Near the Arc de Triomphe, Carles Puigdemont lamented the “very harsh repression” that the separatists have experienced during the last seven years, criticising the PP and Vox. After the speech, he fled and is on the run.
It was a six-minute speech by Carles Puigdemont before he fled. At the Arc de Triomf in Barcelona, the pro-independence activist recalled this Thursday morning that he and his followers have been persecuted for “seven years.” “Seven years ago, we faced a very harsh repression “which led us to prison and exile. It affected the lives of thousands of people because we were independent, sometimes simply because we spoke Catalan. They made being Catalan something suspicious.”
Pointing to the “politicisation of justice”, the former Catalan leader criticised the Popular Party (PP) for controlling the “Supreme Court through the back door”, while allowing “Vox to exercise popular prosecution to persecute political dissidents”. However, despite their efforts, the former president of the Generalitat came to Barcelona to remind them that the independence cause is still alive. “We have no right to resign”.
This is how Puigdemont disappeared in Barcelona after his defiant speech: “Neither arrested nor located” https://t.co/Z9PXfmfqQm pic.twitter.com/Eh6i1RQ86q
— THE WORLD (@elmundoes) August 8, 2024
“The right to self-determination belongs to the people, to the people who live in them, and no one has the right to decide their future,” said Carles Puigdemont, who pointed out that many “thought of celebrating” his arrest and that this would “hinder” the Catalan independence cause. “But they are wrong. Their mistake will weaken Spanish democracy. It will never be a crime to hold a referendum,” he warned in his speech that can be heard here In its whole.
???? President @KRLS Puigdemont: “I don’t know how many years have passed. But I know how many years have passed that they can raise all together the crit amb què jo ara finé: Visca Catalunya lliure.” pic.twitter.com/kaC3k9atT5
—Together for Catalonia???? (@JuntsXCat) August 8, 2024
Carles Puigdemont also referred to the amnesty law, criticising the fact that this legislation “is not amnestying anyone”, which the separatists see as a “problem of democratic naturalness”. “Live Free Catalonia”, he exclaimed at the end of his speech.
After finishing speaking, Carles Puigdemont fled the nearby Arc de Triomphe in a white Honda car. The pro-independence activist remains at large, despite the Catalan police authorities (the Mossos D’Esquadra) having launched Operation Jaula, specifically designed to arrest him.
BREAKING NEWS | Carles Puigdemont escaped in his white Honda through the crowd behind his mini express. pic.twitter.com/TxwVLST2Iy
—Vloonk (@vloonk) August 8, 2024
At border crossings and throughout Catalonia, especially near the French border, the Mossos D’Esquadra stopped all cars and trucks, inspecting their interior, including the boot. Near these checkpoints, traffic became congested and long queues formed, before the police unsuccessfully ended the operation.
Source: Observadora
