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Protester with the flag of Catalan independence supporters
Photo:
Emilio Morenatti / AP
Revenge and revenge, says Pedro Sánchez, are not constitutional principles.
The Spanish Prime Minister wants to pardon the Catalan separatist leaders who had been sentenced by the judiciary to prison terms of between nine and 13 years.
In 2017 they held an illegal independence referendum, declared the region's independence - and plunged Spain into a state crisis.
"There is one moment for punishment and another for harmony," says Sánchez.
Now the time has come for reconciliation.
The prisoners, including high-ranking politicians, have been in custody for three and a half years.
Catalans had repeatedly requested their release at demos, and there were occasional protests even during the pandemic.
The convicted Catalans show no remorse
Domestically, their release is highly risky for Pedro Sánchez: the convicts show no remorse.
The judges of the Supreme Court, the majority of the population, the opposition and even parts of their own party reject it.
Opposition leader Pablo Casado branded them as "treason against the people".
Casado believes that Sánchez only softened because his minority government in parliament relies on the votes of the Catalans.
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Liberals, conservatives and fascists all agree: Pedro Sánchez is a traitor
Photo:
Nacho Doce / REUTERS
By releasing the prisoners, Sánchez is putting his political fate at risk.
His government is not stable anyway; in the polls, the Conservatives have just overtaken him.
The release of the separatists has the potential to shape the rest of the legislative period - also because liberals, conservatives and right-wing extremists want to demonstrate together against them.
A pardon would refute the separatist propaganda
For the country, however, especially for the divided Catalan society, the pardon should be good news.
Sánchez wants to use them to pacify the dispute over Catalonia - by letting him fall asleep further.
The harsh punishments of the judiciary help the separatist movement mobilize;
pardoning the separatist leaders, however, would belittle the very heart of separatist propaganda.
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Direction dispute in Catalonia: Split separatists by Steffen Lüdke, Barcelona
The separatists have been claiming for years that Madrid brutally suppress the Catalans, much like an authoritarian regime.
In her story they are the victims; their prison sentences have turned their leaders into martyrs.
Now Sanchez wants to transform them back into what they actually are: politicians who do not have a majority for their radical vision of the future of Catalonia.
Even pro-independence advocates warn against pardons
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Independence advocates demonstrate for the release of the detainees
Photo:
Bernat Armangue / AP
The time for the pardons is good.
The detainees will soon be released.
In Barcelona, one of the more moderate separatists, the left-wing Republican Pere Aragonès, has taken power;
He, too, is in favor of another independence referendum - but is at least interested in a dialogue with Madrid.
Remarkably, even some separatists warn against pardons from their leaders.
They fear that it will be more difficult to mobilize their supporters in the future.
The pardons could "politically disarm" the independence movement, said the chairman of the large separatist organization ANC.
Pedro Sánchez couldn't describe his plan better.