Press. voanews.com
Ousted Catalan
president Carles Puigdemont, who wants to lead a pro-independence coalition of
political forces in an upcoming regional election, criticized Tuesday the
passivity of European politicians in denouncing the prosecution of dismissed
secessionist officials.
In an interview
Tuesday in Brussels with Catalan public radio, the separatist leader says there
is an “absolute disconnect between the interests of the people and the European
elites'' and that Catalonia's problem is an “issue of human rights that
requires maximum attention.C
Puigdemont is
fighting extradition to Spain, where other members of the ousted Cabinet have
been sent to jail while awaiting the results of a probe for allegedly
implementing a strategy to secede from Spain. Spanish central authorities are
now in direct control of the northeastern region, where an early election on
Dec. 21 is shaping into a tight race between separatist and pro-union forces.
The civil
society group that spearheaded the Catalan endeavor for secession from Spain on
Tuesday called for the region's separatist political parties to run in a
“unified pro-independence ticket.'' In a statement, Assemblea Nacional Catalana
said such a joint coalition should include jailed separatist activists and the
members of the deposed Catalan Cabinet as candidates.
The parties have
until midnight Tuesday to register an interest in forming coalitions. But a
repetition of the ousted ruling coalition of the center-right PDeCAT and the
left republican ERC that also appeals to the anti-establishment CUP party seems
unlikely before the deadline expires.
PDeCAT wants
Puigdemont to lead a hypothetical coalition, while ERC says it will only agree
if deposed and jailed Vice President Oriol Junqueras heads a ticket supported
by the CUP and even far-left non-nationalists. A recent poll by the
Barcelona-based La Vanguardia newspaper predicted that the three pro-secession
parties would win between 66 and 69 seats in December. Sixty-eight seats are
needed for a majority.
Pro-secession
parties held a slim majority of 72 of 132 seats in the Catalan Parliament
before it was dissolved by Spanish authorities after lawmakers passed a
declaration of independence on Oct. 27. The central government also removed
Puigdemont's Cabinet and called for a snap election to replace them.
Catalonia's
opposition leader Ines Arrimadas said Tuesday she hoped that disillusionment
among pro-independence supporters would help her Ciutadans (Citizens) party and
other pro-Spanish unity groups to band together and oust the pro-secessionists.
Catalan mayors protest outside the European Commission headquarters in support
of the ousted Catalan government in Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 7, 2017.