CATALONIA -- Catalan government publishes response to Margallo report - VilaWeb

Catalan government publishes response to Margallo report - VilaWeb

Catalan government publishes response to Margallo report

It defends the democratic and historic legitimacy of the Catalans' right to decide 

 

The Catalan government has sent a response to José Manuel García
Margallo in order to answer the report that the Spanish Foreign Affairs
minister sent to all of the Spanish embassies to combat Catalonia's
independence. The government document, created by the Office of the
Presidency and that today was made public by Catalunya Ràdio, is called 'Estrechar lazos en libertad'
[roughly: Freely forging alliances] and defends the democratic and
historic legitimacy of Catalans' right to decide. The text recalls that
the restoration of the Generalitat de Catalonia (Catalonia's government)
after Franco occurred before the approval of the Spanish Constitution
in 1978.

In declarations to Catalan public radio, Executive
Councilor Francesc Homs referred to the Spanish minister's report:
'Margallo leaves out a part of recent history in his report. If it
wasn't for the ruling on the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, the situation
wouldn't have gotten to where it is. Margallo's arguments completely
omit that point.'

The Catalan government report says that Rajoy's executive uses
legalistic excuses, denying not Catalonia's independence but the right
of Catalans to vote. 'If legality is going to be used so that democracy
cannot be expressed, that's a bad thing. Democracy has to follow some
rules: you have to know how to find the balance.'

The government sent the document to Margallo, asking him to forward
it to the Spanish embassies 'so they can also keep in mind our opinion
on this debate'.