UPyD is taking its crusade against Catalonia's self-determination
process to a higher level. On the same day it compared this peaceful and
democratic process with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy at the European
Parliament and it took the President of the Catalan Government and the
Catalan Parliament's Bureau to the Spain's Supreme Court, accusing them
of "disobedience" and other offenses.
Comparing nowadays Catalonia with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy
The UPyD MEP Beatriz Becerra has sent a letter to all the 751 Members
of the European Parliament in which she compared nowadays Catalonia
with "Italy and Germany from 1920s and 1930s". Becerra said she felt the
need to send such a letter in response to the letter sent on the same
day by 2 MEPs from the left-wing Catalan independence party ERC, Josep
Maria Terricabras and Ernest Maragall. The two ERC MEPs were asking the
European Parliament "not to turn its back" on the demand shared by a
majority of Catalans. Terricabras and Maragall were asking all the MEPs
to listen to "the millions of European citizens who only want to express
their opinion in a non-binding referendum". The ERC was asking European
representatives "to defend once again the values of the European
Union", such as "freedom and democracy". "No defender of democracy can
be reluctant to listen to the voice of our citizens", they argue.
The UPyD replied to ERC's letter, saying it was "not corresponding to
reality". "Catalonia has never been a European nation" and it has
"always been part of Spain", stated Becerra. In addition, "saying it
[Catalonia] was conquered by force is the result of a nationalist
delirium that distorts historical facts", added the Spanish nationalist
MEP. Becerra said that "if a government does not respect the
Constitution and the laws of its country, democracy disappears, as
happened in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and 1930s". "Catalonia's
nationalist regional government has called an illegal referendum", she
argued, despite the Constitutional Court has not having declared such a
call illegal yet and it having only issued a temporary suspension.
Becerra carried on saying that the vote has been "banned by the Spanish
Government and the Spanish Parliament" and that "now it has been
suspended by the Constitutional Court", forgetting that it is a
cautionary measure. The UPyD MEP emphasised that the consultation vote
"takes away from Spaniards their right to decide on the whole of their
country".
In addition, she stated that only 23% of Catalans want such a vote,
while all the polls published in the last two years show that between
71% and 80% of Catalans want a self-determination vote. According to
Becerra, those against self-determination and independence are
"intimidated and pressured" in Catalonia, and they are "marginalised
from institutions, schools and public media, all controlled by the
[Catalan] nationalists".Becerra stressed that "defending democracy in
Europe" is stopping Catalonia's "illegal referendum".
Taking the Catalan President and Parliament to the Supreme Court
The Spanish nationalist party led by Rosa Díez filed on Thursday a
judicial complaint against Artur Mas, President of the Catalan
Government; Núria de Gispert, President of the Catalan Parliament; and,
Anna Simó, LluísCorominas, Josep Rull and David Companyon, Members of
the Catalan Parliament's Bureau. UPyD argues that the steps Catalan
authorities have been carrying out towards the self-determination vote
are illegal. The populist party is accusing all of them of
"disobedience". Furthermore it is accusing Mas of having "allegedly
committed a prevarication offense", as well as of "usurpation of
powers", "embezzlement of public money" and "an electoral offense".
Considering the office of the people accused, the complaint has been
directly filed at the Supreme Court. UPyD wants the Court to impose
bails on the two presidents – who are Catalonia's top representatives –
including the seizure of their personal assets. Furthermore, the Spanish
nationalist party is asking the Court to bring them to testify.
