The Catalan regional independence president Quim Torra was dismissed on Monday September 28 by the Spanish courts.
"I am neither giving up nor resigning myself", he replied in a speech in Catalan at the headquarters of the Generalitat (autonomous government of Catalonia), in Barcelona, surrounded by members of his government.
Quim Torra added that he did not accept the sentence handed down a few hours earlier in Madrid by the Supreme Court, Spain's highest judicial body, which confirmed his sentence of one and a half years of ineligibility for a crime of " disobedience".
This verdict "wants to overthrow the government of Catalonia", he said, announcing that new regional elections would take place and calling on voters to make it "a new plebiscite" for independence.
The confirmation by the Supreme Court of the conviction at first instance of Quim Torra automatically led to his dismissal from his functions as president of Catalonia, a rich region in northeastern Spain with extended powers which was the scene in 2017 of 'an attempt at secession.
A banner with separatist content
Quim Torra was sentenced in December 2019 by the higher court of Catalonia for refusing to obey the orders of the electoral authority, which had ordered him to remove a banner with separatist content from the facade of the seat of the regional government before the April 2019 legislative elections.
"I will bring (the cause of) freedom of expression and the cause of independence to the level of Europe and we will win," he said, without specifying exactly what actions he intended to take.
The dismissal of Quim Torra risks rekindling tensions in Catalonia, where the October 2019 conviction of separatist leaders to prison for the 2017 secession attempt led to numerous protests, some of which had degenerated into violence.
"Defend the President"
Immediately after the Supreme Court's decision, the powerful independentist associations ANC (Catalan National Assembly) and Omnium Cultural called on the separatists to gather on Monday evening in front of the town halls of the region.
"Let us defend the president, let us fight for independence", launched the ANC.
A call heard since several gatherings have been reported in cities of the province, including Barcelona or Girona, where demonstrators set the Spanish flag on fire.
"They are dismissing the president for a simple banner, it makes no sense. It is a mistake, which is added to all the others," Mary Chopa, 59, who attended the demonstration told AFP. Barcelona.
According to a tweet from the regional police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, "a small group of people" have erected barricades and set fire to garbage cans in the center of the Catalan capital.
Quim Torra's predecessor, Carles Puigdemont, for his part, blasted on Twitter "a corrupt state from the Crown to the bench", which "continues to decide on behalf of the Catalans".
"Once again, the Spanish state is interfering in our democratic institutions," added the leading figure in the 2017 secession attempt, who fled to Belgium to escape prosecution.
Deep divisions within the independence movement
The Supreme Court's decision also risks having major political repercussions in Spain, where the left-wing central government headed by Pedro Sanchez may need the voices of Catalan separatists to get its budget approved, intended to revive an economy in great difficulty in due to the Covid-19 crisis.
The open dialogue between central and regional governments on the Catalan crisis since the re-election of socialist Pedro Sanchez in January could also be undermined.
This dialogue, a condition for the support of part of the Catalan separatists for his investiture by Parliament, was interrupted for many months due to the pandemic, but was to resume soon.
The regional parliament now has about two months to choose a new president, but Quim Torra has already announced that new regional elections will be called, without giving a date.
These elections will take place in a context of deep divisions within the independence movement.
In January, Quim Torra had already announced the convening of elections due to tensions within his coalition, but this election could not take place due to the pandemic.
In addition, Football Club Barcelona has also reacted to the dismissal of Quim Torra, expressing in a press release its "solidarity" with him and qualifying as "disproportionate" the sentence of one and a half years. 'ineligibility.
With AFP
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR