Carles Puigdemont has spoken out about the forthcoming amnesty law for Catalan independence prosecutions, whose new text was given the green light by the Spanish Congress's justice committee this Thursday. "What we need to do is negotiate piece by piece, from the budget to self-determination", he affirmed this Thursday in a post on X, giving a reminder that the aim of the law is to be able to negotiate with the Spanish government on an equal footing. Thus, he considered that "a very important step has been taken today to end the repression against the independence process". "A legitimate, democratic, non-violent process, which the Spanish state is fighting in a way that is unacceptable and incompatible with the rule of law," he added.
The Catalan president-in-exile and MEP for Together for Catalonia (Junts) recalled that "we have every right to continue the independence process, to do politics and to exercise our rights without being violated by the structures of the state". "The repression was a bad decision, and today it has begun to reverse itself in a way that the pardons [of the 9 Catalan political prisoners] could not guarantee in any way," he said. Thus, he noted that the amnesty "was one of the conditions make it possible to have a relationship with the parties of the Spanish government without the interference of the patriotic judiciary, and to be able to work and progress within the framework that we agreed on in the investiture accord".
Amb l'aprovació de la Llei d'Amnistia a la comissió de Justícia del Congrés espanyol, avui s'ha fet un pas molt important per acabar amb la repressió contra el procés d'independència. Un procés legítim, democràtic, no-violent, que l'Estat espanyol combat d'una manera inacceptable…
— krls.eth / Carles Puigdemont (@KRLS) March 7, 2024
"What we need to do is negotiate piece by piece, take nothing for granted and address all issues, from budgets to national recognition and the exercise of the right to self-determination," advised Puigdemont, who gave thanks for "the efforts of the Junts negotiating team and the PSOE's willingness to make the necessary improvements to the law in order to resolve the doubts and fears that led us to vote 'no' to the initial proposal."
The general secretary of Junts, Jordi Turull - who has gradually returned to his duties after the heart attack he suffered two weeks ago - expressed himself similarly, warning that the amnesty law does not ensure Junts's support for the Spanish budget. "The marker is reset at zero", said Turull, noting that the legislation has been strengthened so that judges who do not comply with it will be abusing their positions. The leader of the pro-independence party in the Congress of Deputies, Míriam Nogueras, also spoke out along the same lines, stressing that if the amnesty is not applied it will be because the judges dare to "abuse their authority".