Esquerra Republicana communiqué

All war is a fiasco for humanity. In war, no one wins and everyone loses, especially the innocent civilian population. Working for peace is and always will be one of Esquerra Republicana’s permanent commitments.

The war that began in Ukraine on the 24th of February with the Russian military invasion is a brutal, unjustified and unprovoked foreign aggression, determined by Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime after many intense diplomatic efforts. The invasion was justified by Mr Putin with totally fallacious arguments and pretexts.

The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation is clearly in breach of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. It is a serious threat to peace and security throughout Europe, and is a conflict with devastating effects on the civilian population, provoking the worst humanitarian and refugee crisis in 21st century Europe, one of the worst since World War II.

It is also a conflict between democracy and authoritarianism, between a sovereign state that wants to continue to exist and decide on its international alliances, including security, and an authoritarian regime with a clearly neo-imperialist attitude that denies Ukraine’s right to exist as an independent state, insubordinate to the interests of the Russian Federation which considers it a part of its sphere of influence. In the face of such a conflict, we know exactly where we stand.

Before the hostilities that persist ten days into war, Esquerra Republicana:

• Strongly condemns the military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and expresses its support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people and their commitment to sovereignty.
• Expresses its solidarity with the civilian population and the victims of the conflict, as well as with the many organizations working to deal with the humanitarian crisis sparked by the war, and praises all initiatives to support and to show solidarity with the civilian population in Ukraine, in particular those from Catalonia. We also show our solidarity with the people of Ukrainian origin who live in our country.
• Supports the prompt measures agreed upon by the EU to support Ukraine and its right to self-defence, as well as the sanctions against the Putin regime and Russia’s oligarchs, and calls on the Catalan institutions to contribute to the implementation of sanctions, in all areas possible.
• Shows its solidarity with those Russian citizens opposed to the war, and expresses admiration for all those who do so publicly and explicitly, exposing themselves to the repression of the Putin regime’s apparatus, whose human rights breaches have recently intensified.
• Expresses its explicit commitment to the peaceful resolution of the conflict. In this regard, we call on the parties to establish an immediate, lasting and verifiable ceasefire which would allow diplomatic channels to be re-established and agreements reached, leading to the end of the war and the withdrawal of the Russian troops. Until a ceasefire is reached, we call for the opening of humanitarian corridors to facilitate the movement of civilians and the provisions to cover the population’s basic needs. We also call on the warring parties to ensure the safety of the nuclear facilities at all times.
• Calls on NATO member states, including Spain, not to intervene directly in the conflict, which would lead to a serious escalation of war with unforeseeable consequences.
• Calls on the EU as a whole, and in particular Spain, to comply with and not eschew its international commitments to asylum and subsidiary protection. In this regard, we welcome the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive, but regret the double standards we have seen in Europe regarding the reception of refugees, as well as the fact that many people living in Ukraine who do not have Ukrainian nationality will not be able to benefit from this protection. We call on the Government of Catalonia, the provincial councils, county councils and municipalities to diligently channel humanitarian aid to Ukraine effectively and to take in refugees among us, proving once again that we are a welcoming host country.
• Calls on the EU to step up its efforts to move towards energy-based renewable energy sovereignty and greater efficiency. It is not a question of replacing one energy dependency with another, but of building our own, renewable model of self-sufficiency, independent of the will of authoritarian third-party actors.
• Calls on the EU to work to accept Ukraine as a new Member State, following the procedures set out in the Treaties and granting it the status of a candidate country as soon as possible.
• Regarding the EU’s firm, swift and united response to the aggression by the Putin regime, we call for the strengthening of the EU, which must also have greater strategic autonomy in terms of security and defence.
• Reiterates its support for the democratic right to self-determination. State borders are modifiable, but never through military aggression or coercion, but through democratic and cogent political processes.