In the face of the current blockages in Catalonia's path to independence, leading pro-independence group Catalan National Assembly (ANC) has given the Catalan government a strong warning, telling the country's political leadership to either devise a unitary strategy to make progress towards the Catalan Republic, or to carry out resignations to give way for new leaders. This was the statement made by ANC president Elisenda Paluzie after the special meeting of the organisation's national secretariat this Saturday. "If things haven't changed by 21st December, we will not support the government", declared Paluzie.
“What we ask is that before 21st December, the strategy is set down”, said Elisenda Paluzie, asking for a “clear, unitary strategy” to implement the Catalan republic, which was proclaimed last October following the independence referendum, but not put into effect. If the new strategy is not defined, the ANC says that it will mobilize people on the street to apply pressure. The message was also sent to members of the Catalan parliament and its government: “Anyone who does not feel up to carrying on, should step aside and let their place be taken someone else who is committed”. However, she discarded the possibility of calling elections, because they "wouldn't serve any purpose".
The ANC's statement amounts to a report card on Quim Torra's government. It is especially critical of the “disjunctions between what it says and what it does” and the “disparity in criteria”. On this point, Paluzie claims the need to return to "unity of parliamentary action with the CUP" - the left wing party which is the third pro-independence force in parliament. The proposal to reach agreements on the annual budget with the leftwing Commons group, non-aligned on independence, "would not be credible".
In a second document approved on Saturday, the pro-independence body has reasserted the unilateral path to independence, which it considers the "most realistic". The other two scenarios, a referendum agreed on with the Spanish government and a referendum forced by the international community, are regarded as unlikely by the ANC. It warned that "normalization" will only lead to the demobilization of the independence movement.
"If we ready ourselves with responsibility and rigour, we will be able to make the Catalan Republic effective", insisted the ANC president. “For the unilateral route to be followed successfully, it is necessary to align parliament, government and civil society”, said Paluzie. She called for the entry into functioning of the Brussels-based Council of the Republic, instigated by the exiled Catalan leaders in Belgium, which, she said, could help in this task.
In terms of the part to be played by the ANC, Paluzie promised “to develop projects that make the Catalan Republic tangible”. She especially highlighted the need for primary elections among the independence movement for the municipal elections, in order to attain “the maximum of pro-independence mayoralties”. She said that winning Barcelona, the country's capital, is “basic”.
Finally, a third document was also approved by the ANC, on the narrative of the independence process, from the key Constitutional Court decision cutting back Catalonia's Statute of Autonomy in 2010, until last year's elections on 21st December. All three documents were passed by "ample majorities" at the special meeting.