CATALAN President Pere Aragones has faced a call to signal some progress on the cause of independence after being told that “nothing had been done” in four years.
Aragones has been on the back foot after the Catalan Parliament conceded its legal dispute with Spain and removed far-left MP Pau Juvillà in a dispute over his refusal to remove yellow ribbons from council offices in Lleida in the 2019 pre-election campaign.
Parliament confirmed late on Thursday it had removed Juvilla – who is suffering from cancer – as a result of a “legal obligation.”
Aragones has been catching up on meetings which had been postponed because of the issue, including talks with Elisenda Paluzie, president of the pro-indy grassroots Catalan National Assembly (ANC), and Jordi Cuixart, who heads the Omnium Cultural, which promotes Catalan culture.
The call for action came from economist and indy activist Paluzie, who told The National in December that Nicol Sturgeon should consider an unofficial referendum in Scotland followed by a unilateral declaration of independence.
That radical approach was evident after her meeting with Aragones, when she said: “We have demanded a radical turn in terms of the strategy of the pro-independence majority.
“READ MORE: Catalan MP Pau Juvillà suspended over pro-independence ribbons
In four years nothing has been done and no progress has been made. It is necessary to have a plan.”
She did not detail how the road to independence should be planned, but said the experience of the 2017 indyref and subsequent UDI, showed the importance of being able to sustain the challenge and push it forward.
Paluzie said the cause had suffered setbacks over the past four years, adding: “it can't be that we're gaining ground. Although the conditions for a [UDI] declaration are not right now, we must stop this feeling of withdrawal, of being on the defensive, that the [Spanish] state is gaining ground in every decision it makes.”
She compared the decision to concede defeat to Spain over Juvilla with similar episodes in the previous parliament with Quim Torra being disqualified as president and the withdrawal of the political prisoners’ salaries.
Paluzie said: “This degrades the institution and the trust of the citizens in their representatives.”
She said this had discouraged many in the pro-indy ranks and led to internal bickering.
Following her appearance before the media, Laura Vilagra, the Catalan minister for the presidency, who was also at the meeting, said Aragonés planned to resume next week meetings that had been postponed with the three pro-indy parties. She said he intended to present at a conference on February 14, his proposals to move towards independence.
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