Esquerra Republicana leader takes amnesty for granted and insists that the Spanish government “includes it in its commitment to end repression by all legal means necessary”

Six years after the 20 September Spanish police raid on the Catalan government Department of Economy, Esquerra Republicana leader Oriol Junqueras spoke out, accompanied by the victims of reprisals through several legal cases brought before Spain’s justice system, to recall that they continue to “fight against the effects of the unceasing repression.”

Mr Junqueras once again takes amnesty for granted because “it is included in the commitment by the Spanish socialist PSOE party to put an end to the repression by all legal means necessary”, which according to Esquerra’s leader was part of the pact for the constitution of the bureau of the Spanish Congress. The agreement, he recalled, also included the use of Catalan in the lower house that was approved yesterday.

He went on to contend that Esquerra has worked over the years to “get the political prisoners released from prison and to reform the Penal Code, eliminating sedition and amending malfeasance,” and that “under the effects of the amnesty” they will be able to “continue working for the right to decide” on Catalonia’s future.

Indeed, being able to “defend the right to self-determination at the negotiating table” is one of Esquerra’s conditions for the possible investiture of the Spanish government. “We neither wish to nor can we give up under any circumstances” this right, said Mr Junqueras.

Finally, he recalled that the party also calls for “clear commitments in economic and social arenas that affect Catalan society,” including “better funding for public services” and the “transfer of Rodalies,” the suburban railways in Catalonia.