Surely the news that a judge in Madrid has ordered eight members of the deposed Catalan government to be remanded in custody pending possible charges over last week’s declaration of independence should awaken anyone who supports democracy to what is probably the worst attack on demonically elected official in Europe in living memory
Carmen Lamela, sitting in Spain’s national court, jailed the eight former ministers – including Puigdemont’s deputy, Oriol Junqueras – on Thursday while they are investigated on possible charges of sedition, rebellion and misuse of public funds.
The Madrid Government will probably use this to disbar candidates in their imposed elections in December.
There has also be suggestions that if Pro-Independence parties win in December Madrid will dissolve the parliament again.
The referendum was approved by the Catalan parliament in a session on 6 September 2017 along with a law which states that independence would be binding with a simple majority, without requiring a minimum turnout. After being suspended, the law was finally declared void on 17 October and is also illegal according to the Catalan Statutes of Autonomy which require a two third majority in the Catalan parliament for any change to Catalonia's status.
This is the excuse many on the British Liberal Left use to support the Heirs of Franco in Madrid.
But it is a false argument the Statues of Autonomy were set by Madrid to prevent any "Regions" of Spain voting to secede.
It is an argument that Apartheid was legal because the government in South Africa at the time said so
Even a two thirds majority in the Catalan Parliament would still have had the same response from Madrid.
First and foremost, the Spanish Constitutional Court already declared the referendum illegal after it was challenged by Spain's central government. The Court cited the Constitution of 1978 which talks of the sovereignty of the Spanish people and the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation in Articles 1 and 2 respectively. Moreover, this is not the first time Catalonia faced opposition from the judiciary. The Court, in 2010, discarded a change to the Constitution that would have given the Catalan language, spoken by more than 75% of the Catalan population, a preferential status.
Prior to the referendum, opinion polls showed that 71% of the population wanted the referendum to be held, but only 41% were likely to vote 'yes'.
But what of the vote itself?
As John Dixon over at Borthlas points out?
It’s true that, on a 100% turnout, and assuming that everyone who didn’t vote would have voted against independence, the unionists would have won. I’ve touched on the actual figures before; the problem with that assertion is that it makes too many assumptions, amongst them that the deceased could not only have voted enthusiastically, but would also have unanimously voted against independence. Given the actual figures that we do have, it’s hard to see on any turnout less than 99% how the unionists could ever have won; and I find it hard to believe that, even on a very good day, the turnout could have been higher than 90%. 70% is a much more likely figure, and with 37.8% already having been counted as voting yes, the yes side had an unassailable lead.
In Australia where voting is compulsory in the 2017 House of Representatives election Turnout was 90.98% and additionally the number of Informal Votes (Spoilt Ballots) was 5.05%.
Clearly if we accept the ballot was counted fairly then the Yes vote would have won.
Yet the argument is still put forward that the vote was illegal and the assumption that those who did not vote would have led to rejection of Catalan Independence constantly made.
Those who are doing so would be better off arguing that a free and fair Referendum should be held n the Independence question , but they side with those in Madrid who declare this will never happen.
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