The Catalan president in exile, Carles Puigdemont, has met today in Berlin with the minister-president of the federal state of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow (Die Linke), as revealed by Ramelow himself. Puigdemont is making political contacts in Germany whilst awaiting a decision by the country's courts on Spain's application for his extradition. Thuringia has expressed repeated support of the Catalan people's right to self-determination.
Puigdemont gave Ramelow and his colleagues who also attended the meeting, a copy of the book Dies que duraran anys (literally "Days which will last years", untranslated into English) by journalist Jordi Borràs, which collects together photographs of last year's Catalan referendum and the police repression.
"I was very pleased to receive and talk to Carles Puigdemont today. We agreed that it's a question of starting a dialogue between the central Spanish government and Catalonia about the future of Spain. In the end, the people have to be able to decide," Ramelow wrote on Twitter.
Sehr gern habe ich heute @KRLS Carles Puigdemont zum Gespräch empfangen. Wir waren einig, dass es darum geht einen Dialog zu initiieren zwischen der spanischen Zentralregierung und der Region Katalonien über die Zukunft Spaniens. Am Ende müssen die Menschen entscheiden können. pic.twitter.com/onfJmKdXyh
— Bodo Ramelow (@bodoramelow) 14 de juny de 2018
Before the meeting, the president of Thuringia commented on the news that Belgium will study the alleged Spanish spying on Puigdemont in the country. "Criminal law and shows of power are no way to successful progress. Today I'm feeling the negative side of separatism especially clearly."
Herrn Puigdemont treffe ich gleich in Berlin und werde mit Ihm auch darüber reden, aber auch über guten&wirksamen Föderalismus. Strafrecht und Machtdemonstrationen sind kein Weg für eine erfolgreiche Entwicklung. Heute spüre ich das negative von Separatismus besonders deutlich! https://t.co/obuFub7SQe
— Bodo Ramelow (@bodoramelow) 14 de juny de 2018