Jordi Juan, 31 January 2024
Director La Vanguardia
Yesterday pro-independentist party Junts made a bold proposal to the Government to impose an amnesty law tailored to their interests and found that, this time, Pedro Sánchez stood up. He could not do otherwise for two clear reasons. On the one hand, the political discredit he was gaining for his surrender to the Catalan pro-independence supporters, and, on the other, the risk that Junts’ amendments would contaminate the original text in such a way that it would lose the necessary rigour to overcome the foreseeable judicial appeals it will face. Yesterday was a bad day for the supporters of the amnesty, but it was not the end of the amnesty.
In any case, Junts’ decision to align with the PP and Vox and vote against the proposal makes everything much more difficult and leaves the door open so that, in the coming days of renegotiation of the law, new court rulings and legal proceedings against the pro-independence movement may appear. To the new crimes that have suddenly become known, such as terrorism or treason against the state, new ones can be added, depending on the literary capacity of the magistrates.
Junts’ aim of shielding all his soldiers is very difficult to achieve. Last night, Carles Puigdemont wrote a conciliatory tweet, appreciating the efforts of the PSOE and Sumar in the negotiations, but insisted on his goal of including “everyone” in the law. And as has already been repeated on several occasions, in order to save some of those involved who may be left out, there is a risk that in the end everyone will be sacrificed. The Junts leadership wants to study a final socialist offer in the next fortnight, but fitting it all in will be almost impossible. The government is very clear that it is better to renounce the law than to draft a text with no chance of success before the Constitutional Court or the judicial bodies of the European Union.
And it is Esquerra that is growing with Junts’ rebuff and Miriam Nogueras’ unnecessarily harsh intervention. Who would have thought that Oriol Junqueras’ party would be the party of good sense and common sense. Junts’ decision yesterday left many of its militants and sympathisers cold, who fear that the amnesty will end up as a dead letter. There is still time to reach agreements, but today the goal is further away.
https://www.lavanguardia.com/opinion/20240131/9509527/junts-juega-amnistia.html
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