03/27/2018

Spain: Sharp criticism of Germany’s handling of the Catalonia crisis

Ignoring, sitting out, and turning a blind eye can’t replace a strategy of conflict resolution (Press Release)

Protest in Catalonia after the detention. Photo: Jordi Ventura via Flickr

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) accuses the German government of making serious mistakes in dealing with the Catalonia crisis. “Since the escalation of the conflict in October 2017, the federal government is ignoring the growing tensions in Catalonia – turning a blind eye and trying to sit it all out – by uncritically supporting the Spanish government. However, this is not what de-escalation and responsible conflict management are about, as Ulrich Delius, the STP’s director, explained in Göttingen on Tuesday. “Germany has offered to help with conflict resolution in many regions of the world, but the federal government isn’t paying attention to the issues on its own doorstep.” Steffen Seibert, spokesman of the German government, emphasized that Puigdemont’s arrest is not to be seen as a problem with regard to the German-Spanish relations. “However, many Spaniards or Catalans will see the occurrences as an affront – no matter how the judges in Schleswig-Holstein will decide.”

The Federal Government has emphasized for months that it has confidence in the way Spain is handling the crisis. “However, the government in Berlin can’t offer a reasonable and credible explanation for its irrational leap of faith,” Delius criticized. “All demands for mediation in the conflict were tuned down. It has been obvious for months that the parties to the conflict in Catalonia will not agree on a solution without help from outside. The conflict has arrived in Central Europe – and now it’s up to judges in Schleswig-Holstein to settle the matter. This is not what responsible political action is about.”

“In addition, the German government should send a few clear words to its friendly conservative government in Spain,” the human rights activist stated. “In the past six months, Madrid has not made a single credible attempt to resolve the political conflict with political means – making it more and more difficult to resolve the dispute.”

“The new details about the circumstances of the arrest of the Catalan politician suggest that the Spanish security services were involved. Thus, it is implausible that Spain now wants to leave the issue to the judiciary,” Delius criticized. “This must be a wake-up call for the government in Berlin and for the European Union not to put blind trust in the Spanish government any longer, but to initiate international mediation.”

Header Photo: Jordi Ventura/Assemblea.cat via Flickr