With three days to go before the Diada Nacional de Catalunya, five of the main Catalan pro-independence organizations have signed the National Pact of the Civil Movement for Independence this Friday, after a year of intense work. Thus, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Òmnium, the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI), the Council of the Republic and the Intersindical trade union have come together once more in a common framework in which these five bodies, the promoters, are comfortable and which Dolors Feliu, ANC president, describes as "a country agreement with a common goal, independence; the commitment to the October 1st referendum and to citizen mobilization". In this way, the intention is to "network between all the pro-independence bodies and create synergies", without neglecting each entity's own initiatives. As Feliu highlighted, this agreement takes its name from previous pacts for Catalonia's "right to decide" its future and for a referendum, which had the objective of bringing together civil society, in a process which, previously, was organized by the Catalan government. This last detail now changes, with the new National Pact of the Civil Movement for Independence, as it arises from civil society itself and "overcoming euphemisms" as Feliu put it.
In this presentation and signing of the pact, at which the fifteen organizations that have already joined in with the proposal were also present, Marina Gay, vice-president of Omnium, asserted that this new instrument must be used to "work for independence and achieve the Catalan Republic", at the same time as it represented the richness and plurality of the movement. "It is when we act together that we are strongest, as was demonstrated on 1st October and in the post-sentence protests", reiterated Gay, an idea also shared by Teresa Vallverdú, of the Council of the Republic: "This agreement is a success and allows us to reduce the differences that once separated us, leaving aside individualisms". Vallverdú also boasted of this unity of the pro-independence movement and "allowed herself the luxury" of also demanding it from the political parties: "They have the obligation to do it", she insisted. In the context of the Pact, Feliu clarified afterwards that, for now, contact with the Catalan government and pro-independence formations is not planned and would have to be agreed within the pact itself. Asked if this new instrument should be used to put pressure on the parties during the negotiation for a possible investiture, Feliu has made it clear that this is not its goal, but she also recognized that "the pact serves to visualize the unity of society civil to make independence effective", a unity which does not exist between the political parties.
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For his part, Jordi Gaseni, from the AMI, highlighted the prior work that was carried out to reach an agreement that brings together different points of view: "It is clear that we cannot move forward alone, rather, we must go hand in hand with as many entities as possible." Gaseni, mayor of Ametlla de Mar for ERC, also stressed that the agreement expresses a clear will to move towards independence a few days before Catalan National Day. For the Intersindical union, general secretary Sergi Perelló praised "the generosity and the strategic vision of Catalonia to be able to join our best efforts together" in the face of a new political scenario which, according to him, could be "an opportunity to advance in our goals." Both Vallverdú, from the Council, and Dolors Feliu, also agreed to place this National Day in the context of a "change of paradigm".
All five of the bodies promoting the Pact took the opportunity to appeal to the public to mobilize this Monday, September 11th, so that the demonstration called for the streets of Barcelona becomes "the push necessary to achieve the independence of our country", as AMI president Perelló put it, calling for this Diada to be a demonstration of "the voice of a people who are walking towards freedom". Feliu, president of the Assembly, also asked for maximum mobilization in the demonstration that will culminate in Plaça Espanya, renamed as Plaça 1 d'Octubre for the occasion, while Gay, from Òmnium, also called on Catalan society to show its desire for independence this coming Monday.