Pardons are not the solution, but it would be a step in the right direction

BarcelonaWith his usual ambiguous tone, the President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, opened the door on Tuesday to granting a pardon to Catalan political prisoners. It is true that, when asked directly about the issue, he said that the executive would decide when it had all the mandatory reports on the table (still missing the State Attorney's Office and the Supreme Court), but he made a fiery defence of "reconciliation" and said that we had to "overcome disastrous episodes that shame the whole country". Cryptically, he added that this government "has not hidden its intentions from the beginning".

Well, in reality it must be said that the only one who has openly positioned himself in favor of pardons and the reform of the crime of sedition from the beginning has been Pablo Iglesias and not Sanchez, but it is true that for days now several ministers have been sending messages in this direction. The first was the Minister of Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who did not hesitate to criticise the report of the Public Prosecutor's Office against the granting of pardons because it contained political considerations. Next was the Minister of Transport and PSOE Secretary for Organisation, José Luis Ábalos, and last Monday the Vice President Carmen Calvo. And this Tuesday it was finally Sánchez himself who deliberately made a speech in favour of granting the pardons.

From the Catalan point of view, it is clear that the pardons are only a partial solution, since they do not resolve the situation of the exiles or the almost two thousand people who have a case pending or are being investigated in relation to the independence bid. In this sense, and as advocated by Òmnium Cultural, the optimal solution would be an amnesty law, since this would erase the records and prevent anyone else from being prosecuted for this reason. And Sanchez has to know that the political conflict can hardly be resolved while there are reprisals.

But even knowing that pardons are not the solution, they would be a step that would have to be valued appropriately. Taking into account the action of the Spanish judiciary, which does not respect the decisions of the prison administration or of the judges established in Catalonia on the concessions of prison permits, a pardon could be the quickest way to ensure that Oriol Junqueras, Raül Romeva, Jordi Cuixart, Jordi Sànchez, Carme Forcadell, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, Dolors Bassa and Joaquim Forn are finally released.

And we only have to look at the fuss the right is making to warn that, if the Spanish government dares grant the pardon, there will be agitation in the streets and strong pressure from the Madrid powers that be against the Sánchez-Iglesias tandem. The good part is that if the PSOE-Podemos coalition government resist this pressure, it will be in a better position to take more steps in the right direction, such as reform or, better still, suppression of the crime of sedition. And to prepare for the final step, which has to be amnesty.