The Catalan National Assembly, Òmnium and
the Association of local authorities for Independence take the Catalan
independence process to the Council of Europe
A delegation has been invited to
explain the situation of the democratic cause they defend and they have
informed that nearly 1.4 million signatures were collected on November
9th 2014.
explain the situation of the democratic cause they defend and they have
informed that nearly 1.4 million signatures were collected on November
9th 2014.
To commemorate the anniversary of the popular poll on that day that
allowed the citizens of Catalonia to express freely and democratically
what they wanted as regards the political future of their county, civil
organisations have sent a delegation to the Council of Europe to hold a
meeting at which they have informed about the current situation and the
lack of democracy shown by the Spanish Government in regard to Catalan
citizens.
The representatives of the ANC, Jordi Sànchez (president), and the
AMI Carles Puigdemont (president), travelled to Strasbourg to inform
about the signatures collected on that date, requesting an official
referendum.
In Jordi Sànchez words: “As emissaries of civil society we have given
information to the Council of Europe’s presidential team about the
great democratic civically-based movement that has featured in Catalonia
in the recent years.” He added that the fact that “a European body
listens to us shows that there a will to promote future conversations
between Catalonia and Spain and that Catalonia is an issue on the
European agenda.”
Carles Puigdemont for his part said: “We have delivered to the
Council of Europe presidential team the broad support of local
organisations for the Catalan democratic process towards the achievement
of a new state, given the long European tradition in this domain”.
During the meeting, Sànchez and Puigdemont handed over the affidavit
copy certifying the existence and authenticity of 1,385,628 signatures
from the Catalan society in addition to the 3,703 signatures of elected
officials from various institutions gathered the 9th of November of
2014, in addition, they handed over a brochure outlining the political
process in the region of Catalonia and an informative letter to the
European Council Assembly.
Find attached extracts of the letter that has been presented and
formally registered in the Council of Europe. They include a
chronological explanation of all the steps and actions promoted by civil
society and/or the Catalan Government. The letter focuses on the
following points:
1. By reason of democratic legitimacy the Catalan people have political and legal sovereignty.
2. The Catalan people, either directly or through our political
representatives, have insistently expressed our will to decide our
political future in the last few years.
3. The Parliament and the Government of Catalonia have followed all
the necessary steps in order to fulfill the democratic mandate arising
from the November 25, 2012 elections and have at all times upheld the
principles of legitimacy, democracy, dialogue, negotiation, legality and
social cohesion, precisely as they were understood in the Declaration
of Sovereignty.
4. Until now, the Spanish State has not proceeded in accordance with the
international practice of democratic countries and international law.
For these reasons, in application of the democratic principles that
inspire the Charter of the United Nations and the successive agreements
and international treaties that guarantee the rights of peoples to
decide their political future, we address the Council of Europe and in
particular its Parliamentary Assembly, in order to inform it about the
circumstances that currently block the exercise of the right of the
citizens of Catalonia to democratically decide our future.”
Find attached the letter as annexed document.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any question or interview
request with any of the representatives of the entities mentioned in
this PR:
Esther López (ANC): +34 607.21.66.69
Pol Guàrdia (ANC): +34 686 84 74 06
Xavier Vilà (AMI): +34 639.91.89.35
