The reply letter from president Carles Puigdemont to the request of the Spanish Govt
Translation of the letter sent by Carles Puigdemont to the Spanish Primer Minister Rajoy on the declaration of independence
H.E. Mr. Mariano Rajoy Brey
President of the Government
Palacio de la Moncloa
28071 Madrid
Dear President Rajoy,
On 1 October the people of Catalonia decided on independence in a referendum endorsed by a high percentage of the voters. A higher percentage of eligible voters than that which allowed the United Kingdom to start the Brexit process, and with a larger number of Catalans supporting this than those who voted to approve the Statute of Autonomy.
On 10 October the Parliament held a session to evaluate the results of the referendum and its effects, where I proposed to leave the effects of the popular mandate in suspense.
I did this to propitiate dialogue, something that had been asked of us both by political and social institutions and individuals from around Europe and the world. In my letter to you on Monday I proposed a meeting to that end, though that request has not been answered.
Likewise there has been no response to my request to reverse the repression. On the contrary, the repression has increased, bringing with it the jailing of the presidents of Omnium Cultural and the Catalan National Assembly, civil society groups with a respected peaceful and democratic history.
This suspension is still in place. The decision to apply Article 155 corresponds to the government, with prior authorization from the Senate. In spite of all these efforts and our desire for dialogue, that the only response is to suspend home rule indicates that you are not aware of the problem at hand and that you don’t want to talk.
Finally, if your government persists in blocking all dialogue and continues with the repression the Parliament of Catalonia could proceed, if it believes this opportune, to vote a formal declaration of independence that it did not vote on 10 October.
Sincerely,
Carles Puigdemont I Casamajó
Barcelona, 19 October 2017
