Spain. Carles Puigdemont returned to the country and spoke in Barcelona.

– Long live a free Catalonia – These were the first words of Carles Puigdemont who appeared before the Catalan parliament on Thursday morning. The legislature of Spain’s wealthy region elected a new majority, led by the president of the regional socialist structures (PSC), Salvador Illa. Nearly three thousand supporters of Catalonia’s secession from the rest of the country gathered around the building.

– The right to self-determination belongs to the people, it is a collective right. Let us not be fooled, Organizing a referendum is not a crime and will never be a crime.Puigdemont said that seven years ago, more than two million citizens voted.

The former head of the separatist movement said that the “violent repression” continued “after the victory in the 2017 referendum”. – We do not care to be in a country where amnesty regulations do not provide for amnesty (…). With Being Catalan, they did something suspicious. – Added.

Spanish media, citing representatives of the judiciary, indicate that the police may soon detain Puigdemont. The person concerned himself knows this and has mentioned it several times on his social networks. After the speech, the politician left the stage and… disappeared. The leaders of Gantz’s party have already entered the parliament building, where a new majority is due to be formed.

Carles Puigdemont moved from Belgium to the French city of Elna in April. The politician has not abandoned his public activity and in mid-May he obtained a mandate in the local elections for the Catalan parliament.

Later that month, Spain’s Congress of Deputies passed an amnesty law that would include Catalan separatists. Under the legislation, people convicted or prosecuted over the region’s failed bid for independence in a 2017 referendum would be exonerated. However, as judges handling the cases against Puigdemont announced, the mechanism would not include the former prime minister.

There are further doubts surrounding Puigdemont – apart from trying to separate Catalonia from Spain – with numerous reports of his ties to the Kremlin. According to the Madrid newspaper El Debate, which has had access to the investigation files into the former regional prime minister, Moscow You were supposed to tell him. $10 million ‘for all expenses’ after fleeing country. In addition, in 2017 – just before the referendum – The Kremlin offered guarantees of up to $500 billion. In the event of the region’s secession from Spain.

As we wrote in Interia, led by Puigdemont Junts party is essential to stay in power Current government Spain’s Pedro Sánchez. With the support of seven MPs from this group, the Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish parliament, gave the prime minister a vote of confidence in November.

source: “Al Balad”, Reuters

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