Swiss newspaper Le Temps has published a report (in French) on president Carles Puigdemont's upcoming visit to Geneva, saying it is making Spain "gnash its teeth".
According to the paper, Spanish diplomats are not hiding their concerns over Puigdemont's visit, as shown by their comments to the media. "Puigdemont's presence at this festival, otherwise profoundly respectable, is a joke. Do we place the Catalan problem, in terms of respect for human rights, over Syria, Iraq or Palestine? We're not sure what to make of that", they quote one official as saying, "the problem isn't so much Puigdemont's presence as the lack of opponent. All of this only serves to give him a platform from where he can play the victim at his leisure".
Le Temps reports that the people behind his visit at the International film festival on human rights (FIFDH) called it Operation Playmobil, perhaps after the president's haircut. They say the visit has been in the works for a long time, but they didn't want to announce it without being able to guarantee it will go ahead. In they end, they appear to have the guarantees they require. Indeed, the Swiss Foreign ministry has released a statement that Puigdemont is free to travel to the country and speak.
"Operation Playmobil has, however, come to a successful conclusion: Puigdemont (one of the central characters in the psychodrama shaking Spain over the question of Catalan independence) will indeed attend the debate organised as part of the FIFDH. What's more: he'll be there for the grand finale, since it's around him that the last evening of this festival, this Sunday, will unfold."