Over 250 elected representatives from around the world call on the Spanish government to set in motion proceedings for an amnesty law that will lead to a democratic solution to the conflict.

We call on you to support and promote an Amnesty as the outset from which to enable a meaningful and comprehensive process of dialogue and negotiation for a political solution to the conflict, based on democratic principles, mutual respect and fully respecting the democratic rights of the Catalan people.” This concludes the letter addressed to the Spanish executive, which has been spurred by the EU-Catalonia Dialogue Platform of the European Parliament and which has been signed by more than 250 political representatives from around the world.

Irish MEP Clare Daly publicly launched this initiative from the stairs of the European Parliament. Ms Daly lamented that “we have to be here because of the failure of the Spanish government to honour its democratic obligations.” The Irish representative recalled that “the Catalan people have spoken in February of this year with a 52% vote for amnesty and for independence,” and demanded that the Spanish government “heed to the call of the Catalan people and the 250 parliamentarians who have signed the letter for the amnesty that we have here today.”

It is past time for them to exercise all of the legal and institutional changes that are necessary to deliver

Clare Daly Irish MEP

The Irish politician closed her speech by making a very clear request for the Spanish government: “It is past time for them to exercise all of the legal and institutional changes that are necessary to deliver an amnesty for the Catalan prisoners, exiles and persecuted.”

Coinciding with the letter to the Spanish government, the platform has launched a website from which it intends to continue gathering support for amnesty and a political and democratic solution to the conflict. Read all about it here.