It is sickening that Spanish courts continue to jail, and remove from political life, Catalan politicians who are the victors in democratic elections. That the European political class and media is almost entirely complicit and supportive in this truly vicious repression of the Catalan people, has shocked many of us to our core, and made us realise how thin is the veneer of democracy and how fragile are the rights we believed we held.
If the UK were any kind of a democracy, opposition parties would have held firm against the rush to conflict with Russia, until serious and thorough investigation of the Skripal case had yielded real results. At the very least, you would expect to see a select committee of the House of Commons call the head of Porton Down to give evidence and quiz him about the level of certainty they have of the identity and the Russian manufacture of the substance which poisoned the Skripals.
Instead, we have seen all the establishment parties fall over themselves to appear as belligerent and faux-Churchillian as May and her pipsqueaks, in order to placate the tabloids. This is ludicrous. You cannot out-jingo the Tories, and the rush to increase international tension benefits nobody except the armaments and security industries.
I am obliged to say I was disgusted by Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP leadership and their premature condemnations of Russia. By coincidence I spent much of last week at pro-Indy events and I have to say I found this disgust almost universal.
The odd voice was prepared to offer the usual Nicola excuse of “She is trying not to alienate the Unionists”. But what is the point of not alienating the Unionists by, to all intents and purposes, becoming a Britnat yourself? The continued failure – for years now – of the SNP to argue to the public the case for Independence, the attempt to dodge Indyref2, all of it leaves me to feel that the SNP leadership have got their feet under the table within the UK, as a form of controlled opposition.
The SNP leadership are far happier talking about which powers devolve to Holyrood from Brussels, and which stay at Westminster, than they are talking about Independence. I don’t give a damn about the precise contours of the devolution settlement; I want my country to be free of Westminster entirely, and soon.
We are not yet subject to the extreme state repression afflicting our counterparts in Catalonia, but you can be certain the Tories have noted the template, and that other Western political leaders will support them if they start putting people like me in the pokey for thirty years for sedition. Sadly it has become abundantly clear that there is no danger of the highly paid SNP elected representatives, their SPADs, and party bureaucrats, ever putting themselves in that position.
They would be with those handing down the sentences, as their attitude to Carla Ponsati shows.
Just as MEPs lined up one after another in the European Parliament to defend Francoist thugs batoning grandmothers trying to vote as the “rule of law”, and use the same excuse for lengthy sentences for political prisoners, so there was an echo of this distancing in Nicola Sturgeon’s response to the extradition of Catalan campaigner Carla Ponsati through the Scottish courts, potentially to spend the rest of her life in a Spanish jail just for peacefully campaigning for freedom for her country.
Nicola referred to “the fact our justice system is legally obliged to follow due process in the determination of extradition requests”. She too is hiding behind “the rule of law” and thus turning a blind eye to the Francoist attack on fundamental rights.
Very few voters of the SNP put Nicola Sturgeon into parliament in order to warm her toes at the Robert Adam fireplaces at Bute House, while Catalan leaders are dragged from Scotland to a terrible repression. The SNP leadership have become far too adept at speaking with British Establishment voices and thinking with British Establishment minds.
At some stage they have to accept that achieving Scottish Independence is in itself a revolutionary act, and that it will never be achieved without real constitutional conflict with the UK, the sort of political conflict which has attended the birth of every independent state. If you are afraid to do something “unconstitutional” under the present repressive system, you have no right to pretend to be a part of the Independence movement.
For Sturgeon to hide behind the Edinburgh High Tory Scottish legal establishment and wash her hands, Pontius Pilate like, over the extradition of Carla Ponsati is simply unacceptable.
Saving this brave woman is as noble a cause to launch a constitutional crisis as one might wish for. The Holyrood parliament must pass a Bill forbidding the extradition of Ponsati and the Scottish government must order Police Scotland to enforce it. We need finally to show we are serious about challenging the UK. If Sturgeon declines, then the Scottish people must physically defend Ponsati. And the Independence movement must fundamentally reconsider its leadership and strategy.
. I was So Sickend That SNP Stood By WAR Crininals..And Why did they not take your Advice..OSCE’. We Could Have Won..DID WON… But for MsM..BBC
” For Sturgeon to hide behind the Edinburgh High Tory Scottish legal establishment and wash her hands, Pontius Pilate like, over the extradition of Carla Ponsati is simply unacceptable.”…..
“Pritsepov revealed he had held “very constructive” talks with the Scottish Government”
http://www.thenational.scot/news/16110649.Visas_for_Scots_travelling_to_Russia____will_not_be_delayed___/
Brian the result of the constructive talks between the SNP and the Russian diplomat is that Scots can still travel freely to and from Russia without delays – not so for the Welsh or English.
“I am obliged to say I was disgusted by Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP leadership and their premature condemnations of Russia.”
.
Blackford has been sounding like a 50s American politician.
Imagine the SNP calling other people jingoists! Many of them come across like a combination of Sparts, Scientologists, and double-glazing salesmen.
Wasn’t it the SNP who when ratings agencies said they’d give an independent Scotland’s economy a low credit rating started throwing accusations of anti-Scottish bias? Talk about rabies! Perhaps soon the explanation for why the SNP got walloped in the referendum by the Scottish people will arise that it was all a foreign-paid “stab in the back”?
All nationalism is yuck. No exceptions.
When asked “Will we get Scottish passports then?”, Nicola Sturgeon said sure, your wee passports can have “Scotland” written on them when they come up for renewal. Oh how serious they are!
You should be pleased then that these days the shots are being called by supranational quasi-governmental entities like the IMF, the WTO, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank …. institutions for whom representative democracy is sacrosanct.
Don’t Underestimte the Intelligence of Scots..In Fact…Get Educated FFS
Can you think of any other occasion where local nationalism has been asserted as the answer to the problem of supranational capitalism, and when those who oppose local nationalism are denounced as supporters of supranational capitalism?
If you’re opposed to greater national or local sovereignty, then you need to make it clear what it is your alternative is. Because the only existing alternative are the organistions I listed and the TNCs they serve.
Worldwide socialism without countries or borders.
no thanks.
H- Worldwide socialism without countries or borders is just not on the agenda. What you will end up with is neo-liberalism (neo-classical economics & capitalism) without countries or borders. I know that there are many people (who define themselves as ‘left’) who think they they are progressing towards the former but actually we are regressing towards a situation where there will be only two states; the state of being poor [having no rights or priviledges, no healthcare, no welfare, no saftey-net] and the state of being rich.
The number of failed states just keeps on increasing and there is no sign of a socialist utopia as far as I can see.
Socialist (at present) can only survive in nations states (where it will have to compete against opposing forces), but remove the nation state and there will be no chance for socialism at all.
Scotland is a colony of England and we are entitled to our rights and our country.
“when ratings agencies said they’d give an independent Scotland’s economy a low credit rating”…
You have links to these pronouncements?
“Standard & Poor’s have concluded that Scotland’s wealth levels are comparable to those of AAA-listed nations, and that as an independent country – even without North Sea oil – Scotland will qualify for S&P’s highest economic assessment.”
https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scottish-independence-s-p-reveals-creditworthiness-1-3322979
Well as you get on so well with Russia you may be interested to hear than Russian ratings agencies are emerging and they may not be fawning at the knees of S&P, Fitch etc….
But imperialism is far worse that nationalism and the UK is an imperialist construct.
I take no pleasure in agreeing with almost every word that has been written.
The SNP – and I’m a member – appear to me to be more and more shaped by risk aversion to what the Mail, BBC et al will report. I can accept that sometimes this is pragmatism to achieve the longer term aim.
In the case of Russia there has been absolutely no defence for them joining up with the Westminster cabal.
To defy the extradition treaty for Ponsati would be to set a fire. I’d do it, you (Craig) would do it but it could be construed as reckless and lead to a Britnat overreaction in these febrile times. The UK Gov have Holyrood in the crosshairs and are desperate to find a cause to deflect from their own shortcomings. Prof Ponsati could be a Franz Ferdinand.
I must say I find that surprising. Do large numbers of Scots really read the Mail?
I disagree with you on this one Craig, quite possibly for the first time. The Scottish Government must keep it’s distance in judicial matters or we risk being tarred with the same brush. One of Carla’s lines of defence will almost certainly be the lack of judicial independence from the state in that banana republic that is Spain.
I also think that Nicola has made her own views on the matter absolutely clear, both on social media and the MSM.
what is the point of making her views “clear” if she’s not willing to defend them ?
What? You think she should make herself the law?
Rototo,
What’s the point of standing in front of a steamroller?
A lot of people were prepared to SAY I am Charlie Hebdo. How many people would be prepared to say ‘I am Nicola Sturgeon’? Let alone actually get between her and the steamroller.
Not enough I think. Sad perhaps, but true, I think.
Spain is not a banana republic. If so we could say that of the UK and the BRexit circus. Proof of this is the at least one million of UK citizens living and retiring in Spain.
Isma, We might well say that of the Brexit circus.
If we’re not saying it yet we may get there in time.
A million Brits retiring to Spain proves nothing except that house prices are favourable and the Sun shines there.
Angusthedug,
I’m somewhat in agreement with you here. I’m in sympathy with the frustration and anger Craig is expressing, but I think he might be being a little unrealistic about what Nicola as FM can actually do in this situation.
It would be brave, but foolish I think to try and base a revolution into independence on the back of this particular issue – and that’s not to diminish the seriousness of the civil liberty issue which we’re faced with – but to accept that I can’t imagine the mass of the population being prepared to sharpen their pitchforks and take to the streets.
I wish we would, but I think we’d get minced. And it wouldn’t make a jot of difference to the fascist tendency in Spain or elsewhere.
Tragic! Now, back to Skripal and Novichok…
***LATEST***
Skripal and Novichok revealed as a tragic case of accidental collateral damage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuMLpdnOjY
The EAW applies to the member state which is the U.K. so don’t understand why you are trying to showNicola Sturgeon in a bad light. Scotland is not the member state and may have to comply if the Tories decide to hand the lady over. I would like if the lady finds a safe haven here in Scotland and that her human rights are upheld.
But you all know what the Tories are like. They may use the opportunity to extract some favour off Spain.
Spanish ministers and authorities = bunch of crooks.
Catalan nationalist leaders = bunch of crooks.
Clear now?
Must say that I think that Carla is right to turn herself in for arrest, as she knows it will be a long fight to get democracy and justice in Spain, much less the UK itself.
So how do we as the people of Scotland who oppose this extradition go about our opposition? Which road to we sit on, and when?
Section 13 of the EAW, extreneous Considerations, regarding political views.
It does the Scottish argument on independence no good to champion the cause of Catalonia ?
Catalonia chose the path of unilateral action, and has used what autonomy it has had, to run up debt to levels that make its viability without the support of Spain doubtful.
I’d imagine Scotland will make its case based upon sustainability, and a constitutionally correct path, rather than raw emotion ?
“Catalonia chose the path of unilateral action, and has used what autonomy it has had, to run up debt to levels that make its viability without the support of Spain doubtful.”
.
Ooooooh, sounds like the ‘Catalonia is too wee, too poor, too stupid etc’ to survive without the benevolent Spanish government argument.
Very familiar project fear stuff.
In Catalonia’s case its likely correct, in Scotland’s, probably not ?
In any event, and as Scottish independence will be revisited on the grounds of a major plank of the late referendum having changed, one wonders how it would do the SNP any good to be seen to be cocking a snook at the EU ? And thats what refusing to process a European Arrest Warrant would be doing ?
Before the Catalan referendum, one of the repeated arguments used on this blog was that Catalans were too successful, selfishly witholding their wealth from the rest of Spain. but once under the thumb, Catalans have too much debt to survive without Spain.
Which one of those talking points has the correct information?
“repeated arguments used on this blog…”
Sorry, in the comments section, not the blog.
“Catalonia chose the path of unilateral action, and has used what autonomy it has had, to run up debt to levels that make its viability without the support of Spain doubtful.”
Judging by Madrid’s hysterical response the boot could well be assumed to be on the other foot.
A bit like the position of Westminster with regard to Scotland ?
Is Nicola a sheep in wolf’s clothing? Is he related to Dolly the Sheep?
Carla Ponsati! Seriously, people trust academics from British universities, even MI6-friendly ones like St Andrews, who jet off to become government ministers abroad?
British universities suck when it comes to exposing HMG!
Is it me or have the Skripals vanished from the media now that the High Court judgment gave OPCW the right to take their own samples, to check govt’s for authenticity. Of course, to my mind, the Skripals have served their purpose which was to distract from the complete capitulation in Brussels. The terms agreed scarcely got a mention in the coverage which was all about the EU backing May and sticking it to the Ruskies.
What will the Catalonia coverage cover up? And is the target news piece they want to hide in London or Madrid?
You’re right that the result in Brussels has been sidelined. Anyone with a clear head can see that it delays Brexit (in practice, which is what counts) by at least two years. Unfortunately clarity of bonce isn’t encouraged.
And in those two years, there’s going to be trouble. Indeed in the next two weeks there’s going to be trouble.
Relations between “the West” (excluding Switzerland – let’s guess why) and Russia aren’t just a figleaf hiding Brexit’s nudity though. We’ll find out whether further expulsions soon happen. If an “event” is necessary to push things on their way, an “event” will happen.
Russia has been accused of backing Catalan separatists in the unofficial referendum. Catalan nationalist leaders have also expressed their support for I—el, which has been reciprocated. So it’s like with Trump (and unlike with Le Pen): the world’s two most powerful cyber forces cooperating. Perhaps the EU will soon shout about this.
“We’ll find out whether further expulsions soon happen.”
They’ve happened now.
60 expelled from US
4 each from Germany, France, Poland.
3 from Lithuania.
Note that neither the US nor any of these other NATO countries has waited for the OPCW to report.
This is no damned figleaf!
No, the latest cover up is Mr Corbyn and his alleged anti-semitism.
Just catching up. the OPCW stated they cannot use samples not collected by them and especially coming out of Porton Down (the lead alternate potential source of chemical agent). It is logical anyway as in any court of law samples not having a firm and verifiable chain of custody cannot ever be accepted as evidence. Clinical samples collected at the hospital are never under lock and key and are by virtue of being used for clinical analysis are altered. The UK response was to lambaste the OPCW and to attempt to delegitimize any findings the OPCW may or may not come up with. When I saw the court decision about the samplings and noticed the section dealing with DNA testing of the hospital samples my hackles went up. This is in a UK court and they agreed with this? What kind of law is being used in the UK now? Bizarre doesn’t approach an adequate description of this.
There is a process for forensic sample collection which was entirely ignored by the UK government just as everything else having to do with the CWC requirements and for that matter normal diplomatic process. Denying consular visit to a foreign citizen (arguably two of them as he is a dual citizen) is a clear violation of international diplomacy and there will be consequences down the line. Expelling UN delegates is actually barred under the UN treaty but the US did it anyway. So, we have some very interesting and highly illegal things happening as a result of a botched poisoning. Even Nazi Germany wasn’t treated this way.
It makes me wonder what is really going on here as they just keep doubling down in the face of mounting evidence this is all cooked up.
It is indeed very difficult to get a bead on the big picture, but certainly the way the UK government has behaved is quite shameful.
If it’s possible to assess motive from the outcome, by assuming it was deliberate, all the evidence suggests the whole poisoning debacle was a manipulated false flag exercise to isolate Russia from the international community.
Now, who might want to do that ?
Bravo Craig. I’ve thought for a long time that the SNP have grown far too comfortable with their parliamentary majority and their guaranteed wages. Power corrupts and it’s now becoming clear that the SNP elite have too much to lose financially and prestige wise to risk it all by rocking the establishment boat. The oppression in Catelonia sets a precedent and if the francoist Spanish government gets away with it there will be no refuge for Scottish nationalists when the right wing tories follow suit.
Before reading any comments Craig I would like to say that I think this is possibly your most important blog yet on Scottish Indy and I wholly agree with it. I too was disgusted at Sturgeon’s statement regarding Russia and her support for the UK Government’s stance on the “poisoning” incident, however, the statement she made yesterday regarding Carla Ponsati really reeks of establishment double talk and bluster and for me is the last straw. I have been holding off now for sometime regarding my support of the SNP by maintaining a membership subscription but I’ve cancelled that now as a way of protesting. As you point out here, the SNP have been seeming to be dragging their feet on a move to indyref2 and makes one wonder what their endgame is; it surely doesn’t seem to gel with mine; which is Scottish Independence. She really needs to get off her backside and pull the finger out and right now. Otherwise it’s over.
No need to speculate too much on what their end game is.
It’s been obvious for a while: play political games, collect generous MSP’s pay and expenses, and generally enjoy themselves.
And of course prevent a REAL Scottish independence movement from emerging.
Yeah, I’m sure we’d be far better off if Richard ( I don’t know the difference between retained and delvoved powers) Leonard, or Colonel Rape Clause Ruth Davidson…ha ha we sold out the fishermen, were first minister.
“…..the SNP have been seeming to be dragging their feet on a move to indyref2…..”
Indyref2 wouldn’t get a ‘Yes’ at present. Lots more work to do.
There will be no Indyref3. Cameron won Indyref1 by forcing it too soon. Let’s not fall for that trick again.
It didn’t work when he tried to pull it again on Brexit and we should learn from that. It will be a costly enough lesson.
Harsh words from you Craig for our First Minister. I love Nicola Sturgeon but am afraid I have to agree with you. She and we must stand and be counted on this.
Last Thursday, I said on a previous thread on here:
‘In another Fascist country, to the South –
‘Jailed Catalan activist Jordi Sanchez has dropped his bid to lead the region’s government, paving the way for separatist parties to offer a new name.
The move comes after Spain’s Supreme Court rejected his request to be freed to attend an investiture ceremony.
Mr Sanchez, 53, is being held on sedition charges following October’s independence referendum, which was ruled illegal by the Spanish courts.
Separatist parties won a slim majority in regional elections in December.
The central government called that vote when it sacked the regional administration and imposed direct rule after the Catalan leaders at the time declared independence.’
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-43483946
I suppose we have to grateful that they are not locking us up….yet.’
Sorry
Hang on, let me see if I got this straight: Just because Nicola Sturgeon heads a pro-independence Scottish party, she is supposed to condone an assassination attempt on English soil? That doesn’t seem right…
No evidence as yet.
Well, no evidence that Craig and most commenters here will accept. But that’s quite a bar to clear, if we’re talking about something the Russians have allegedly done. (British crimes, OTOH, don’t seem to require nearly as much evidence…)
As for Ponsati, I’m not sure why deferring to the judgement of the Scottish courts is “hiding behind the rule of law”. The rule of law is a good thing, and surely we’d want elected politicians to respect it, no? That’s hardly hiding, that’s respecting the constitutional order of Scotland and the United Kingdom.
It depends on who made the laws. Hitler made laws.
But if the Scottish government refuse to comply they will be undermining the European Arrest Warrant, which was introduced by the EU to which they pledge such allegiance. At all events it would be nullified by judicial review.
It’s not a Scottish Government matter. It’s for the courts.
The SG can give an opinion. And they have. One in full support of Clara Ponsati. The EAW request is a matter for the courts however.
spot on reel guid, it’s a judicial matter as you say, I’m hoping section 13 kicks in with regards to negating the EAW on political views.
Exactly this. I will be withdrawing my membership of the SNP in search of a party that is serious about giving Scotland’s people their country back.
Indeed! Take back control! Green passports for Scotland!
Winning friends and influencing people again?
You will not find a better, talented, skilled in Government and honest Party. Remember the old Divide and Rule? Please don’t fall for it.
If you find one David, let us know will you.
In the mean time you’d probably be best off sticking with the only one showing ANY inclination to do so.
FYI
‘After the Catalan declaration of independence, she flew with former President Carles Puigdemont and three other former councillors to Belgium. A European arrest warrant against them was issued but later retracted. The stated reason for the retraction was the worry that those who had fled to Belgium would have had to be treated differently than those who stayed. Indeed, the charge of sedition underlying the arrest warrant does not exist in Belgium law, and there was speculation that the Belgian courts would only consider extraditing the Catalan politicians after requalifying the charges. On March the 10th Ms Ponsatí announced she had moved back to Scotland in order to return to her position as professor at the University of Saint Andrews. On March 24th Pablo Llarena from Spain’s Supreme Court issued an international and European arrest warrants for Clara Ponsati and other separatist leaders, including president Carles Puigdemont. University of Glasgow’s rector Aamer Anwar will defend her case.’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clara_Ponsat%C3%AD_i_Obiols
https://twitter.com/AamerAnwar
Sounds like she will have her day in court then. What more can she ask for?
Moral support.
Lovely answer. 🙂
Did you see the article in the Sunday Herald about how the SNP is being targeted by Kremlin trolls? I quote :
Last night, SNP top brass warned that Sturgeon may now be a target of Vladimir Putin, as part of a black propaganda war.
Stephen Gethins, the SNP’s international affairs spokesman at Westminster, said attacking high-profile critics like Sturgeon was a tactic the Moscow regime routinely used when it was challenged. Gethins spoke out after SNP MEP Alyn Smith said it was likely the Kremlin was targeting the party’s politicians after Sturgeon tweeted that “Russia’s actions cannot be tolerated”.
Does Vladimir Putin really have that much time on his hands?
The comments below the line were disappointing, focusing on whether or not Nicola Sturgeon was right to put in her tuppenceworth. Nobody seemed to be shocked, as I was, by the article’s assumption, based on no analysis whatsoever, that the Russians would do anything as counterproductive as poison a has-been spy in Salisbury.
Since I happened to have time on my hands, I looked up Stephen Gethins and found that he had worked for an organisation called “Saferworld.” Then I looked up the list of donors to Saferworld and all the usual suspects were there : USAID, USIP, Open Societies, MOD and a lot more. No wonder Scottish independence isn’t a top priority when you have people like that among the SNP “top brass.”
Here is the link to the full article : http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/16094929.SNP_top_brass_warn__Sturgeon_is_being_targeted_by_Kremlin_trolls/
Interesting comment, Jane.
Stephen Gethins also caught my attention by asking in Parliament, in response to all this Russian brouhaha, if extra money would be given to the British Council… Is this really the priority of an SNP MP? I thought they were there with the sole aim of settling up, not settling down!
On another note: he got a law degree…. advises on rural affairs… sits on the Committee for Foreign Affairs…. why do we not have politicians that are specialists? How can any one of them possibly be great at everything?
The Kremlin targeting Scottish politicians ???? Utter pish surrounding a false flag incident. Am tearing up my SNP membership card.
Bit over the top here Craig.
Sturgeon can hardly tell Rajoy to keep his EAW and piss off. Much as she’d probably like to. Due process and all that. The Justice Secretary has no say.
Politically, much can be done in the meantime. And Sturgeon made an unequivocal statement in support of Ponsati. Unlike Jeremy Corbyn, who as far as I’m aware has kept his trap shut on the subject of the Catalan exiles. Craig, shouldn’t you be directing some of your ire at Corbyn instead of Sturgeon?
I agree that Blackford is the wrong sort for his post. Salmond had Blackford removed as SNP Treasurer in 2000 for causing trouble. Angus Robertson was far more astute in the role and did not get cosy with the Westminster establishment.
Yep Craig. You’re dead right about the SNP.
They are just a controlled opposition – a kind of establishment safety valve if you like. It’s been obvious for some time that they are far too comfortable in Holyrood, catching the plaudits when they hand out money, blaming London when things go sour.
Sad though it is, Scottish Patriots will have to look elsewhere.
Aren’t we all in a right schismatic mood today?
We Will In It Next Time..Expose the Criinals ( Sorry War Crininals ) at bbC
Well yes, Dominic Cummings said it only this weekend on his blog:
We’re leaving the EU next March.
Then we’ll be coming for the ECHR referendum and we’ll win that by more than 52-48…
https://dominiccummings.com/2018/03/24/on-the-referendum-24c-the-whistleblowers-and-channel-4-observer-accusations/
For the record, in Germany prosecutors will have to convince the courts – including I would imagine the Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe – that Puigdemont was rightly charged with “the threat or use of violence” in the sense of § 81 StGB. Otherwise Germany can only surrender him to be tried for misuse of public funds. I suspect the German courts will have significant hesitation before accepting that high treason was an appropriate charge…
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stgb/BJNR001270871.html#BJNR001270871BJNG003602307
English translation: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p0832
Yes, it comes down, as you say, to the ‘threat or the use of violence’. The courts here have done all they can to establish the threat of violence, but it just wasn’t present, so the written autos of the judges so far have even tried to blame vote organizers for the police violence on the 1st of October. Their latest effort is 70 pages long and claims that the actions of the movement (setting up a referendum, counting votes, voting on the results in parliament, attempting to negociate, etc) were ‘just like taking hostages and firing shots in the air’.
Hopefully the CC in Karlsruhe won’t see it that way, but Germany do horse-trade like everyone else (why else would they accept the incompetent De Guindos as number two in the ECB?), so it’s still pretty worrying. It will be a defining moment for Catalonia’s relationship with the EU, that’s for sure.
Out of interest Craig, what power does Scotland’s First Minister have to direct the operations of the police or arrange court judgements?
I’m a scot in Catalunya. This was always on the cards after the ECHR slapped a legal wet fish across the chops of the Spanish government /judiciary (same thing really) a couple of weeks ago in the matter of 2 blokes who set fire to a picture of the king. The Spanish were looking for payback. The one thing that’s now happened is that Catalunya is now definitely a European problem and no longer a “domestic”. Hopefully someone from the EU is having a quite word in Rajoy’s shell like. Here in Catalunya, we’ll be having new elections soon, as anyone who gets nominated for president gets arrested if he or she harbours any ideas above “yes sir, no sir”. The prevailing view here now is any vote that is not for independence is a vote for Rajoy. Even the Basque politicians appear to have got off their comfy backsides and have kicked off. It’s all going to get very “interesting”.
Very interesting post Scot.Cat. Thanks.
That’s the stuff, Craig! Exactly what’s needed for both Catalunya and Scotland.
60 US Diplomats to be kicked out of the US, a few more from former Soviet States.
The propaganda offensive failed.
Now Direct conflict between (US, Europe, NATO) and Russia is on. Diplomacy has been disengaged.
Scotland will be one of the first countries to be destroyed in a global conflict. Vapourised!
Stick your Blue and White Flag in the ashes.
And we are still waiting for evidence to show that Russia even had anything to do with it!
First “US” should read Russian
I don’t agree with Craig on this subject. Nicola Sturgeon has made her support for Carla Ponsati and the Catalan independence movement crystal clear. Attacking the SNP on this issue and on the Russian poison issue simply plays into the unionists hands.
Is it acceptable that Nicola Sturgeon would refuse to follow the advice of the National Security Adviser? That would be an open invitation for a false flag incident in Scotland.
Certainly people must vote for whichever party they believe can advance the prospects of an independent Scotland. In my view, the SNP is the only party capable of bringing this about. The Labour Party, the Tories, the Lib Dems and the Greens have no capacity to deliver independence.
If you are querying timing and strategy, fair enough. But the reality is that there are no other political parties with the one unequivocal aim to bring about independence.