Independence is a matter of hours now, not weeks

The proclamation of Catalan independence is more a matter of hours than weeks, now. After last night’s tense public address by the king of Spain, who legitimised the measures that the Spanish government will undoubtedly adopt soon, there is no room left for any kind of dialogue. It is over. The way that King Felipe spoke clearly anticipated drastic measures by the Spanish government that will mean the breakdown of Catalonia’s home rule. In this situation, the Catalan Parliament can only react in one way: by immediately proclaiming the independence of the Principality of Catalonia. Any attempt to invoke article 155 [of the Spanish Constitution] or even a hypothetical deployment of Spanish troops in Catalonia can only be met with that response. Among other reasons, because —once independence has been proclaimed— the president of the republic will be able to instruct the Mossos d’Esquadra [Catalonia’s police force] to immediately defend the civilian population from further acts of aggression.

In every independence process there is a trigger that quickly brings about the end of it all. Anyone who has read me these years will likely remember that I have written many times about a pivotal moment, a turning point, beyond which events unfold in a flash. We are definitely there, now. Last Sunday’s vicious crackdown by Spain will go down in the history of Europe’s independence processes as an event akin to the January 1991 attack on the Lithuanian parliament and the Vilnius TV tower, or perhaps the so-called Ten-Day War in Slovenia, to name two well-known examples. Spain’s own rendition of those events —which led to the independence of both countries— will be equally futile. Violence hurts and inflicts a great deal of pain, but it also dispels fear and solidifies the determination of the people for good.

All day yesterday, the Principality of Catalonia showed its determination to be free with an enormous presence of mind and dignity, a determination that the Parliament must now put into practice when it deems appropriate, but without delay. It must do so out of respect for the efforts by the Catalan people throughout the referendum campaign, during the coup d’état on September 20, over the referendum weekend and yesterday. But the Parliament must also proclaim independence simply because there is nothing left behind for us to save. Within hours, Catalonia’s home rule will have vanished and its demise will point to the only path available to us: freedom, republic and democracy.