Former Catalan minister of education, Clara Ponsatí, exiled in Scotland since 2018, has made a public appearance in the Northern Catalonia city of Perpinyà. Yesterday she took part in the weekly Solidarity Hour organized by the local Catalan Solidarity Committee to support the pro-independence political prisoners, as well as the exiled Catalan politicians. "It's moving to see you here. I see that people are watching and very attentive", said Ponsatí, in a video published by local broadcaster Ràdio Arrels on Youtube.
This event, for Ponsatí, “is not just about singing songs. It is about being present and keeping the message of our struggle and our freedom raised high”.
For this, she thanked those present for attending the rally which is held every Thursday, as well as for keeping up the struggle and continuing this weekly mobilization. "I know you will continue to do so until victory because we won't stop until we win," he said.
Celebration in Elna
Yesterday, for the first time ever during the regular event, French police arrived and asked those taking part to show their documentation. This coincides with the recent arrival at the mayoralty of Louis Aliot, from the far-right National Front led by Marine Le Pen. His candidacy won the city hall in the municipal elections on June 28th and thus put an end to nine years of hegemony under Jean-Marc Pujol, of the former president Nicolas Sarkozy's party, the UMP.
In fact, to protest the arrival of the far right in the city council, the Catalan Solidarity Committee decided that once a month this event would be held in a location outside Perpinyà. Therefore, next Thursday, August 20th (at 6:30pm), the Solidarity Hour will be held in Elna, 14 kilometres from Perpinyà, where the Communist Party is in power. This will be the first time it is held outside the capital of Northern Catalonia.
Just over five months ago, Clara Ponsatí along with fellow Catalan MEPs Carles Puigdemont and Toni Comín took part in a huge Catalan pro-independence rally in Perpinyà, which drew over a hundred thousand supporters, mostly from south of the France-Spain border. It was the first time since 2017 that any of the three exiled government members had returned to Catalan soil. The northern-most part of Catalonia, centred on the city of Perpinyà, has been part of the French state since the 17th century.