Carles Puigdemont has returned after seven years in self-imposed exile to crash the vote for the brand new president of Spain’s Catalonia area, whilst police in Barcelona tightened safety to seek out him.
Puigdemont was president of Catalonia in 2017 when he unilaterally declared independence. The Spanish authorities responded by sacking him and ordering his arrest, so he fled to Belgium.
The Catalan parliament convened on Thursday to approve the election of Socialist Celebration candidate Salvador Illa, after months of negotiations with the separatist ERC social gathering. The vote was upstaged by Puigdemont, who appeared exterior the parliament earlier than the session started and gave a five-minute televised speech.
“I’ve to be there and I need to be there. That’s the reason I’ve launched into the return journey from exile,” Puigdemont mentioned Wednesday on X (previously Twitter).
His stunt exterior the parliament apparently stunned each police and the media, who have been beneath the impression he would attempt to enter the constructing. Police had blocked all however one entrance to the Parc de la Ciutadella, the place the parliament is positioned, and checked everybody’s credentials earlier than they might enter.
Puigdemont was not solely capable of give a speech exterior, nevertheless, however disappear afterward and evade arrest. In response to the native each day La Vanguardia, two members of the Catalan police have been detained on suspicion of serving to the separatist chief escape.
Earlier within the day, the autonomous area’s police – often called Mossos d’Esquadra – searched the complete parliament room by room. In response to Politico EU, additionally they checked the basement and searched the sewers, whereas additionally sealing the passage that connects the parliament constructing to the Barcelona Zoo.
Puigdemont declined to run in June’s European Parliament elections as a way to make one other bid at Catalan presidency, however misplaced the vote to Illa. The Socialist struck a take care of the separatists to type a minority authorities final week.
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has neutralized the Catalan separatists, no less than for now, by passing a sweeping amnesty regulation final 12 months. The opposition responded by organizing huge protests in Madrid.
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