By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

MADRID, Spain — In a televised New Year’s speech, Catalan President Carles Puigdemont promised that the region of Catalan will hold a “legal and binding” independence referendum vote by September 2017.  Puigdemont emphasized that “Catalans will freely decide” their own future.”  Catalonian government officials maintain that they will hold the referendum with or without consent from the Spanish central government, however they would prefer the vote to be consensual.

 

Puigdemont’s announcement was ratified via a resolution voted on by the majority-separatist regional parliament of Catalan.  The Spanish Constitutional Court, however, has since suspended the resolution pending a five-month time period in which it will decide whether to ban the vote for good.  Puigdemont assured listeners that the referendum would be made “in accordance with the mandate of [Spanish] laws,” however it remains unclear how this will be accomplished if court bans the referendum.

In his own press conference, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy ruled out the possibility of a Catalonian referendum.  Rajoy recently commented that “[i]t is not possible to hold a referendum that will do away with national sovereignty and the equality of Spaniards.”  Instead, Rajoy maintains his platform of keeping an open line of communication between Catalan and the rest of Spain – a measure which he believes is much more “reasonable” than the alternative referendum.

After both Puigdemont’s and Rajoy’s speeches, Catalan separatists participated in a peaceful rally on Friday in Palma to show their support for the independence referendum.  Protestors carried different versions of the Catalan flag, with mottos such as “The Catalan Countries” and “One village, one fight, one future” written on them.

The Spanish government has offered to compromise and negotiate a list of economic and social demands with Puigdemont, however it refuses to discuss the proposed referendum.  Catalan held a symbolic independence vote in 2014 after the Spanish government legally prevented a formal vote from occurring.  The symbolic vote went unrecognized by Spain.  Many senior ranking political officials participated in the symbolic vote, and have since faced sanctions for participating in separatist measures which were deemed illegal by Spain’s central government.

Despite this announcement by Puigdemont, a recent poll showed that support for Catalan’s secession from Spain has decreased over the past six months amongst Catalonians.  The number of Catalans who oppose secession stood at 46.8% in December, which is an increase from the 45.1% in November, and the 42.4% in June.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC — Catalonia Leader Vows 2017 Referendum on Spain Independence — 31 December 2016

DW — Catalan Chief Pledges ‘Binding’ Independence Referendum in 2017 — 31 December 2016

The Local ES — Catalan President Pledges Referendum in New Year Address — 31 December 2016

PressTV — 100s Rally in Support of Catalonia’s Secession from Spain — 31 December 2016

Reuters — Catalan Independence Referendum ‘Not Possible’ – Spanish PM — 30 December 2016

By Sarah Lafen

Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe

 

KIEV, Ukraine — Nadia Savchenko, former military aviator and current Ukrainian lawmaker, has launched a new opposition movement following a split with her former political party.  The new movement is called RUNA, which is an acronym for Ukrainian People’s Revolution.   Savchenko claims that RUNA will be a “mechanism” she describes as a “naturalist association of people” who stray from “populist slogans.”  She does not consider the new platform to be a “political project” just yet, however expects it to be formed into such when the time is right.

RUNA’s Facebook page display’s the movement’s logo, which is four red and black leaves.  It also sets forth the movement’s goals of active thinking and the revolution of Ukrainians to fulfill the aims of the EuroMaidan Revolution.  The announcement of the press conference officially launching RUNA was made online, and was entitled “Conception of systemic change in Ukraine as a unitary and decentralized republic.”

After being sentenced to 22 years in prison on charges of alleged complicity in the murder of two Russian journalists, Savchenko was pardoned by Vladimir Putin in May and was released in a swap for two Russians held in Kiev.  The release of the prisoners came after Savchenko had a private meeting with the heads of separatist regions in Ukraine.

Savchenko denied the charges against her, and took part in two hunger strikes as a result.  Upon her release from prison, Savchenko was hailed as a hero upon her return to Ukraine, however has since faced criticism from nationalists.

In October, Savchenko quit the Batkivschyna political party headed by former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and was formally expelled from it earlier this month.  Batkivschyna was critical of Savchenko’s meeting with Russian-backed separatist leaders from eastern Ukraine to discuss a prisoner swap.  This month she was also formally expelled from Ukraine’s delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as well as the Parliamentary Committee for National Defense and Security.

Mikheil Saakashvili, former president of ex-Soviet Georgia, has also recently created an opposition movement with intentions of overturning Poroshenko.

 

For more information, please see:

The Daily Star — Hero Pilot Savchenko Launches Ukraine Opposition Movement — 28 December 2016

The Guardian — Ukraine Insurgents Release Two Women Thanks to Savchenko — 27 December 2016

Kyiv Post — Savchenko to Launch New Political Project in Lviv — 27 December 2016

RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty — Ukraine’s Savchenko Unveils New Public Movement — 27 December 2016