Foto: Brian Wertheim | Unsplash
Originally published in Spanish.“¿Causa general? Otra majadería”. Xavier Vidal-Folch. El País.
23th April 2018
The latest novelty coined by indy propagandists is that the state is prosecuting a general case [Causa General, in Spanish. The name of an infamous catch-all prosecution conducted in the early years of Franco’s dictatorship -TN] against secessionism, Catalanism, against Catalonia itself.
This is just nonsense… even if some neo-centralists might long for it.
It is nonsense because most secessionist citizens live under no judicial worry whatsoever. Neither Carod-Rovira, nor Elsa Artadi, nor Pere Aragonés, nor Joan Tardá, nor Neus Munté nor thousands upon thousands of citizens who support secession are subjects to any legal inquiry. Only those suspected of having committed crimes. There’s no general case, just individual ones.
Moreso, for such an open-ended and overtly broad prosecution to exist, there should be some sort of unified purpose and inquiry, and coordination between the different institutions of the state.
There’s no such thing, fortunately, notwithstanding the dismay of many with the dispersion of entities that strive for the same goals, but each of them works from the angle of their specific function, vision and responsibility.
Thus, Supreme Court Judge Llarena disagreed with the extreme cautionary measures ordered by Judge Lamela (of the National High Court) in her European arrest warrant against the fugitives. She didn’t find the actions of major [Catalan regional police chief -TN] Trapero involved violence (and indicted him for sedition), but her superior did glimpse it in the former regional cabinet members (and indicted them for rebellion).
Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro cannot find irregular payments by the Catalan regional government, which goes contrary to the view of the Civil Guard [a national police force -TN] and accusations of embezzlement formulated by the judge. Prosecutors requested a bunch of cautionary pre-trial detentions, which were rejected by the judges in some cases. And they accused leaders of the Republican Defense Committées of terrorism, which the judiciary promptly dismissed.
Even the Central Economic Administrative Court -affiliated to Treasury- has ruled that the holding that manages TV3 [Catalan regional public TV channel -TN] can deduct €59.7 million in VAT taxes, against the position of the Treasury Minister himself!
There is, hence, no catch-all prosecution by the state against Catalonia, but simply different approaches by those involved in defending the rule of law. Just as it should be.
This idiotic notion of a new “General Case” tries to revisit the one launched by Franco’s dictatorship in 1940 (a decree dated on April 26th) against “criminal actions committed all over the national territory during red rule”, after the jewish-freemasonry-red-secessionist conspiracy.
The operation had two goals: gathering information to launch prosecutions and propaganda. A universal prosecution of those involved in crimes “against people or property and against national Religion, Culture, Arts, and Heritage”. Under “a unified point of view”, a “constand assessment of facts”. And subject to a discipline hostile to separation of powers: directed by “the Attorney General… by the unity, discipline and severe dependence that inform its organization” All authorities “both civilian (judges) and military” would submit to the prosecutor, and him to the dictator’s government.
The general case against the reds lasted for three decades, until 1969. The clumsy attempt to conflate current legal proceedings with those described above seeks to associate today’s democracy with francoism and to support made up victimization. It lacks historical and political reason.
