There has been a very strong participation of the 5.5 million Catalans called to the polls (nearly 82%), largely superior to the previous polls of 2015. The liberal centrist Ciudadanos party, led by the lawyer, Inés Arrimadas, took the first polling place in number of votes (25%) in front of the independentist formations (“Together for Catalonia“, the party of Carles Puigdemont and the “Republican Left of Catalonia ERC“) each around 22%.

Together, the three independentist parties, which ruled together for the last two years, have a majority. However, it is not clear that they can easily agree on the roadmap to adopt once a coalition is formed. There are two options among them: one is to pursue independence, the other to adopt a “bilateral” negotiating track with Madrid. The situation remains therefore quite complex: either a government agreement will be concluded (and whatever it is it will not be simple to manage) or it will be necessary to call elections again.

For its part, the European Commission, through its spokesperson, recalled that the EU’s position on Catalonia “will not change“. For the Commission, these are regional elections which, according to the Treaties, constitute a Spanish internal affair, on which the treaties do not give any competence to the European Institutions.

However, the most complex situation in Catalonia poses a twofold problem: on the one hand, the respect for the rule of law – it seems that despite its brutality and clumsiness the Spanish government has respected the terms of its constitution – on the other hand, that of the respect for the rights of the opposition and for freedom of expression, which seems to be blatantly violated.

LIBREXPRESSION asked KAP, a Catalan cartoonist and member of its Scientific Council, for his opinion. Kap also contributed to the creation of a magazine and an Internet site “Illegal Times” whose goal is the defense of fundamental rights. (See below the cartoon Gallery of Illegal Times) 

Thierry Vissol : what do the independentists want ?
Kap : Well, is easy… independentists want democracy. What the independence groups have demanded for all these years, was not “independence” but to hold a referendum to know what part of the Catalan population wanted independence. But Spanish Government response has always been to deny the dialogue, the possibility of resolving the situation in a democratic way. I know that it can be hard to understand for other Europeans, because they may think that independence should mean : raising borders, follow an identity project, or having a feeling of superiority. But this is not the case in Catalonia. Within Spain, Catalans feel like second-class citizens, that are discriminated against using their language, with the absence of respect of the sovereignty of their Parliament and Institutions (here, for exemple, a list of laws aprouved by catalan parliament but suspended by Spanish political court:
https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llista_de_recursos_o_sent%C3%A8ncies_del_Tribunal_Constitucional_d%27Espanya_contra_lleis_del_Parlament_de_Catalunya)
… Independence is currently revolutionary because it has revealed the Spanish Government authoritarianism, latent in the institutions since the death of Franco. It must be remembered that there never was any trial against the Franco regime, nor purge of the Francoist institutions. 

Thierry Vissol : What is the project « Illegal Times » ?
Kap : Illegal Times wants to be a scream, an answer to an exceptional situation in Catalonia and Spain. I want to emphasize that IllegalTimes is not about independence, but about the defense of fundamental rights. It has been an initiative of a social cooperative, L’Apostrof, which has collected the money to edit it, and have devoted time and effort to making it happen.

Illegal Times is the response of journalists, cartoonists to this situation. There is no link to any political party. It focuses on the defense of the civil rights in danger, gives voice to pro-independence cartoonists and journalists, but also to anti-independence cartoonists and journalists who can’t tolerate the violation of fundamental rights, as freedoom of speech… I insist : everyone in Illegal Times has been free to express whatever he wanted. And that is the most important, and interesting thing about this project.

The publication (10.000 copies on paper, and a digital version in the web www.illegaltimes.org and in English version : http://illegaltimes.org/en/diari/) wants to condemn the repression and the lack of civil rights in Spain, a situation that has been worse after the Catalunia October 1st referendum. I coordinated the cartoonists section. This has been a very intense experience because everything has been done with very little time. I contacted some of my cartoonists’ friend to ask them a drawing from one day to another. And they did it. Thanks to everybody

Thierry Vissol : Can you precise some facts of breaching freedom of expression ?
Kap: On the first of october 2017, more than one thousand people were injured by police brutality. The Government of Spain wanted to stop the voting of more than two milion Catalans. Now, some members of the Catalan government and activists are in prison and Spain has invaded the Catalan administration. It has been a regression on fundamental rights, and freedom of speech has been seriously damaged (not only in Catalonia, also in all Spain): people have been arrested because of tweets or gags in comedy programs, Cartoonists has ben fired from their jobs, others have been imputed judicially in a process for having published jokes or cartoons. Meanwhile, far right nostalgic of Franco’s regime are acting freely. After demonstrations –with Nazi salutes and pro-Franco banners– some citizens have been harassed and attacked, but these cases remain unresolved by the police, and ignored by Spain’s justice. Far-right demonstrators are constantly threatening journalists…

Some Comments by LIBREXPRESSION director:
– Although not living in Catalunia, I have been very often in Barcelona, where, since the 1992 Olympic Games, the Catalan language seems to be used every where and largely widespread among the population – even not Catalan. It is nevertheless true that a controversed Court decision of 2013 obliges schools to teach only in Castillan.

For more information on Castillan language the Generalitat de Catalunya published a very complete study :
http://llengua.gencat.cat/permalink/7c4156d2-5385-11e4-8f3f-000c29cdf219

– Catalan are often recalling (as does Kap) that the Franco’s regime institutions have not been cleared from people who were involved in the repression during the regime. This is true. But it also true that the democratic transition has been peaceful – apart from the failed 1981 « coup d’état » thanks to the King Juan Carlos and to Jordi Pujol, president of the Catalan Generalitat -. In many other countries who had to live similar transition (specifically germany or France after the WWII) a similar process took place. Cleaning administrations from people who actively collaborate with the regime would have probably paralyse the country when it was necessary to reconstruct it and ensure civil peace. Nevertheless, in Spain a rel review of what happened during the regime is still missing.

Two interesting papers, among others have been published in Illegal Times :
* The French version of Illegal Times manifesto: http://illegaltimes.org/fr/manifest/

* A paper by Carme Arenas, President of Pen Catalonia : « Freedom of expression, democratic strength »
http://illegaltimes.org/en/diari/llibertat-dexpressio-fortalesa-democratica/

Cartoons gallery of Illegal Times