Three major Catalan pro-independence organizations, the Council of the Republic, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural have called a joint protest mobilization to coincide with the Spanish-French summit to be held in Barcelona on January 19th. The three organizations also call for the mobilization of the entire social, civil and public fabric of Catalonia and affirm that since Saturday they have been contacting other associations, and some have already joined them: the Assembly of Municipalities for Independence (AMI), the international ethnic minorities association CIEMEN, and the trade unions Intersindical-CSC and Intersindical Alternativa de Catalonia (IAC). The unified social demonstration, as they say in the statement, will be held outside the final venue where the institutional meeting is to take place, a location that is still to be defined. The details of the call to protest will be announced at a press conference, also jointly, to be held in the coming days.
"The Spanish government has several times made reference to its intention to come to Barcelona, also, to certify the end of the independence process. The three pro-independence bodies consider this a provocation, a fantasy and a falsehood considering that no political solution has been given to the conflict, that there are still representatives of the movement in exile, and that there are 500 people awaiting trial for reasons related to the referendum of October 1st and the subsequent repression by the state, which has affected more than 4,000 people", reads the joint statement issued by the three organizations.
Translation of Tweet:
"There will be NO normality until there is a democratic solution to the conflict, the return of exiles and an amnesty for all those suffering reprisals with cases open. On January 19th we are mobilizing with colleagues from @assemblea and @consellrep at the gates of the Sanchez-Macron summit." - Òmnium Cultural
Meetings and official events in Barcelona have been a continuing headache for the highest Spanish authorities, especially for the king Felipe VI, since the tension in the relationship with Catalonia soared after the referendum in 2017. Now, however, the Moncloa government palace has assessed that the pressure has dropped sufficiently to call the Spanish-French summit in Barcelona on January 19th, with president Emmanuel Macron. The news has been interpreted as a provocation by pro-independence leaders, including Catalan president-in-exile, Carles Puigdemont, who are demanding a response on the streets. Also still unknown is the role of the Catalan government and its president, Pere Aragonès. At the moment, the Catalan executive claims that it has not been informed of the details of the meeting, although the Generalitat's foreign action ministry assures that work is already underway on the matter.
Last Friday, Carles Puigdemont already made a call to demonstrate against the holding of the summit, and show the public's rejection of its protagonists, in a tweet on Twitter. "They have worked to demobilize and break unity, which have been two great tools to defend Catalonia against a Spanish state that discriminates against us and harms us because we are Catalan", he stated in a tweet, continuing: "On the 19th, let's unite and mobilize to defend the country against delusional gravediggers". Jordi Turull has also spoken out in favour of this unitary call, which he called "very good news". "Independentism is still alive and determined. And they must see and feel it. We'll be there!", wrote the Junts general secretary on social media.