Each and everyone is responsible
Government signs a declaration of commitment and responsibility to referendum in face of threats from State
One by one, starting with the Cabinet Secretary and followed by the ministers, the vice President and the President down to the last departmental head of the Generalitat, “each and everyone” of the executive signed on yesterday to the “commitment of the government of Catalonia for the referendum.” A political declaration in which each affirmed “responsibility” for the organisation, convening and holding of the referendum to “respond” to the democratic mandate received in the elections of 27-S.
The executive also demonstrated its unity against internal tensions and disagreements, publicly proclaimed their determination to take the country to the polls and expressed solidarity in the face of possible actions of the State Prosecutor, the Constitutional Court and the Spanish government. The Moncloa chose to minimise the importance of the gesture of the 185 senior government signatories to the declaration. The spokesman of the Spanish government, Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, insisted that the referendum is illegal and emphasised that the document contains nothing new.
Carlos Puigdemont and Oriol Junqueras entered the Pati dels Tarongers together accompanied by the complete executive and in the presence of two symbols: the flag and the statue of St. George slaying the dragon. Puigdemont stressed that the government reaffirmed its position faced with “threats and attempts to limit” self-government. Junqueras, who will be ultimately responsible for organising the referendum, spoke of the obligation to fulfill “a perfectly legitimate and legal, democratic mandate.” The text of the document affirms that Catalonia has never renounced its desire for self-determination and cites parliamentary declarations dating back as far as 1989.