President Mas: "The decision to take steps against the Catalan Attorney General is an example of poor practices by a rather undemocratic State"

• The Catalan head of government denounces the decision of the Spanish Attorney General, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, to remove from office the Catalan Attorney General, Martín Rodríguez Sol, on account of declarations made by the latter, stating that he considered Catalonia’s aspirations to hold a referendum on its future as legitimate

•   According to Artur Mas, “we must respond” to these actions “with the necessary determination in order to defend ourselves as a country and to safeguard our future”.

The Catalan president qualified as “an example of bad practices by a State with a poor democratic mentality” the measures announced against the Catalan Attorney General, Martín Rodríguez Sol, on account of his statements regarding the right of Catalonia to self-determination.

Yesterday, the Spanish Attorney General, Eduardo Torres-Dulce, signed a decree to initiate the substitution procedure after Rodríguez Sol had explained, during an interview, that he considered Catalonia’s aspirations to hold a referendum on its future as legitimate because “the people should be given the opportunity to express its will”.

In view of the announced measures, the Catalan president stated that “we must respond” to this kind of actions “with the necessary determination in order to defend ourselves as a country and to safeguard our future”.

Artur Mas denounced the actions by the Spanish central government, qualifying them as an example of bad practices, during the presentation of the Awards for best practices by public administrations held at the Palau de la Generalitat, the Catalan presidential palace.

The head of government described Martín Rodríguez Sol as “a skilled professional of recognized experience and a good attitude”, and criticized his being criminalized for “using common sense and democratic convictions when admitting that any people should be able to vote on its future within legal limits”. In this respect, he wondered “how it is possible that a general threatens to send in the army and nothing happens, while on the other hand steps are taken against an attorney general for using common sense which may result in his removal from office”.