Henry Ettinghausen – The Guardian vs. Puigdemont

Once again the Guardian alines itself with Europe’s ruling authoritarian liberal political class

Henry Ettinghausen is Emeritus Professor of Spanish, University of Southampton

On 10 August, The Guardian -England’s most prestigious newspaper- published an article on the appearance, two days before, in Barcelona of President Puigdemont. Its author was María Ramírez, Deputy Managing Director of elDiario.es. That same day I wrote the following short article to The Guardian, which does not reply to me or publish it. I believe Ms. Ramírez’s article should not be allowed to go unanswered.

The article (The Guardian, 10 August) by María Ramírez, Deputy Managing Director of elDiario.es, is a splendid example of the hatred that very many Spaniards have for Catalonia’s longstanding attempts at achieving independence. Its title pretty much says it all: “Carles Puigdemont’s escape antics may look comic. But he is Spain’s version of Donald Trump.” Ms. Ramírez is referring to President Puigdemont’s appearance outside the Catalan Parliament on 8 August, his five-minute speech to several thousand supporters and his foiling the attempts by the police to detain him. Had he been arrested, despite the recently passed Spanish Amnesty Law, he could well have been jailed for years.

In 2014, David Cameron allowed a referendum on Scotland’s independence, and there was no controversy about that. Three years later, when Puigdemont was President, the Catalan Parliament approved the holding of a referendum on independence. It was declared unlawful by the Spanish government, but it was held. Many of the polling stations were attacked by the Spanish Civil Guard and the National Police, and hundreds of voters were injured.

None the less, 97% of the votes counted were valid, and 92% of the votes were in favour of independence. The reaction by the Spanish government was to dismiss President Puigdemont and his cabinet, to dissolve the Catalan Parliament and to impose direct rule.

Early in 2019, the lengthy kangaroo trial was held in Madrid of many of the most important politicians who had supported the referendum and had remained in pre-trial detention without bail. Nine of them, including the Speaker of the Catalan Parliament, were sentenced to a total of over 100 years in jail.

President Puigdemont and several of his colleagues had gone into exile. He was then elected MEP and raised a great deal of interest internationally in the issue of Catalan independence.

President Puigdemont began life as an exceptionally competent journalist, and he speaks brilliantly. He has nothing whatsoever to do with Donald Trump. But that does not prevent the contempt and derision of many Spaniards. After nearly half a century since Franco, the dictator’s slogan – that Spain is “Una, Grande, Libre” – still lives on for very many Spaniards as a trinity that is virtually Biblical. And no-one involved in the imprisonment, torture and assassination of tens of thousands of Franco’s opponents has ever been put on trial.

In case anyone doubts the permanence of Catalans’ desire for independence, in 1993 I published in Barcelona a four-volume facsimile edition of 249 extant news pamphlets that appeared in Spanish, Catalan, French, Italian and Portuguese concerned with the war of secession from Spain fought by Catalonia from 1640 to 1652.

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