The Spanish parliament's rejection earlier this month
of Catalonia's request for delegated powers to hold a referendum on our
country's future came as no surprise. What happened in Madrid was
exactly the opposite of what occurred in London when the UK government
granted Scotland's request for a referendum without questioning the
Scottish people's right to decide, despite its strong desire to keep
Scotland within the UK. That is how democracies work.
But Spain's
ruling party, the PP, has held to a steady course, of recentralising
power to Madrid. It was the prime minister, Manuel Rajoy, who referred
Catalonia's statute of autonomy to the Spanish constitutional court,
which struck down some of its most important provisions; his government
has stripped away powers that had been devolved to autonomous
governments; his education minister has even spoken of the need to
"Hispanicise" Catalan children.
As a result of Spain's recent
policies, the desire for a vote on the future of our country – of
putting our status to the test of democracy – has developed deep roots
among the Catalan people. This is no elite vanity project. More than a
million and a half people, a fifth of our population, joined hands from
the north to the south of Catalonia last September calling for the right
to decide their own future. Opinion polls show that popular support for
such a vote has stabilised at around 80%. Almost two-thirds of the
members of our parliament supported the request for delegated powers to
hold the referendum. Although Madrid has rejected that, we are not
disheartened. We will continue to move forward to fulfil the wishes of
our people.
We do not seek a flawed Crimea-style vote. We want a
legal process by which our people can express their wishes. We were
morally obliged to give the institutions of the Spanish state an
opportunity to engage with Catalonia's wishes. And although one of the
procedural paths to that goal has now been closed off by the Spanish
Congress's vote, other options remain.
To be very specific, the
Law of Consultations, now being finalised in the Catalan parliament,
will establish a legal path to hold a non-binding vote under our Statute
of Autonomy, which is also a Spanish law that permits this. That
popular consultation will take place on 9 November, asking a two-part
question: "Do you want Catalonia to become a state? If so, do you want
this state to be independent?"
This date and question have the
support of six different political parties represented in parliament. If
Madrid has an alternative proposition to put to our people, we will of
course ensure that it is also included on the ballot paper. This process
will be legal, transparent and democratic.
In a modern democracy
there really should be no problem with having an open discussion of all
options, which concludes by actually asking our people what future they
want for our country. The UK has shown how these questions can be
addressed, devolving the powers to allow Scotland to hold its September referendum on independence,
the option that Madrid has rejected for us. In Europe, in the 21st
century, it is better to find a political solution to a political
problem than to hide behind legal arguments and threats. We want
dialogue with Madrid; we are ready for a discussion without
preconditions or artificial limits.
Let us be clear. Catalans have
been European since the beginning of our history and we want to remain
in the European Union. Yet we have been told that an independent
Catalonia will be kept out of the EU "for ever". Does this mean that
Spain will go to the European council, inform the other 27 EU member
states that Catalonia is independent, and propose that the EU must
therefore expel Catalonia? Given the longstanding and close economic,
cultural and personal links between our country and the rest of Europe,
is it really credible to believe that the other 27 EU member states will
prefer to expel Catalonia than to keep us? Some EU leaders, who rely on
co-operation with Madrid for their day-to-day work, will say what they
must say; but other experts take a different view. We believe that a
pragmatic solution for Catalonia to remain in the EU, which satisfies
everyone, can and will be found when the time comes.
Madrid's
rejection of our request to hold a referendum is not the end, but just
the next step along the legal, democratic and peaceful road to let
Catalonia's people exercise our rights and vote on our own future.
