FORMER president of Catalonia Quim Torra has written a letter to Nicola Sturgeon congratulating Scotland on its move towards a second independence referendum.
Read the text of the letter in full below:
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Scotland and Catalonia, a future to share
Dear First Minister Sturgeon,
I am sending you this letter to express my utmost solidarity with the democratic endeavour you are proposing for Scotland. Holding a new independence referendum is good news for democrats in Europe and around the world. As you know, our country, Catalonia, held its referendum in October 2017 with consequences for all to see and a vindictive reaction from the Spanish state. And yet the people of Catalonia won their right to become an independent country with a clear example of dignity and resilience.
Scotland and Catalonia are sister nations, friends, and striving to be free in a Europe that is respectful of peoples and nations. You have expressed your determination to hold the independence referendum announced for next year with or without the permission of the British Government. That deserves full support and solidarity from democrats around the world. I wish to express my support to you and, by extension, that of many Catalans, who still see the claim for freedom as an essential necessity for solving the daily problems of our citizens.
I would like to remind you of the wonderful conversation we had in Edinburgh, and I myself often think of it, on my trip to Scotland, one that I will always remember. It was a pleasure to be able to share with you the concerns that we Catalans had after the political and judicial repression experienced as a result of the referendum in Catalonia. But also, and above all, we were able to share this determination to persist and to continue advancing in the recovery of full sovereignty, a determination that you now embody so well.
Commitment to independence is a commitment to democracy in Scotland and Catalonia, and therefore also in the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Spain. At this time, for our peoples, sovereignty is synonymous with democracy and justice and freedom. And for this reason, I want to offer you all the support you need from Catalonia on this journey towards the exercise of self-determination that you are determined to fulfil. Count on us for what you need.
We, a good part of the Catalan independence activists, would like to be able to have a horizon of freedom like the one you have set out in Scotland. We want to realise the democratic mandate of the referendum of October 1, 2017. That is why your example is a motivation and could also be a boost for us.
As we mentioned in our conversation, the best scenario will always be a process of self-determination agreed with London or Madrid. But it is also true that the refusal of a democratic demand such as that of the Scottish and Catalan people must not impede the determination to carry it out. Voting, ballot boxes, and democracy cannot be stopped by the interests and will of governments many miles away.
I sincerely hope that a new independent state will be born in the world next year. May it be a state that’s a friend to Catalans. May it be born in good health and with all the strength that sovereignty bestows. And I hope that we may soon join hands in international forums and organizations as free peoples who always want a better future for all.
Scotland and Catalonia, a future to share.
Endavant escocesos! Go Scotland!
Quim Torra i Pla
131st President of Catalonia
