Artur Mas, President of the Catalan Government, granted the first television interview to Spanish TV after the massive rally held on September 11. In the interview, Mas spoke of the recent pro-independence process in Catalonia, about matters of language, and the relationship with Spain, among other things.
Here are some excerpts from his interview.
1. “[When we talk about independence] we are not talking about divorce. We are talking about emancipation.”
2. “We won't dispense with the Spanish language because it is also part of Catalonia's heritage. As Catalan language should be of Spain. We should be fostering our mutual heritages—and I think Spanish is our heritage. On the other hand, Catalan is not appreciated in Spain.”
3. “Rajoy and the King were not talking about me [during the October 12th military march]. Otherwise, they wouldn't be smiling.”
4. “If we have our own state, we won't have an army. That makes no sense. We need to have one single army for the whole of Europe.”
5. “I have to follow the legal framework, which says we are not able to hold such a referendum. We'll ask the Spanish Government for a change in the legislation. Probably they will say no. Then we will ask for a law on referendums, which will be completely within the legal framework.”
6. If we set a date for the referendum now, we'll be tying our hands. We will do it when it's the best time for it. We have to do a lot of things before, like building the widest possible social majority.”
7. “If we have our own state, of course the official flag will be the Catalan flag.”
8. “When confronted with the popular demand by so many individuals, I think they see us as people who won't turn against them, who are willing to get the tiger by the tail, who take risks.”
9. “It's easy to please a Catalan. All you need is to respect them, and for many years, we only found precisely a lack of respect.”
10. “I wouldn't have called for elections if Rajoy had granted us the fiscal pact.”
Souce: Ara
Here are some excerpts from his interview.
1. “[When we talk about independence] we are not talking about divorce. We are talking about emancipation.”
2. “We won't dispense with the Spanish language because it is also part of Catalonia's heritage. As Catalan language should be of Spain. We should be fostering our mutual heritages—and I think Spanish is our heritage. On the other hand, Catalan is not appreciated in Spain.”
3. “Rajoy and the King were not talking about me [during the October 12th military march]. Otherwise, they wouldn't be smiling.”
4. “If we have our own state, we won't have an army. That makes no sense. We need to have one single army for the whole of Europe.”
5. “I have to follow the legal framework, which says we are not able to hold such a referendum. We'll ask the Spanish Government for a change in the legislation. Probably they will say no. Then we will ask for a law on referendums, which will be completely within the legal framework.”
6. If we set a date for the referendum now, we'll be tying our hands. We will do it when it's the best time for it. We have to do a lot of things before, like building the widest possible social majority.”
7. “If we have our own state, of course the official flag will be the Catalan flag.”
8. “When confronted with the popular demand by so many individuals, I think they see us as people who won't turn against them, who are willing to get the tiger by the tail, who take risks.”
9. “It's easy to please a Catalan. All you need is to respect them, and for many years, we only found precisely a lack of respect.”
10. “I wouldn't have called for elections if Rajoy had granted us the fiscal pact.”
Souce: Ara
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