The President of the Catalan National Assembly, Elisenda Paluzie, has traveled to Sardinia invited by the Assemblea Natzionale Sarda (ANS), to participate in a conference on the right to self-determination in Catalonia and Sardinia, and to hold meetings with representatives of civil society organizations and Sardinian pro-independence political parties.
A delegation of the Catalan National Assembly, led by its president Elisenda Paluzie, visited Sardinia last weekend, invited by the pro-independence organization of civil society Assemblea Natzionale Sarda, following the collaboration initiated during the arrest and the subsequent release in Sassari of the Catalan president in exile and MEP Carles Puigdemont last September.
The members of the Assembly arrived in Cagliari on Friday afternoon, where they were received by a delegation from the Sardinian organization and its president, Valeria Serrelli. That evening, Elisenda Paluzie took part in the event “Catalonia & Sardinia. Freedom and self-determination: the Catalan way”, organized by the ANS, in the framework of which she highlighted the importance of civil society, and especially of the Catalan National Assembly, as a fundamental factor in the Catalan independence process, started more than a decade.
Ms. Paluzie also highlighted the October 2017 Catalan independence referendum and the role people played in defending polling stations and ballot boxes with their bodies. She also stressed that, given the current situation of the movement, to move forward, it is necessary to carry out “a new demonstration of sovereignty, taking advantage of opportunities that may come up, and rebuild the strength given by strategic unity.”
As part of the event, the presidents of both organizations signed an agreement of mutual support and solidarity between the Assembly and the ANS, to intensify their relationship and their bonds of support and cooperation. Several Sardinian and Italian media outlets covered the event, including the Sardinian branch of the Italian television channel Rai 3, which produced a mini-documentary on the conference and the Catalan question.
The next day, the Catalan delegation participated in a working session with representatives of the ANS, to share experiences, and learn more about the work, organizational aspects, and internal democratic processes of the Assembly. In the afternoon, she met with different Sardinian independence parties and associations, such as Sardigna Natzione Indipendentzia, Progres, or Sardigna Libera, to discuss the political situation in Sardinia and Catalonia, and the main challenges of the respective independence movement, as well as related on the repressive actions of the Spanish state against the Catalan people, and establishing mechanisms of cooperation and solidarity.
The president and vice president of the Corona de Legu also attended the meeting. This association, which brings together elected representatives of the municipalities of Sardinia, is inspired by the Association of Independent Municipalities of Catalonia.
The visit to Sardinia is part of the ongoing work of the Catalan National Assembly to raise awareness of the struggle for the independence of Catalonia and gain support abroad. In this sense, Ms. Paluzie will also travel to Occitania and Scotland this month to continue this work and strengthen relations with civil society and the pro-independence political parties in both territories.
The ANS was created two years ago inspired by the Catalan National Assembly, adapting its organization and basic structure, and its founding values, such as democracy, pluralism, non-violence, and the defense of the right to self-determination to achieve independence.