President Mas in 'Libération': “It’s ridiculous to think that we want to create borders”
Catalan president Artur Mas says so in an article published by French paper Libération last Monday
BarcelonaCatalan president Artur Mas finds it “ridiculous” to think that Catalans want to “create borders” because the independence project is to remain as part of the EU. That is what he wrote in an opinion column printed earlier this week by French newspaper Libération.
The “future independent Catalonia will want to remain in the EU and will be a reliable, loyal partner for the European governments and institutions”, wrote Mas.
The president described the Catalans as “enthusiastic supporters, historically, of Europe’s construction”; that’s why he finds it “ridiculous” to think that they wish to build new borders.
“Quite the opposite: we wish to be part of a stronger, more united Europe; but we wish to do so under the same conditions and with the same respect as the other member states”, he added. Mas also noted that “the population, size and GDP” of some of the EU’s current member states “are similar or smaller than Catalonia’s”.
Plebiscitary elections
Mas argued that the upcoming elections of 27 September will become a plebiscite on independence “because Spain’s courts of law and the Spanish government do not allow a referendum on the matter”.
The Catalan president described a process whereby “in their manifesto, the main political parties will explicitly state their position on the matter of Catalan independence”.
According to the Catalan leader, “if the result is clearly favourable to separation, the new government will have a democratic mandate to take action”.
If Catalans choose independence “unambiguously”, he wrote, “they will have to establish a calendar and the terms for the constitution of the new state with Spain and the EU”.
The ruling of the High Court
Mas criticised the Spanish government and the High Court, which he claimed “has lost its traditional mediating role and has become more of a political than a judicial body”. He questioned the Court’s impartiality because “its current president used to be a member of Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular”.
The Catalan president stated that the Spanish democracy has “room for improvement” and put it down to “its scarce democratic tradition”, which has led to “the configuration of an imaginary where separation of powers is fragile”.
“But the will of the Catalan people to decide their political future freely and democratically will not be stopped by this ruling or by any other decision by the Spanish executive”, Mas stated.
