MADRID (AP) – Ousted Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has criticized the passivity of European politicians in showing solidarity with the deposed and jailed government of Catalonia.
In an interview Tuesday in Brussels with Catalan public radio, the separatist leader says there is an “absolute disconnect between the interests of the people and the European elites” and that Catalonia’s problem is an “issue of human rights that requires maximum attention.”
Puigdemont is fighting extradition to Spain, where other members of the ousted Cabinet have been sent to jail while awaiting the results of a probe for allegedly weaving a strategy to secede from Spain.
FILE – This is a Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 file photo of Catalan President Carles Puigdemont chants the Catalan anthem after a vote on independence in the Catalan parliament in Barcelona, Spain. The flight of Catalonia’s former leader Carles Puigdemont to Belgium is creating divisions within the Belgian government and risks damaging ties with EU partner Spain. As Carles Puigdemont was questioned by an investigating judge Sunday, Nov. 5, 2017 government ministers, Belgian politicians and Spanish officials were trading barbs on mainstream and social media. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez/File)
The Spanish central authorities are now in direct control of the northeastern region, where early polls on Dec. 21 are shaping into an electoral battle between separatists and unionists.
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