12.02.2014 - 10:46
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’.
