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Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has advised the EU institutions that the people protesting in Thursday's massive march in Brussels were European citizens - from Catalonia - and that the Catalan independence movement "will persist" every time it has an opportunity. "Until it is understood that we, the European citizens who live in Catalonia, also have rights", he asserted.

Puigdemont, candidate for the Together for Catalonia list in the December 21st election, appeared on Friday by video screen in a press conference at his campaign's headquarters, presenting his electoral programme for e-government and also giving an appraisal of the demonstration held in the Belgian capital.

He dismissed the importance of comments on the march made by some EU institution leaders and said that he was more interested in what they were saying behind closed doors. "If we Catalans persist, it is impossible that they will not understand that reality overrides preconceptions that people may have", he asserted.

The president predicted that in spite of Spain's application of article 155, its economic war and the persecution that people are subject to, the independence movement will show on election day that it is here to stay and will step up whenever it has the opportunity.

"If anyone in the European Commission thought that the position defended by the Catalan government is that of a gang of criminals, yesterday they were able to see that the largest demonstration ever held in the history of Brussels is a very strange event if it is held to defend a gang of criminals", he laughed.