Crida Nacional first meeting becomes a huge success

The Catalonia's President in Exile, Carles Puigdemont, the leader of the Parliament group MP Together for Catalonia, Jordi Sànchez, jailed, and the President of Catalonia inside launched yesterday the firsts meeting of a new political movement. 

The former chairman of the Catalan National Assembly and jailed activist, Jordi Sànchez, by letter and Carles Puigdemont, via video, intervened at Saturday's rally to mark the foundation of The National Call for the Republic held in the center town of Manresa. In this city in 1892 was presented the first claim for self-government of Catalan People (Manresa's Basis) after the Castillian-Spanish military conquest in 1714.

Puigdemont spoke to the crowd from Belgium where he has lived since fleeing Spain one year ago after a democrativ referendum and a Parliament's declaration of independence by Catalonia's regional parliament.

Puigdemont and other organizers are calling the new group a movement instead of a political party. The organization's bylaws will allow members to also belong to political parties. And unity was the word that resonated most around the pavilion, while on stage, speakers presented the principles of the new movement: transversality and a commitment to peaceful civic disobedience. More than 6,000 people overcrowded the pavilion and were accomodated in annexed tents. This movement already has 51,000 signed-up members and 9,500 'founders'. The Crida, Call, is formed by people from all the Catalan groups; there were members of Together for Catalonia (JxCat), Democratic Party of Catalonia (PDeCAT), former Spanish Socialist Party and present day members of the Catalan Republican Left (ERC), independents, as well as the son and daughters of imprisoned pro-independence leaders Jordi Sànchez (Oriol) and Jordi Turull (Laia) and Quim Forn (Anna). 

A member of the Catalan government Elsa Artadi, along with the representative of the Catalan government in Madrid, Ferran Mascarell, read the foundational principles of the Crida. They stated that the platform comes into being in a situation of exceptionality and that it will dissolve itself once the objective - making the Catalan Republic into a reality - is achieved. Artadi and Mascarell explained that the Crida is a peaceful movement but that they do not renounce any peaceful means of achieving independence, even though dialogue and negotiation will be prioritized.

"Our disobedience will be peaceful, persistent and programmed", assured Mascarell, while Artadi appealed for a continuation of the mobilizations: "We have to follow paths of peaceful disobedience and civic protest".

The Crida will hold its foundational congress on January 19th, 2019, and its organs of direction will be structured as a national assembly - to be made up of the founders - a representative council and the body's administration.