The imprisonment without bail ordered by the National Audience judge for the seven supporters of independence accused of terrorism and belonging to the ERT (Tactical Response Teams), which public prosecutor Carballo describes as an "organisation with a hierarchical structure which aims to establish the Catalan Republic by any path, including violent [ones]", is an important jump in the setting up of the false narrative the Spanish state is trying to put together about the situation in Catalonia. Without convincing evidence, without criminal records for the suspects, without any violent action carried out, however small it may be, without explosive devices in their power, it's very hard to accept, just like that, the police's version of events. It rather looks, as on other occasions, like things are being exaggerated with an obvious political objective: to intimidate the independence movement ahead of the Supreme Court verdicts on the political prisoners which will be released within two weeks.
When I indicated a few weeks ago that Pedro Sánchez had decided to try his luck with a new general election with the topic of Catalonia at the heart of his campaign, I didn't believe that the production was going to go so far and be so dangerous for social harmony in Catalonia. The line which is being crossed is enormously dangerous, inciting Spanish public opinion not to confront the peaceful Catalan independence movement but a non-existent violence in Catalonia which they want to give the form of organised, structured terrorism. All that was left to add: a Catalan ETA. Ciudadanos' circus in the Catalan Parliament is going along those lines, as is their request for the acting prime minister to apply article 155 before there is "anyone dead".
Unlike the events of October 2017, when the state could only react to everything happening in Catalonia, in this case it's decided to put together an exaggeratedly decisive response, convinced, perhaps, that the clear chaos within pro-independence ranks is playing in its favour. It's probable that the political response will be quite the opposite and that JxCat, ERC and CUP can more easily weave agreements that have so far not been possible. And that En Comú too, situated between two fires, will join one or other of them. Involved in this response there have to be the Catalan institutions, the Parliament and government, trying to channel the enormous malaise of a very significant portion of Catalan society. A democratic response to prevent lies taking control of the current confusion. The values of Catalonia, the defence of the citizenry, cannot end up in the mud and trampled over by a soulless group only looking for a handful of votes.
The independence movement's demand might not be shared but it's just and legitimate. The path which has been undertaken to annihilate the movement, who knows if it'll even include the banning of its parties, will lead to nothing other than a major confrontation and major frustration. Because the Catalan conflict has always been political, never judicial. That which is so easy to understand in the countries that are our peers today still appears to be an impassable obstacle. However hard it may be to accept.