In the referendum of 1st October, not only is the political future of Catalonia at stake. "The future of the democracy in much of Europe" is also at stake. This was stated by the president of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Jordi Sànchez, in a press conference together with the president of Òmnium Cultural, Jordi Cuixart, a few hours away from the vote. The sovereign entities are convinced that the polling stations will be open, and they made a call to vote and "to accompany to vote" the maximum number of people possible.
"The serene and activist attitude of the citizens will make 1st October a success," said Jordi Cuixart, who urged people not to be "coerced" by the threats from the Spanish state, that are placed "at the level of countries like Turkey". "Each vote will be an exercise of responsbility against the intolerance of the state and in the eyes of the European Union," he added.
However, the entities have admitted that, as a consequence of the impediments, despite the surveys that predict a high turnout, things have suffered. In this sense, Jordi Sànchez speculated that "a million would be a great success", and that would legitimize a subsequent action of the Catalan government, even though they work to surpass this figure.
Cuixart argued that the Catalan conflict is no longer a mere internal affair. In this sense, the president of Òmnium Cultural stressed the "concern" from two special messages from the United Nations, and the words of the president of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, who said on Friday that the solution to the Catalan question cannot be only through the police and legal routes, it has to be above all political, through an agreement. "You just have to see the front pages of the main international newspapers today," he insisted.
In this context, the entities have not only called to vote, but "to accompany to vote" all those persons possible, in a demonstration of commitment. "What will happen in Catalonia will be what will happen in the next years to the whole of the Spain and also of Europe," said Jordi Sànchez. The president of the Assembly said he expects a "reasonable" and "proportional" action of all the police forces. He has asked them to "disobey" disproportionate orders.
The ANC and Òmnium are convinced that on Sunday they will be able to vote "thanks to the commitment of the Catalan government, that has 'left its skin' for it." In this sense, they also estimated that the entrance by the Civil Guard this Saturday to the Centre of Telecommunications and Information Technologies (CTTI) of the Catalan government will not affect the referendum.