessionist leaders will be no ‘show trial’, but one which, like every other trial which takes place in the country, will be conducted under the extensive procedural guarantees provided by both the Spanish Constitution and by the European Convention of Human Rights.

It is deeply regrettable, that many outside Spain have fallen into the secessionist narrative which attempts to portray Spain as an oppressive state and the Spanish judiciary as a biased one. There is no democratic mandate beyond that established by a country’s constitution, which lays the framework of a society’s rights and legal obligations. It is not permissible, in any democratic regime, to deliberately violate (and call for the violation of) the constitution, under the false pretence of operating under an alternative legal order.

There are even Law faculties around Europe who are hosting talks with some of these leaders currently fugitives from justice.? Would for example any university in Europe host someone who is avoiding a European Arrest Warrant issued by the UK, after explicitly vowing to disobey the Constitution and declare the independence of one of its constituent nations? Would it allowed a talk which sought to project the image of the UK being a “fascist state” with a biased judiciary as has been the case in some well renowned universities sucha as Cambridge? It is highly doubtful.
By hosting these talks these centers of knowledge are contributing to the narrative of the members of the former Catalan government being martyrs. They are not: they are politicians who, in full knowledge of their actions, intentionally acted ultra vires in respect of their own Statute of Autonomy. It is contributing to the notion that it is permissible to, in the name of das Volk, disavow a country’s constitution. More importantly, perhaps, it is allowing its premises and its brand to be used to attack the judiciary of an EU Member State and to undermine the very notion of the Rule of Law and the Rechstaat.

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The independentists know very well what they are doing. The worse the better: Create instability in the right or the left. They do not care

ProU Forum

Independentism is shaking on purpose the Catalan and national life continuously well before 2011, whether there is a right or left Government in Spain. 

If in the past they attacked the legal Government of Rajoy qualifying it as a fascist government, now they use as a weapon the refusal of social budgets of the left Government of Sánchez. They would like to see a divided Catalonia and a divided Spain so they can do their holy will. 

Their plan to obtain independence even breaking the constitutional laws goes ahead as expected.

All started well before 2011 with the old CDC 3% corruption cases and the Pujol clan imputations for tax evasion. If there was already a drift for independence in part of the Catalan society from these dates on it turned into a conflict agains the State. Artur Mas, then President of Generalitat, called for a consultation on independence illegalized by Constitutional Court, the 9-November (9-N) 2013 with a participation of 37% (numbers speak for themselves).

In 2012 the ANC is created to push for the independence, this association is agitating the Catalan independentist movement once and again, directing it whenever the independentist political parties governing the Parliament, in seats but not in votes, ask them, requiring the ANC to push people to the streets. It acts a a Government in the shadow. There are studies on how much financing they have been receiving those years from public funds.

In 2015 the Government of Catalonia would like to include in the Catalan budgets the creation of new parallel Government structures but the Council of Statutory Guarantees advises that 5 of these 6 structures are outside the Constitution and the Statut of Catalonia. Before the elections of 27-S , 2015 Artur Mas asksthe Executiu Council to develop a work plan that will be a real sprint in the promotion of the so-called State structures and that will put on the table in the next six months strategic and contingency plans, programs and drafts of laws that develop the contents of the reports of the Consell Assessor for the National Transition. From the management of strategic infrastructures to the legal transitoriness and the succession of the central administration by the Catalan one, among other aspects. All with their respective calendars.They will put also on the table the impulse of the Catalan Social Security. 

Contingency plans are also prepared for a transition in the management of strategic infrastructures, guaranteeing security. The reference is the historical Catalan demand for the Renfe management, the El Prat airport or the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona. Other elements seem no less controversial, such as the transitoriness of open judicial processes or the succession of personnel of the central administration. Currently, there are some 30,000 state employees in Catalonia who work in ministerial bodies, state agencies, security forces and bodies, justice and other public entities.

Before the elections will start the development of a constitutional text that is expected to close in ten months, through a participatory mechanism. It is a constitutional version of the "Bus of the Estatut" that Joan Saura mounted during the previous works to the text of the Statute approved in the Parlament in 2005. In the same line initiatives of reflection on the productive, energetic, university model will be promoted. of the "new country under construction". In parallel, the creation and start-up of State structures would be started, such as "our own finances, social security, legal transience, foreign action, transition of energy infrastructures, social and health services, energy supply, security ..." . The list corresponds to the CiU-ERC legislature pact. The document also provides for the "systematic exercise of acts of sovereignty" that confirm the break with the guidelines of the State and cites the linguistic immersion, the energy poverty decree, the business hours or the opposition to the "gag law". 

The so called document Full de ruta unitari del procés sobiranista català exposes a culmination of the process with a minimum of two new calls to the polls. It is proposed, "if possible, the holding of a binding referendum on the configuration of the new State", which would imply an agreement with the Spanish Government. Otherwise, the proclamation of the Catalan State is directly raised.

Numbers do not give yet majority to independentism: 52.22% of the voters have opted for partisan formations of a Catalonia united in Spain compared to 47.78% of independentism. Far from 2/3 of votes needed to start any change in the Catalan Parliament. 

 September 6 and 7 2017, the days that broke the Catalan Parliamentarism. Parliamentary debates took place where the laws of the referendum and of rupture were approved, opening a constitutional crisis not yet solved. After seeing all the alternatives closed, the independentism approved the laws with an irregular procedure and violating the rights of the opposition, as Joan Coscubiela then leader of the left Barcelona en Comú party publicly stated in the parliamentary debates this very day.

From then on the State structures continued to be created in the shadow until the agents found in 20 September 2017 in Josep Jove's house another document, entitled#EnfoCATs, (this document can be consulted in our blogg) which detailed with more precision the steps that the Catalonian Government should take to achieve the "forced disconnection with the State", although this would imply an increase in "confrontation" with the rest of Spain. The Supreme Court considers that this report reflects the existence of a plan designed to subvert the constitutional order. 

The Tribunal aimed at the possible participation of ex-number 2 of Oriol Junqueres, Josep M. Jové in the "executive committee of the framework" created by the Govern "and other actors", since 2015, to achieve the independence of Catalonia "after the realization of a referendum of self-determination and ignoring the laws and the mandates of the Constitutional Court. " Also, the tribunal argues that Jove could be the author of a crime of disclosure of secrets, for the illegal use of the personal data file of the population of Catalonia of the Institute of Statistics of Catalonia (Idescat) for the unilateral referendum.

The rest everybody knows, although partially and biased by the independentist propaganda, how things happened. The Civil Guard broke into several departments of the Government of the Generalitat to make police records for the referendum on independence of Catalonia, scheduled for October 1 and suspended by the Constitutional Court. At the doors of Conselleria d'Economia there is a people's siege preventing the authorities from leaving the building for hours and getting on and destroying the official cars of the agents. Propaganda follows to force the celebration of the illegal referendum constitutionally suspended. The independentists irresponsibly pushed people (including old and children) to occupy overnight the ballot places asking them to shut themselves inside. The independentists knew very well what they wanted, it was provoked: the picture of police evicting the polling places. They got what they wanted some pictures with police evicting people from polling places. The whole situation was illegal (ballot boxes bought in China whit what money? and crossed in silence throug the physical border of France, people carrying ballot boxes already pre filled with votes falling in the middle of the streets, uncontrolled votes, etc., etc.) and not at all representative of the whole Catalan citizenship, a lot of Catalans stayed at home and did not proceed with the illegal voting. The regional police is legally binded at the orders of the Constitution but had a passive role during the illegal referendum thus contravening the unity of action of all police force. The national police could not close all polling places and they tried to convince people to go out, thing they did not do, before their negative they had to evict some times using some force, pulling people to the street, but they were also heavily attacked. I wonder if there were not more wounded between policemen? Only one citizen gravely wounded reached by a rubber bullet of course not directed to him, but first see what this citizen was doing, throwing iron fences to the police. Of course independentists only blamed police. But people was revolting. A lot of fake news. 

The parliamentary session of 27 October 2017 was developed with interruptions and constant fights between the parliamentarians and the president of the Parliament, Carme Forcadell, for different procedural questions for the proposal to vote for independence in an urn. There were numerous complaints about the "coup against democracy", according to the opposition parties, which agreed on the use of a word to define what, in their opinion, Catalonia felt in this new scenario: "Fear".
 
After this tumultuous session the Catalan Parliament proclaims the DUI (Unilateral Independence Declaration) in the Parliament the 27 October declaring that Catalonia becomes an independent state in the form of a republic", approving 17 points like, "to promulgate the decrees necessary for the issuance to Catalan citizenship of documentation accrediting Catalan nationality", "to promote a dual nationality treaty with the Government of Spain "," promote, before all states and institutions, the recognition of the Catalan Republic "," promote legislative actions for the creation of the Bank of Catalonia with the functions of a central bank "and" prepare a proposal for the distribution of assets and liabilities between the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Catalonia opening a period of negotiation ".

They approved a resolution in which, in its preamble, an "independent State in the form of a republic" is declared; and a second resolution that proposed to open a "constituent process" to draft the Constitution of the new State assuming "the mandate of the people expressed in a referendum". All this based on disconnection laws suspended by the Constitutional Court and supported by an illegal consultation. The lawyers themselves of the Parliament warned that Friday that the vote was not in accordance with the law.

In the second part of the resolution urged the Govern to complete the constitution of the Republic by the Parliament "constituted as a Constituent Assembly", "to constitute within 15 days the Advisory Council of the Constituent Process.

The independentists parties used an alternative formula, and not foreseen, to try to avoid the action of the judges. They insisted that the declaration as such was only read but not voted, and that what was voted simply calls for some preparations for independence, which in itself does not represent a break of the law. But the judge considered that the declaration was not symbolic but that it culminated a process of "breaking the Constitution".

The resolutions of the Catalan Parliament were never in force because the Spanish Government of Rajoy with the opposition approval applied the article 155  and announced the cessation of the Govern in full and the electoral call few hours after Junts pel Sí and the CUP proclaimed secession in a Parliament split in half: "In Catalonia the laws had been ignored, they have been unknown, repealed and breached, a new legality has been approved without any competence to do so, the members of the opposition have been deprived of exercising as such. It is the biggest mockery of democracy, with the exception of the coup d'état of 1981".

The independentist movement never took into account the plurality of Catalan society. They were not able to add the constitutionalism to the 'procés' so they acted increasingly radical and locked in itself, breaking continuously the Catalan society in two.

Next elections gave independentism majority of seats but not of vote. Far again from the 2/3 of votes needed to proclaim or work for anything.

And from then on everybody knows what is happening: the two years of fakes news, breaking families, political secessionist propaganda, blaming Europe, speaking as if they represent all Catalans, international propaganda denigrating Spanish institutions (wether right or left) as fascists, denigrating the great consensual Spanish Constitution of 78, trying and trying and trying to reverte the constitutional and social order confronting Catalans against Catalans and Catalans against Spanish.

What they wanted and still want is to provoke the answer of State then blame it and become the victims. It is their whole method once and again. It is the permanent strategy of independentism year after year, blaming others for the things they provoke.

Imagine a situation like that in your own country, in any of the democratic countries of Europe. The political life tensioned up to the limit of illegality and the revolted using the streets trying to achieve their goals because they do not have a majority of votes.

The way of confrontation is not a way for nobody in a democratic country. Solutions should be found following the rule of law and inside the constitutional life.

We, the Catalans no-independentists, and many no-independentists associations of left, center or right, normal people, businessmen, political parties, would like to see the end of the independentist nightmare. We are tired. We do not want this situation. We do not want people in prison. But we want the independentists to stop confrontation. We are exhausted. 

They must recognize the mess they created, stop the confrontation with brothers citizens and go back to a normal political life and contribute to make further progress for this already wonderful Catalonia of all Catalans, and part of a great country Spain.

Is a wish that we all want to become a reality.

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On How the Pro-Independence Press Distorts an International Index on "Direct Democracy"

ProU Forum

On How the Pro-Independence Press Distorts an International Index on "Direct Democracy"

  On the 8th of January, "The Economist" published its annual "Democracy Index". Once again Spain was listed as one of just 20 full democracies in the world. This did not please the supporters of Catalan independence, owing to the fact that their claim for independence revolves around the idea that Spain is little short of a totalitarian country because it does not allow a referendum on the independence of Catalonia.

  In an attempt to invalidate "The Economist Intelligence Unit Democracy Index", "Nació Digital", an online news outlet, subsidised by the Government of Catalonia, in turn following a Catalan nationalistic and pro-independence editorial line, has published an article on the 17th of January with the aim to dismiss "The Economist" Index, by making questionable use of the "V-Dem Annual Democracy Report"; a report which has a high degree of complexity and is difficult for the layman to interpret.

  Although the article acknowledges that Spain is considered a democracy by the V-Dem Report as well, its focus is on misleading the reader, by emphasising Spain´s low ranking on a very specific political practice which is that of "Direct Democracy" (i.e. the practice of addressing direct consultations to the population) and comparing it to that of Turkey or Syria, all two countries scoring considerably higher on "Direct Democracy" than most full democracies, which simply comes to show that regimes which are hardly democratic if not full dictatorships hold "direct consultations" more often than most full democracies do.

  By doing so the reader is easily tricked into believing that the democratic quality of Spain is poorer than that of countries which are considered dictatorships or very imperfect democracies:

  More specifically the following are the ranked positions of different countries regarding "Direct Democracy" according to the aforementioned study:

1. Switzerland
13. Turkey
17. Venezuela

34. Syria
39. Holland
 55. UK
68. Spain
95. France
107. Sweden
125. Belgium
127. Norway
128. Canada
145. Germany
166. USA

  Visibly, most democratic countries are ranked below Turkey and Syria with respect to so called "Direct Democracy".

  "Direct Democracy" is by the way, neither cheap (Ireland had spent €133 m in the 15 referendums held this century so far) nor representative of democratic quality overall. 

  Irrespective of the above mentioned ranking, there exists a a lot of debate around the real democratic value of "Direct Democracy".    American political scientist and philosopher Jason Brennan says “With very few exceptions, almost every referendum asks more of the public than they can give (…)".   Brennan also states: "When we survey voters, we find that the overwhelming majority lack even the most basic information relevant to current political questions, let alone the social scientific knowledge needed to use that information.”   Brennan believes that for crucial and fundamental questions, we should ask parliament and representative democracy to do its job. 

  Nonetheless, Jason Brennan also considers that because cognitive demands raised by local issues are far lower and the stakes are more immediate; offering citizens more incentives to become better informed on immediate issues, holding referendums in order to decide on local questions, could be beneficial. 

  Catalonia´s regional government is criticising and questioning Spain over its supposed lack of democratic quality allegedly for not allowing a decision process based on "Direct Democracy" on the issue of the independence of its region (the sort of referendum on territorial integrity no other democratic country with a written constitution allows since they all - including the US and not only EU states - consider sovereignty of each part as belonging to the whole) , yet interestingly, the regional government of Catalonia (in charge of managing matters including: media, TV, language, education, health, police, local administration, social assistance and infrastructure) has full legal authority to offer "Direct Democracy" on most local matters and in particular those issues which Jason Brennan considers reasonable to resolve via local referendums, yet the Catalan government has systematically denied Catalan citizens the right to vote on decisions regarding rights of municipal secession, by neighbourhoods who request it. 

  For example, most of the citizens of Vallpineda, a neighbourhood of the city of Molins de Rei, and those of Bellaterra, a neighbourhood  of Cerdanyola, wish to secede and become part of the city of Sant Cugat, due to closer proximity. Such demands could be considered reasonable or at least subject to resolution via local consultation, yet the Catalan government has refused to authorise a formula based on so called "Direct Democracy" to resolve such issues.

  Sources:

• The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democratic Index
• The V-Dem Report
• The NewStateman
• La Vanguardia

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Open letter to the Financial times. Let's be clear

ProU Forum

    On January 4th of this year, The Financial Times published an article from "Omnium Cultural" - presented by OC as an "article by the FT"  titled "Spain's Chance At Proving Itself".  OC is a Catalan pro-independence organization.  

    

    In the mentioned article, "Omnium Cultural" puts forward its  opinion about the imprisonment of this association’s former president, Jordi Cuixart, and about the current political situation in Catalonia.

    

    Catalonia is one of 17 autonomous regions of Spain and as such enjoys full self-government in matters such as: police, education (entirely in Catalan), healthcare, social aid, public media and most of infraestructure.  Spain in turn is one of the most decentralized states in the world with over 75% of discretionary public spend under local and regional governments (vs. 25% under central government).

    

    The president of "Omnium Cultural" in September 2017 was Jordi Cuixart, now in prison, along with others, awaiting trial under accusation by the state justice system,  due to his alleged instrumental participation in the events prior to the (illegal) pro-independence referendum organized by the Catalan government on October 1st 2017, against orders from the Constitutional Court.  

    

    It is worth reminding that no democracy with a written constitution (nor in the EU nor the US), allows regionally-held referendums on the secession of any part of its territory, given that all consider the status of each part, as a matter concerning national or state sovereignty.  Much the less does any democracy consider unilateral action to achieve secession as anything short of illegal.  

    

    Omnium Cultural, who have received generous subsidies from the Catalan autonomous government (known as the “Generalitat”), presents Jordi Cuixart as a cultural figure; this is a dubious claim, for he is not known for any type of literary or artistic creation. He is an entrepreneur who has presided over the organization. His main objective has been to promote what in Catalonia has been called the "Procés", a plan designed to achieve the independence of Catalonia from Spain.

    

    Omnium Cultural was formed in 1961, during the dictatorship of General Franco (which began in 1939, at the end of the Spanish Civil War and lasted until his death in 1975). At the time of its creation, it was authorized by Franco, although it was closed two years later when suspicions were raised about possible political activities (no opposition political activity was allowed in Spain at the time and all parties were illegal).  Interestingly however  from 1967 onward Omnium Cultural, became legally active again.

    

    The article in the Financial Times insists on highlighting Franco's "brutal repression" of the Catalan language and culture. Although it is true that the Franco dictatorship banned the use of the Catalan language in official institutions, the Catalan continued to be spoken both in homes and on the street without any sort of legal persecution.  There were even literary prizes awarded in the Catalan language, including those granted by the Omnium Cultural itself. At the present time, the opposite seems to be happening: the Catalan government does not allow Castilian Spanish to be taught in equal basis to Catalan in the regional "public" (state) school network.

    

    Omnium Cultural has long ceased to be a cultural organization, and has become strictly political.  Since  2000 its actions have primarily focused on seeking independence such as when  it began organizing the "Freedom Festival" as well as numerous demonstrations calling for the independence of Catalonia.  The mentioned however is not the accusation against Mr. Cuixart.  The accusation is strictly on an alleged role in the organization of the illegally held referendum in coordination with the Catalan government, defying successive constitutional court orders.

    

    The text published by Omnium Cultural identifies Jordi Cuixart and other politicians in pre trial detention as "political prisoners". It explains that other politicians who held senior posts in the Catalan government had to flee to other countries on October 3rd 2017, as did former president Carles Puigdemont himself, in order to "protect themselves".

    

    The Catalan government had been warned on numerous occasions by the Constitutional Court, in writing, that their actions went against the Spanish Constitution.    Carles Puigdemont defiantly had himself photographed with five of the letters he received from the Constitutional Court, having declared that he would not "take a step back".  The point being that the issue is not about "political prisoners", but about politicians who have clearly acted against the Spanish Constitution, the Catalan regional constitution (the "Estatut") and against the legal advice officially expressed by the Catalan parliament´s  legal council itself.  The defendants are therefore in prison awaiting trial which will start shortly, since the prosecution believes the reasons for preventive imprisonment  apply (e.g. risks of; escape, reincidence, destruction of proof).

    

    It is useful to remind that on September 6th and 7th 2017, the Catalan government used its parliamentary majority (although lacking an electoral majority in Catalonia itself) to unilaterally pass a law of "disconnection" with both the Spanish and the Catalan regional constitutions, in what would be considered a clear act of illegality in any constitutional democracy.  It´s also worth reminding that  successive Catalan pro-independence governments have achieved no electoral mandate to behave in such unilateral manners (even if illegally), given that up to 4 regional elections have been held in the last 6 years, with none resulting in more than 48% of votes going to pro-independence parties. 

    

    Spain is one of the best scoring* democracies in Europe according to various international sources. The Spanish Constitution has just turned forty. During this period Spain has had to overcome serious problems, such as an attempted military coup in 1981 and  the terrorism of ETA (a Basque violent pro-independence movement).  Spain's institutions are democratic, as are the Catalan government and parliament, enjoying one of the highest degrees of self-government in Europe.

    

    

    *The Democracy Index 2018 of The Economist Intelligence Unit places Spain among the twenty full democracies in the world.

    

    The EU has mechanisms in place in order to act when and if abuses by the executive branch over the judiciary take place in any member state, as has been the case recently in specific Eastern European states.    At present there seems to be no indication that the allegations by Omnium Cultural have any factual basis in the case of Spain.

    

    It is my belief that it is the responsibility of respected and influential media to safeguard western democracies, by not fanning the flames of the sort of nationalist populism, which is afflicting many of the most liberal, democratic countries and guarantors of freedom and justice, in the entire World.

    

    Yours Faithfully,

    

    Joaquim Pujol

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