Six Pirate Party MPs are calling for Alþingi to publicly condemn the Spanish government’s response to the Catalan independence vote which was undertaken last year on October 1, 2017, Kjarninn reports. The proposed parliamentary resolution is not intended to be an outright declaration of support for Catalonian independence, but rather would be meant to serve as a “serious admonition to the Spanish government about ensuring people’s rights to work on behalf of voters without putting themselves in danger of being deprived of their freedom.”
The Catalan parliament held an independence referendum on October 1, 2017, in spite of what the Pirate-sponsored proposal terms the “repeated attempts by the Spanish government, often violent, to prevent its administration.” The result of the vote, continues the proposal, “was, however, clear, because 92% of those who cast votes answered yes to the question that was put before voters: ‘Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?’ The Spanish Constitutional Court annulled the regional government’s declaration of independence on November 8, 2017 on the grounds that it had violated the constitution of the country and was, therefore, null and void.”
“Since the vote went forward, arrest warrants have been issued for numerous politicians in Catalonia, at least nine of whom have been imprisoned in Spain for months without being charged,” continues the proposal. “Among these is the former president of the of Catalan parliament. Still others are in exile and at risk of being arrested if they return to their homes.”
The proposal was introduced by Pirate MPs Álfheiður Eymarsdóttir, Björn Leví Gunnarsson, Halldóra Mogensen, Helgi Hrafn Gunnarsson, Jón Þór Ólafsson and Þórhildur Sunna Ævarsdóttir.
