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Catalan minister Toni Comín has reacted to the leak of messages he apparently received from president Carles Puigdemont, revealed by Spanish channel Telecinco, in a Twitter thread in which he says that “the revelation of secrets is a crime in Spain and in Belgium”.

Translation: 1. The revelation of secrets (surreptitiously obtaining conversations between third parties) is a crime in Spain and in Belgium, worthy therefore of the relevant legal actions. Apart from [the fact] that any message removed from its context always losing its meaning. 

2. President Puigdemont's political position was expressed just hours ago, in an official message yesterday evening. Whoever didn't understand it can go over that message again because it's completely unambiguous.

3. If the [article] 155 bloc is getting hopeful about the division of the independence movement, it will be greatly disappointed. From its ideological plurality, the unity of the independence movement is absolutely guaranteed: we're all coming together to enforce the results of the 21st December [election].

4. Not only as independence supporters, but above all as democrats, we won't allow an aberrant and illegitimate criminal case to invalidate the result of the 21st December. Without respect for the popular will there is no democracy. And democracy is not up for debate.

After the publication by Telecinco of his conversation with president Carles Puigdemont, Comín has confirmed that the situation allows for the starting of "the relevant legal actions". In a series of comments on Twitter, the ERC deputy also warned that "any message removed from its context always loses its meaning". "President Puigdemont's political position was expressed just hours ago, in an official message yesterday evening", said Comín, adding that the video was "completely unambiguous".

Comín said that "If the [article] 155 bloc is getting hopeful about the division of the independence movement, it will be greatly disappointed". "From its ideological plurality, the unity of the independence movement is absolutely guaranteed: we're all coming together to enforce the results of the 21st December [election]," he argued.

According to Comín, it's not just a question of supporting independence, but of supporting democracy. "We won't allow an aberrant and illegitimate criminal case to invalidate the result of the 21st December", he said, adding that "without respect for the popular will there is no democracy" and that "democracy is not up for debate".