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Ex-Leader of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, Not Seeking Asylum in Belgium Ex-Leader of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, Isn’t Seeking Asylum in Belgium
(35 minutes later)
BARCELONA, Spain — The former leader of Catalonia said on Tuesday that he had traveled to Brussels to put Spain’s territorial conflict “in the institutional heart of Europe” and to guarantee a fair trial for the separatist leaders who declared independence, but he said that they were not seeking asylum. BARCELONA, Spain — The former leader of Catalonia said on Tuesday that he had traveled to Brussels to put Spain’s territorial conflict “in the institutional heart of Europe” and to guarantee a fair trial for separatist leaders who declared the region’s independence, but he said that they were not seeking asylum.
“We are here because Brussels is the capital of Europe, it is not a question of Belgian politics,” the former leader, Carles Puigdemont, said at a news conference that took place amid speculation that he and others would request asylum. “We are here because Brussels is the capital of Europe, it is not a question of Belgian politics,” the former leader, Carles Puigdemont, said at a news conference that took place amid intense speculation that he and others would request asylum in Belgium.
Mr. Puigdemont was speaking publicly for the first time since the Spanish authorities called on Monday for him and 19 other separatists to be prosecuted for rebellion after they declared the region’s independence from Spain. Mr. Puigdemont was speaking publicly for the first time after the Spanish authorities called the previous day for him and 19 other separatists to be prosecuted for rebellion after they declared Catalonia’s independence from Spain on Friday.
Mr. Puigdemont emphasized that he was not escaping Spanish justice but wanted guarantees of a fair trial, and he said he would work for now from Brussels, in “freedom and security.” Hours later, Mr. Rajoy fired Mr. Puigdemont and his cabinet, and then dissolved the Catalan Parliament, calling for regional elections on Dec. 21, but the former Catalan leader said in Brussels that he welcomed the chance for the separatists to win the elections.
Mr. Puigdemont emphasized that he was not escaping Spanish justice, but he said he wanted guarantees of a fair trial and would work for now from Brussels, in “freedom and security.”
After reading the charges proposed by the Spanish attorney general, Mr. Puigdemont said that he felt Catalan politicians would not be treated fairly by the Spanish judiciary.After reading the charges proposed by the Spanish attorney general, Mr. Puigdemont said that he felt Catalan politicians would not be treated fairly by the Spanish judiciary.
The possible charges, he argued, amounted to “a persecution” of people and their ideas rather than specific crimes. “More than a desire for justice, it is a desire for vengeance,” he said.The possible charges, he argued, amounted to “a persecution” of people and their ideas rather than specific crimes. “More than a desire for justice, it is a desire for vengeance,” he said.
Mr. Puigdemont’s presence in Brussels adds an unexpected European dimension to Spain’s most serious political crisis in decades.Mr. Puigdemont’s presence in Brussels adds an unexpected European dimension to Spain’s most serious political crisis in decades.
He is in effect proposing to lead his ousted Catalan government from a city that is home to the main institutions of the European Union, which has been unsympathetic to the push for secession, and is in a country, Belgium, that has its own separatist tensions. He is, in effect, proposing to lead his ousted Catalan government from a city that is home to the main institutions of the European Union, which has been unsympathetic to the push for secession, and is in a country, Belgium, that has its own separatist tensions.
Mr. Puigdemont, together with a handful of members of his ousted cabinet, made his way to Brussels on Monday just as the Spanish attorney general, José Manuel Maza, announced in Madrid that Mr. Puigdemont and other separatist leaders should appear “urgently” in court there. Mr. Puigdemont, however, said the length of his Brussels stay would depend “on the circumstances.”
“If we could be guaranteed that the trial would be fair,” he said, “without doubt I would return immediately.”
Had he and his entire cabinet stayed in Barcelona this week, he said, “with an attitude of resistance, there would have been a very violent reaction by the state.”
Mr. Puigdemont said he had not been negotiating with Belgian politicians. “I don’t ask anything from Belgian politicians, except as part of European politics.”
Instead, he repeated his call for the European Union to step into the conflict, a plea that has been rejected by European leaders. “To the international community and especially Europe, I ask them to react,” he said.
Mr. Maza chose not to order the immediate arrest of the separatists, but he wants judges to allow him to pursue charges of rebellion, sedition and the misuse of public funds against those who organized and carried out an illegal independence referendum on Oct. 1.
Mr. Puigdemont said that Mr. Maza was accusing his ousted government of rebellion, which carries a sentence of up to 30 years, for trying to fulfill his “electoral program” of creating a Catalan republic.
The decision by Mr. Puigdemont and other top officials to seek a haven in Brussels comes as the national government in Madrid takes direct administrative control of Catalonia, using emergency constitutional powers that Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy invoked to stifle secessionism.
Officials in Madrid on Monday welcomed the news that Mr. Puigdemont had chosen to leave Spain rather than remain in Barcelona and resist the national government’s decision to oust him. Mr. Puigdemont, meanwhile, called on Catalans to oppose the dismantling of their region’s institutions.
Asked whether his secessionist plan had plunged Catalonia into uncertainty and confusion, Mr. Puigdemont said, “The chaos started on Oct. 1, with the violence on the part of the Spanish side,” a reference to the independence referendum that had been declared illegal by Spain’s judiciary but that went ahead amid clashes between Spanish police officers and Catalan voters.