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After seven years in exile in Belgium, the former Catalan prime minister risked arrest and returned to Spain on the day a new Catalan government was to be formed.
Supporters of former Catalan Prime Minister Carles Puigdemont (center) form a protection ring to prevent the arrest of a separatist leader wanted by police.
This should be the most glorious period in the history of the Catalan independence movement. Former Catalan regional president Carles Puigdemont returned to his homeland from exile on Thursday morning and delivered a fiery speech under the Arc de Triomphe in Barcelona. “Today, many will celebrate my impending arrest, but they will not let us down,” Puigdemont shouted to cheering supporters. According to media reports, a total of nearly 4,500 people participated, and hundreds of thousands of people participated before.
Separatist leader flees police after show
Puigdemont risks arrest upon his return to Spanish territory. Therefore, people are eagerly waiting for the security forces to arrest the separatist leader on Thursday morning. He announced that after his speech he would go to the regional parliament. 500 police officers are stationed there, blocking the parliamentary access.
After the performance, Puigdemont’s supporters formed a protective circle around him and helped him blend into the crowd. The Mossos managed to go underground and escape in a car, according to Catalan police.
Security forces failed to stop the car and subsequently launched a widespread search for the separatist leader. They set up road blockades in and around Barcelona, which have now been partially dismantled. On Thursday afternoon, police announced that the car Puigdemont got away in belonged to a police officer. The officer was arrested. Subsequently, another officer was also arrested for aiding and abetting the jailbreak.
In a statement The Mossos defended their actions, saying Puigdemont’s arrest should be proportionate and should be carried out at the best possible time so as not to disrupt public order.
Puigdemont wants to prevent the formation of a government
Puigdemont chose the time of his return carefully. Soon after the separatist leader emerged, the Catalan parliament convened to elect a new president for the region. Salvador Illa, the candidate from the Catalan branch of the ruling Social Democratic Party in Madrid, won the regional election on May 8. Among other things, he agreed to form a government with the leftist separatist ERC party. Illa, a politician who opposes the region’s secession from Spain, could become president of Catalonia for the first time in more than a decade.
For the Socialist Party, led by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the election of Ilas will be a victory. They want the situation in Catalonia to continue to calm down. That is why Sánchez not only promises Catalans more support for the Catalan language, but above all guarantees more fiscal autonomy. In the near future, Catalonia will be able to collect its own taxes and then only give part of them to Madrid.
Puigdemont, on the other hand, wants to prevent him from forming a government after his return by exposing Catalan council politicians for helping a candidate who does not fight for Catalan independence to come to power. Puigdemont told the crowd that morning: “Despite those who try to hurt us, I came here today to remind everyone that we are still here and we will not give up. Long live a free Catalonia!”
Critical reaction
The initial reaction to the performance is crucial. Catalan daily La Vanguardia commented that Puigdemont’s theatrical performance did not strengthen the independence camp, but further divided it. El País wrote that Puigdemont has now fired his last bullet. His main concern is not to be completely forgotten after more than 2,000 days in exile.
Even before the regional elections, he announced that he would quit politics if he did not win the regional elections in May and be elected Prime Minister of Catalonia, so many observers in Catalonia believe that his return is basically just a search for one last major appearance.
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