(Reuters) – Catalonia’s regional leader Quim Torra told
Reuters on Friday that he wants to agree on a date for an
independence referendum as part of talks with the Spanish
government, arguing that the region’s path towards secession
is “irreversible”.
Catalonia has been a dominant theme in Spanish politics
since it briefly declared independence in October 2017
following a referendum deemed illegal by courts, prompting
the country’s biggest political crisis in decades.
Torra met on Thursday with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro
Sanchez, who rejects any move towards independence but
agreed to hold talks with Catalonia’s leaders to discuss the
future of the wealthy northeastern region.
“We will be independent,” Torra said in an interview at his
15th century regional government palace in Barcelona. He
would not discuss a target date but said: “I am confident that
the independence of Catalonia is absolutely irreversible.”
Madrid has ruled out any independence referendum or
amnesty for Catalan separatist leaders who were sentenced to
jail or left the country after the botched independence
declaration.
But Torra said he wants to discuss a date for an
independence referendum and get results on both issues at a
meeting later this month with the Spanish government, which
Sanchez and he would chair.
“GO TO ROOTS OF CONFLICT”
Torra, who considers Sanchez should attend all the
negotiation meetings, said the longstanding Catalan issue
was not frozen but a “hot conflict”.
“Let’s talk on how we solve the roots of the conflict … that
means to let the Catalan people decide their own future
democratically and peacefully,” he said.
Talks between Madrid and the Catalan government were a
condition set out by left-wing separatists from the Esquerra
Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) party, who were
instrumental in facilitating Sanchez’s confirmation as prime
minister last month.
The growing division among the two main separatist parties
that rule the region – Torra’s centre-right Junts per Catalunya
and ERC – prompted Torra to announce a snap regional
election last month. The earliest it can be is May. [
Torra said he will give a date for the vote the day after the
Catalan budget is approved by the regional parliament.
He did not rule out the election being after the summer,
which could benefit his party as it lacks a candidate and
trailed ERC in recent votes.
Torra’s own future is uncertain after over a year in office. He
was sentenced in December to an 18-month ban from public
office for refusing to remove symbols supporting jailed
Catalan activists from government buildings and is awaiting
an appeal.
Catalonia saw sometimes violent protests in October after
nine separatist leaders were handed lengthy prison sentences.
