By Alyssa McMurtry
MADRID
After the Catalan High Court summoned Catalan President Artur Mas, to face charges against him related to a symbolic referendum last November, the debate in Spain has heated up regarding the blurring of lines between the legal and political systems.
“It was the reaction of a government with injured pride, a rabid, clumsy one incapable of having dialogue,” Mas said on Catalan radio Wednesday.
The charges were laid last November, but Mas and two of his aids were summoned on Tuesday, only two days after Mas' separatist party won in regional elections.
Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, was quick to deny the allegations made by Mas, saying his government had nothing to do with the indictment.
“The only thing we do, as in any other trial, is comply and respect, and we should all be doing this,” said Rajoy during a media scrum.
The symbolic election was held November 9, 2014 and on Tuesday the court summoned Mas to appear to face charges of disobedience, misappropriation of funds, breach of public duty and usurpation of powers. If found guilty, Mas could be barred from public office for years.
Mas denies that his symbolic referendum was unconstitutional. He said that although the Constitutional Court made a resolution against the referendum, the way he conducted it -- as a participatory process -- did not contradict the ban by the court.
“Legally, I didn't disobey. Politically, it was a democratic rebellion against the Spanish state. I just brought out the ballot boxes,” insisted Mas.
Some analysts have said that these charges are justified and Artur Mas must comply with a fair investigation with him. They reiterate that he is still innocent until proven guilty.
Others suggest that these charges are overblown and have the power to rally the Catalan public even more towards the separatist cause.
“There is no distance between politics and the law and it's embarrassing,” Elsa Bernat, sociologist and supporter of independence based in Barcelona, told Anadolu Agency. “Not respecting the separation of powers is of an antidemocratic and totalitarian state.”
Controversially, the court date has been set for October 15. Mas' government recently declared this date to be a national day of memory for “civil war victims and Francoist repression”.
It marks the day in which the former president of Catalonia, Lluis Companys was executed by a firing squad under the dictatorship of Spanish dictator, Francisco Franco.
“I don't have the calling to be a martyr or a hero, I just try to be a modest server to this country,” Mas told the radio station.
Critics also pointed out that the judge who set Mas' court date and announced it two days after the elections, Joan Manel Abril, was appointed with the support of Mas' political party.
In a press release Wednesday, the Catalan Attorney's office denied that any political pressure influenced their decisions on the trial.
Criticism was also directed at the Spanish Justice Minister, Rafael Catala Polo, who said yesterday that he believed Mas wasn't summoned until Tuesday so as not to interfere with the elections process.
Alfredo Perez Rubalcaba, former leader of the socialist party, who ran against Rajoy in the last elections, called the charges against Mas ridiculous.
“The judge did what he had to do but there is politicization and use of justice on the part of the [ruling] Popular Party,” he said on Spanish radio.
“The charges are politically motivated. The Spanish government has actively promoted the prosecution,” Jordi Munoz Mendoza, a political science professor at Barcelona University told Anadolu Agency.
Meanwhile, the Spanish government is currently fast-tracking a bill through parliament that would allow the Constitutional Court to suspend elected officials while their actions were being reviewed as anti-constitutional.
The government has denied that this is specifically directed towards Mas, and say it could be applied to any politician.
Catalan independence is currently witnessing historical levels of support and is becoming increasingly worrisome for the Spanish government.
On Sunday, separatist parties, with Mas as a leader, gained the absolute majority of seats in a regional election. The election was also billed by separatists as a referendum on the question of independence, as Spain has denied their requests to hold a legal plebiscite.
They did hold the symbolic referendum in November, for which Mas is facing charges, but the vote was not seen as democratically valid due to low participation and the unauthorized organization of it.
On Sunday, the separatists fell short of gaining 50 per cent of the popular vote, but consider that they do have a mandate from the people to work towards eventual independence.
