Operation Catalonia: impotence and shamelessness
The appearance this Monday of former PP deputy leader and former Defense Minister María Dolores de Cospedal and former Catalan PP president Alicia Sánchez-Camacho before the commission of inquiry into Operation Catalunya leaves a taste of helplessness due to the shamelessness shown by the two PP politicians in the face of the evidence against them. One can greatly distrust José Manuel Villarejo's motivations, but it is difficult to doubt the veracity of his recordings. And they expose both.
Shortly before the appearances, the audio recordings uncovered by RAC1 showed Cospedal and Villarejo discussing their maneuvers to undermine certain figures of the independence movement and, specifically, the leading role she has played in the entire Sánchez-Camacho operation, which was already known to also include businessmen and civil society figures whom she considered supporters of independence. In addition, there is the main evidence of her involvement in the operation, which is the recording of the famous lunch in La Camarga, where she spoke with Jordi Pujol Ferrussola's ex-partner, Victoria Álvarez, with the aim of obtaining information that could harm the former president's family.
Given this arsenal of evidence, seeing both of them, and especially Camacho, denying the facts and presenting themselves as victims, is especially revolting. It should be noted that Operation Catalunya not only interfered in Catalan politics, for example in the 2012 elections, but has also seriously affected the lives of people like former Barça president Sandro Rosell, who spent two years in pretrial detention before being acquitted, or businessman Carles Sumarroca, who is still awaiting trial. This was not a "fiction," as Cospedal has said.
It has been proven that the PP government deployed police units to combat political adversaries using the tactic of spreading information, often false, that could compromise them. And in the case of Catalonia, no judicial responsibility has been derived from this because no judge has dared to gather the evidence and build a case. And this has been attempted on numerous occasions. However, the judicial route should not be abandoned because perhaps one day Cospedal, Camacho, Villarejo, former minister Jorge Fernández Díaz, and even former Spanish president Mariano Rajoy will be held accountable before a court.
Listening to Alicia Sánchez-Camacho, it's clear that they all believe that the sacrosanct unity of Spain fully justifies flouting all laws and attacking the rights of people they considered disaffected. Not a shred of remorse has been seen; on the contrary. Therefore, it is clear that if given the opportunity, they will not hesitate to use state resources again to combat political enemies, in the purest style of the autocratic regimes we all know.
