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Former Catalan independence president Carles Puigdemont returns to Belgium on Saturday to continue his separatist struggle on the international stage, while striving to keep the reins of this region.
"My political activity will be based in Belgium , naturally with the will to continue the mandate of the people "towards an independent Catalonia, and to work for the Catalan politicians" unjustly imprisoned ", declared Mr. Puigdemont announcing his return Wednesday in Berlin.
Four months after his arrest in Germany, while returning to Belgium, coming by car from Finland, the 55-year-old Catalan independence leader returns to the heart of Europe, reinforced by the decision of Spain to withdraw his mandate from European stop.
The Beatles-haired, brown-haired Catalan now plans to lead the independence struggle from Waterloo, in the Brussels suburbs. the defeat of Napoleon in 1815 against a European coalition
M. Puigdemont lodges there in an opulent villa, called "House of the Republic", which will be the base from which it will try to set up a "Council of the Republic", unofficial organ of the separatist cause in exile, aiming at the
The aim of Mr Puigdemont, who recognizes that "no" EU Member State supports him, is to "continue (…) to develop activities related to what the people of Catalonia approved on 1 October ", in reference to the referendum of self-determination banned by justice and marked by police violence.
The former president of Catalonia will hold a press conference with his successor Quim Torra, a radical independentist who still considers him the "legitimate president" of Catalonia, at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) in the European district.
Then he will go to Waterloo for a welcoming ceremony from 16H00 (14H00 GMT) ) after meeting in the morning of members of the Catalan government and former ministers in exile
Increased influence
The return of Mr. Puigdemont to Belgium, where he arrived shortly after the takeover of the Catalonia by the Spanish central government following the failure of a declaration of independence on October 27, ends an odyssey that briefly led him to prison in Germany.
The German authorities had arrested on 25 March under a European arrest warrant issued by Spain. In July, the German justice had finally refused to extradite him for rebellion (punishable by 25 years in prison), retaining only the much less serious charge of embezzlement for using public funds to organize a referendum illegal self-determination.
The investigating judge in Spain, where nine Catalan leaders are in custody for rebellion, then decided on 19 July to withdraw the European arrest warrant against him and five other independent figures installed in Belgium, Switzerland and Scotland. On the other hand, the judge maintained the arrest warrant for Spain.
Withdrawal from the European arrest warrant allows Carles Puigdemont, who since the first months of his exile has the support of the Flemish nationalist party N-VA , to continue his fight abroad.
His new room for maneuver also allows him to "increase his influence" on the entire independence movement, according to badyst Jordi Amat.
Last weekend, Puigdemont succeeded in overthrowing the leadership of his conservative independence party (PDeCAT), which had been more open to dialogue with Madrid. He also keeps many faithful in the separatist majority in the Catalan Parliament
"Puigdemont will try to boycott the dialogue" with the government of the Socialist Pedro Sanchez, said Mr. Amat, because "the logic of the worst" is in his interest.
In September, he should attend, from Belgium, since he can not return to Spain because of the national arrest warrant issued against him – especially for rebellion – on the first anniversary of the independence attempt of the Catalonia that shook Spain.
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