Esquerra Republicana and its youth branch Jovent demand the appearance before the Catalan Parliament of the Spanish government delegate in Catalonia, Maria Eugènia Gay, and will bring the case before the Spanish Congress
On Sunday, the news broke of a case of attempted espionage by coercing a young pro-independence activist. At a press conference Pau Morales, a member of the Catalan Parliament, alongside Jovent’s national spokeswoman Kènia Domènech, stood by Enric Pérez, the young man who had suffered the attempt at recruitment. Together they detailed the actions they have now set in motion to respond to the events. “If there are attempts to infiltrate us, it’s because they’re afraid of us; they’re afraid of the collective strength of the youth of this country,” emphasized Pau Morales.
The spokeswoman for Jovent reported that they are now studying the legal actions they will take with their lawyers, while the Esquerra and Jovent parliamentary group will demand that the Spanish government delegate in Catalonia, Maria Eugènia Gay, is summoned to “shed light on the situation.” Mr Morales also announced that the action to be taken in Congress will be announced on Tuesday by Jovent Congresswoman Marta Rosique.
Victim Enric Pérez explained that “personally, I feel used, because they have tried to exploit me to infiltrate a political organization. But here and now, I want to call out to all young people who may find themselves in a similar situation to report it and not place their personal interests first, in order to prevent harming larger groups of people.”
During the press conference at the Catalan Parliament, Mr Morales denounced that in any democracy a case like this would be a scandal that would provoke immediate reactions from the administration. “That is not the case in Spain, and obviously, that doesn’t surprise us at all,” he added. Beyond denouncing the scandal, Mr Morales expressed solidarity addressing all the victims of reprisals “who, in addition to their own repression, may suffer coercion of this kind,” and he called on them to share. “They are not alone, there is an organized independence movement for which solidarity is the strongest mainstay,” he said.
The attempt to spy on Jovent was bound to be unsuccessful from the very beginning, as Enric Pérez explained alongside Jovent’s spokesperson, since it is a source of pride for the organization “to see that we are doing things well,” with the “self-protection we have acquired over the years.” Mr Morales highlighted that after 91 years of history “Jovent’s stamp features in many of the public policies in this country, but also in many of the mobilizations and social movements,” he concluded.