KING Felipe VI's annual Christmas Eve speech once again included a covert appeal to secessionist politicians, as well as raising concerns about young adults' struggle to afford housing and violence against women.
Healing the rift: Catalunya separatists' 'pardon' explained
22/06/2021
POLITICIANS involved in the disputed independence referendum in Catalunya on October 1, 2017 have been formally pardoned – although in practice, they have been granted a suspended sentence and a ban on holding public office, even if elected, until their original custodial terms were due to end.
Back on the date now referred to in Spain simply as '1-O', the government in power in national Parliament was the right-wing PP, which had refused to even discuss or approach the subject of Catalunya's holding a referendum on independence, even a non-binding opinion poll.
As far as Mariano Rajoy's government was concerned, the article in the Spanish Constitution which makes any action that 'threatens the unity of Spain' illegal was the only answer they needed.
This impasse, and threats of court action if they went their own way, only incensed the independence movement more, and the then regional president Carles Puigdemont called the public to the polls.
What happened on '1-O'
Of those who voted, 99% opted for secession, but those who abstained said the vote was illegal and they did not intend to take part – in total, around half the electorate cast their ballots in favour of independence, a wafer-thin majority which Puigdemont decided was enough to make a unilateral declaration of the region's split from Spain.
But this declaration was not recognised by anyone outside Catalunya, and immediately led to the region's temporarily losing its devolved powers and those who had organised the referendum to be arrested.
Puigdemont and a handful of others left the country – Puigdemont himself has been living in Belgium ever since, knowing that a national arrest warrant would see him in custody the moment he set foot in Spain again, whilst former education minister Dr Clara Ponsati went back to her old job as lecturer and researcher at Edinburgh's St Andrew's University, hailed a heroine by Scottish independence supporters.
Nine others have been in jail since October 2017, serving sentences of up to 13 years for sedition, or 'high treason', and fund embezzlement, based upon financing the referendum from the public coffers – which is normal practice for a 'legal' vote, but as the independence poll was considered in breach of the Constitution, the politicians involved were committing a criminal offence by paying for it in the same way.
Why the opposition thinks they should stay in jail
Centrist and right-wing parties have been hotly in opposition to any concessions for the Catalunya politicians in jail, and huge protests have taken place since the PSOE (socialist) government announced its intention to issue a pardon.
Those against this say the 'Catalunya Nine' should serve their sentences 'like anyone else found guilty of a criminal offence', and the PP says the PSOE is 'putting Spain's territorial unity under threat'.
To be able to form a government, the PSOE and left-wing Unidas Podemos needed votes in favour from various regional parties, since Spain does not operate a 'first past the post' system and any elected government without a majority needs to form a coalition, seek backing from other parties, or both.
These regional parties included key outfits in Catalunya, which were openly in support of independence, and the PP, centre-right Ciudadanos and far-right Vox have frequently referred to president Pedro Sánchez as having been 'bought by the separatists', hinting he would 'allow the break-up of Spain' if the Catalunya parties threatened to withdraw their support and leave him governing in a minority
But Sánchez has always stated very openly that he is against an independence referendum, although his coalition partners Unidas Podemos is in favour of at least a non-binding poll to assess the lie of the land, so as to debate and discuss why Catalunya would want to go its own way and find solutions.
Not just 'pandering' to separatists
Sánchez says the formal pardon was not merely a get-off-scot-free pass, nor would it mean that as soon as the politicians were released from prison they could start working on another independence vote – doing so would see them straight back behind bars, he stresses.
The president has assured dissenters among the public and political opposition that the pardoned prisoners 'will not attempt to do this again'.
How can Sánchez justify a pardon?
Formal pardons are periodically issued when this is considered to be in the nature of justice, fairness and equity – previous ones have included drug addicts charged with being in possession or with dealing to fund their habit, and who, by the time their case came to trial many years later, had gone clean, rebuilt their lives, on some occasions married and had children, got jobs, and even become volunteers at local community centres giving talks on addiction, in the case of David, from Galicia.
In others, Emilia, from Requena (Valencia), a young single mother in extreme poverty who found a lost credit card in the street and bought nappies and food with it, who had paid off a fine three times what she had spent - in instalments - completed community service, and been publicly forgiven by the card-owner, was facing jail after the case came to trial years later, by which time she had married, had another child, and her husband had a job; a huge national campaign and petition led to her being given a formal pardon.
Here, although crimes had been committed, the offenders were rehabilitated in full, had never been a danger to the public and their going to prison would serve no purpose other than to set them back, possibly increasing the risk, in the first example, of their returning to drug addiction.
But many argue the jailed politicians do not fall into this category: They knowingly broke the law, not out of personal necessity, and have not changed their minds.
Others argue that the sentences – or even criminal action at all – for holding a referendum were completely out of proportion and that the State's response should merely have been to refuse to recognise the vote as valid, and start meaningful talks.
And the Pardoning Law provides for another justification: Public interest.
Sánchez said he is not using the provisions of justice and fairness, but that of public interest, since the separatists' being in prison would always be a bone of contention, creating division and resentment, and fuelling an 'anti-Spain' sentiment among up to half the adult population of Catalunya, including public figureheads.
The politicians being in jail also raises a continuous question mark over Catalunya's 'reliability': After the referendum, even though there was no likelihood an independence declaration would prosper, numerous high-profile businesses moved their head offices to other parts of the country, converting their existing ones in the north-eastern region into merely another branch, and international media reported 'a serious political crisis', which did little for the reputation of a region home to Spain's second-largest city.
'Pardoning' the prisoners would 'help support and strengthen concordance and harmonious coexistence', says Sánchez's government, and would also prevent the jailed politicians from being able to 'present themselves to society as martyrs punished for their beliefs'.
Also, a leading business organisation in the region has supported the pardons, saying Catalunya 'needs to move on'.
Released, and that's it?
Although referred to as a 'pardon', in reality, the prisoners' release comes with hefty conditions, including not committing any type of criminal offence – which, in this case, includes holding another referendum – within the next three to six years, otherwise they would be sent back to jail to serve the rest of their custodial term.
In effect, their sentences have merely been suspended.
Suspended sentences are automatic in Spain where the jail term ordered is less than two years and it is for a first offence, meaning the 'Catalunya Nine' are effectively being treated as 'minor' criminals rather than innocent victims of a miscarriage of justice, as dissenters believe to be the case.
To make sure they cannot hold another disputed referendum or take any other action to declare Catalunya a separate nation, all nine have been barred from holding public office, even if they are elected, until the date when their prison sentences would have ended.
This means former deputy regional president and leader of the Catalunya Left Republicans (ERC), Oriol Junqueras, cannot become involved in politics again until October 2032.
Raúl Romeva, Jordi Turull, Dolors Bassa and Carme Forcadell are blocked from political rôles until October 2031; Joaquim Forn and Josep Rull until April 2030, and Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart until October 2028.
It is expected the panorama would be different by then and society and politics would follow other approaches and would have evolved since '1-O' in 2017.
Talks may well have taken place, support for secession waned, and the main reasons for its support in the first place having been addressed, negotiated and possibly eliminated.
Just nine?
In total, 12 Catalunya politicians involved in the referendum and independence process applied for a formal pardon, but only nine were granted, since the other three were not awarded custodial sentences.
Meritxell Borràs, Santi Vila and Carles Mundó were charged with 'disobedience', a lesser form of 'high treason', but when their cases were being examined, they successfully applied for their criminal charges to be exchanged for fines and a ban on public office.
They have now all paid back their fines and their prohibition from politics has finished.
All the others have been behind bars for the past three-and-a-half years, and are expected to be released as early as tomorrow (Wednesday).
It is hoped the pardoning process will hail the start of Catalunya's being able to turn the page and put the political conflict behind it, and for the rift between it and the State of Spain to be healed.
Related Topics
POLITICIANS involved in the disputed independence referendum in Catalunya on October 1, 2017 have been formally pardoned – although in practice, they have been granted a suspended sentence and a ban on holding public office, even if elected, until their original custodial terms were due to end.
Back on the date now referred to in Spain simply as '1-O', the government in power in national Parliament was the right-wing PP, which had refused to even discuss or approach the subject of Catalunya's holding a referendum on independence, even a non-binding opinion poll.
As far as Mariano Rajoy's government was concerned, the article in the Spanish Constitution which makes any action that 'threatens the unity of Spain' illegal was the only answer they needed.
This impasse, and threats of court action if they went their own way, only incensed the independence movement more, and the then regional president Carles Puigdemont called the public to the polls.
What happened on '1-O'
Of those who voted, 99% opted for secession, but those who abstained said the vote was illegal and they did not intend to take part – in total, around half the electorate cast their ballots in favour of independence, a wafer-thin majority which Puigdemont decided was enough to make a unilateral declaration of the region's split from Spain.
But this declaration was not recognised by anyone outside Catalunya, and immediately led to the region's temporarily losing its devolved powers and those who had organised the referendum to be arrested.
Puigdemont and a handful of others left the country – Puigdemont himself has been living in Belgium ever since, knowing that a national arrest warrant would see him in custody the moment he set foot in Spain again, whilst former education minister Dr Clara Ponsati went back to her old job as lecturer and researcher at Edinburgh's St Andrew's University, hailed a heroine by Scottish independence supporters.
Nine others have been in jail since October 2017, serving sentences of up to 13 years for sedition, or 'high treason', and fund embezzlement, based upon financing the referendum from the public coffers – which is normal practice for a 'legal' vote, but as the independence poll was considered in breach of the Constitution, the politicians involved were committing a criminal offence by paying for it in the same way.
Why the opposition thinks they should stay in jail
Centrist and right-wing parties have been hotly in opposition to any concessions for the Catalunya politicians in jail, and huge protests have taken place since the PSOE (socialist) government announced its intention to issue a pardon.
Those against this say the 'Catalunya Nine' should serve their sentences 'like anyone else found guilty of a criminal offence', and the PP says the PSOE is 'putting Spain's territorial unity under threat'.
To be able to form a government, the PSOE and left-wing Unidas Podemos needed votes in favour from various regional parties, since Spain does not operate a 'first past the post' system and any elected government without a majority needs to form a coalition, seek backing from other parties, or both.
These regional parties included key outfits in Catalunya, which were openly in support of independence, and the PP, centre-right Ciudadanos and far-right Vox have frequently referred to president Pedro Sánchez as having been 'bought by the separatists', hinting he would 'allow the break-up of Spain' if the Catalunya parties threatened to withdraw their support and leave him governing in a minority
But Sánchez has always stated very openly that he is against an independence referendum, although his coalition partners Unidas Podemos is in favour of at least a non-binding poll to assess the lie of the land, so as to debate and discuss why Catalunya would want to go its own way and find solutions.
Not just 'pandering' to separatists
Sánchez says the formal pardon was not merely a get-off-scot-free pass, nor would it mean that as soon as the politicians were released from prison they could start working on another independence vote – doing so would see them straight back behind bars, he stresses.
The president has assured dissenters among the public and political opposition that the pardoned prisoners 'will not attempt to do this again'.
How can Sánchez justify a pardon?
Formal pardons are periodically issued when this is considered to be in the nature of justice, fairness and equity – previous ones have included drug addicts charged with being in possession or with dealing to fund their habit, and who, by the time their case came to trial many years later, had gone clean, rebuilt their lives, on some occasions married and had children, got jobs, and even become volunteers at local community centres giving talks on addiction, in the case of David, from Galicia.
In others, Emilia, from Requena (Valencia), a young single mother in extreme poverty who found a lost credit card in the street and bought nappies and food with it, who had paid off a fine three times what she had spent - in instalments - completed community service, and been publicly forgiven by the card-owner, was facing jail after the case came to trial years later, by which time she had married, had another child, and her husband had a job; a huge national campaign and petition led to her being given a formal pardon.
Here, although crimes had been committed, the offenders were rehabilitated in full, had never been a danger to the public and their going to prison would serve no purpose other than to set them back, possibly increasing the risk, in the first example, of their returning to drug addiction.
But many argue the jailed politicians do not fall into this category: They knowingly broke the law, not out of personal necessity, and have not changed their minds.
Others argue that the sentences – or even criminal action at all – for holding a referendum were completely out of proportion and that the State's response should merely have been to refuse to recognise the vote as valid, and start meaningful talks.
And the Pardoning Law provides for another justification: Public interest.
Sánchez said he is not using the provisions of justice and fairness, but that of public interest, since the separatists' being in prison would always be a bone of contention, creating division and resentment, and fuelling an 'anti-Spain' sentiment among up to half the adult population of Catalunya, including public figureheads.
The politicians being in jail also raises a continuous question mark over Catalunya's 'reliability': After the referendum, even though there was no likelihood an independence declaration would prosper, numerous high-profile businesses moved their head offices to other parts of the country, converting their existing ones in the north-eastern region into merely another branch, and international media reported 'a serious political crisis', which did little for the reputation of a region home to Spain's second-largest city.
'Pardoning' the prisoners would 'help support and strengthen concordance and harmonious coexistence', says Sánchez's government, and would also prevent the jailed politicians from being able to 'present themselves to society as martyrs punished for their beliefs'.
Also, a leading business organisation in the region has supported the pardons, saying Catalunya 'needs to move on'.
Released, and that's it?
Although referred to as a 'pardon', in reality, the prisoners' release comes with hefty conditions, including not committing any type of criminal offence – which, in this case, includes holding another referendum – within the next three to six years, otherwise they would be sent back to jail to serve the rest of their custodial term.
In effect, their sentences have merely been suspended.
Suspended sentences are automatic in Spain where the jail term ordered is less than two years and it is for a first offence, meaning the 'Catalunya Nine' are effectively being treated as 'minor' criminals rather than innocent victims of a miscarriage of justice, as dissenters believe to be the case.
To make sure they cannot hold another disputed referendum or take any other action to declare Catalunya a separate nation, all nine have been barred from holding public office, even if they are elected, until the date when their prison sentences would have ended.
This means former deputy regional president and leader of the Catalunya Left Republicans (ERC), Oriol Junqueras, cannot become involved in politics again until October 2032.
Raúl Romeva, Jordi Turull, Dolors Bassa and Carme Forcadell are blocked from political rôles until October 2031; Joaquim Forn and Josep Rull until April 2030, and Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart until October 2028.
It is expected the panorama would be different by then and society and politics would follow other approaches and would have evolved since '1-O' in 2017.
Talks may well have taken place, support for secession waned, and the main reasons for its support in the first place having been addressed, negotiated and possibly eliminated.
Just nine?
In total, 12 Catalunya politicians involved in the referendum and independence process applied for a formal pardon, but only nine were granted, since the other three were not awarded custodial sentences.
Meritxell Borràs, Santi Vila and Carles Mundó were charged with 'disobedience', a lesser form of 'high treason', but when their cases were being examined, they successfully applied for their criminal charges to be exchanged for fines and a ban on public office.
They have now all paid back their fines and their prohibition from politics has finished.
All the others have been behind bars for the past three-and-a-half years, and are expected to be released as early as tomorrow (Wednesday).
It is hoped the pardoning process will hail the start of Catalunya's being able to turn the page and put the political conflict behind it, and for the rift between it and the State of Spain to be healed.
Related Topics
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