La Caixa de Solidaritat launches an appeal for donations to cover the Court of Auditors' bails

The entity claims the justice system to return the 4 million it paid in duplicate to this court and to court number 13 for the 1-O referendum

3 min
The vice-president of Òmnium, Marcel Mauri, the president of the Caixa de Solidaritat, Pep Cruanyes, and the president of the ANC, Elisenda Paluzie, during Tuesday's event

The civil society validates the Government's proposal to create a fund to respond to the bonds of the Court of Auditors, but does not want to stay with its arms crossed in case the court ends up knocking it down. For this reason, Pep Cruanyes, president of the Caixa de Solidaritat, has launched an appeal to the citizenship to make donations for the bonds imposed by the external action of the Generalitat. He also announced that today they have asked court number 13 to return the 4 million they paid in duplicate to this court and to the Court of Auditors for 1-O. "We ask the citizenship for an economic effort to respond to this new onslaught and at the same time we will do the impossible to recover the four million that we consigned to the two judicial bodies"; said the maximum representative of the Caixa in a press conference at the Ateneu Barcelonès. Cruanyes has denounced "the delirious action" of the Court of Auditors for the external action and has remembered the particular vote of one of its members against the cause.

"The action of the Government gives a respite, but we must continue to fill the Caixa in case this fund is not accepted", said Cruanyes, who revealed that right now they have 400,000 euros, although they hope that the figure will increase because in recent days they have noticed an increase in contributions. "Let's hope that the Government's initiative works or, at the very least, that the four million doubled will be returned to us", said Cruanyes, who pointed out that in addition to the thirty or so people accused of the external action, there are a hundred activists who have asked for help from la Caixa.

Elisenda Paluzie, ANC president, has Elisenda Paluzie, president of the ANC, has praised the fund proposed by the government. Her organization had asked the Generalitat to assume the cost of the bonds. "We are very satisfied with this measure because we demanded firmness to the Government" she said. "We don't know if this measure will be able to go ahead and we foresee attacks from the State. For this reason it is essential to nourish the Caixa, because it helps all those who have been repressed", she added to endorse the need for donations to continue.

Marcel Mauri, vice-president of Òmnium, has emphasised that this cause demonstrates that the pardons do not stop the repression. "We knew that the repression would not stop and we are seeing it with the nonsense of the Court of Auditors. We call on citizens to continue making contributions so that the Caixa is filled up", he said. He also validated the Government's proposal to create a fund to cover the bail of the defendants: "We cannot leave public servants who have helped to promote Catalonia in the world helpless, and they must be protected". "Their only crime is to be pro-independence", he reiterated.

Albert Royo, who was secretary general of Diplocat between 2012 and 2017 and who is part of the thirty indicted - his is the highest bail requested -, has denounced that the Court of Auditors considers that "three quarters of the task of Diplocat was unconstitutional" when, he has said, this institution "does the same as other communities or countries". "They want to scare public servants so that they cannot explain Catalonia to the world", he charged. As for the Government's proposal, he considered that "it has sought a response from the country that gives us a little time" but warned that they do not know if the Court of Auditors will accept this measure, and that on the 21st they can seize all their assets.

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