Berlin protesters demand release of Catalan ex-leader Carles Puigdemont

"The motto today was 'Free Puigdemont,'"

Berlin protesters demand release of Catalan ex-leader Carles Puigdemont

An event organizer had critical words for both Germany and Spain when it came to the imprisonment of Catalonia's ex-president. Meanwhile, politicians from Germany's The Left party paid Puigdemont an Easter prison visit.

Hundreds of Catalan independence supporters braved near-freezing temperatures and gray drizzle on Sunday to march through the streets of Berlin and demand that Germany release the imprisoned ex-president of Catalonia, Carles Puigdemont, rather than extradite him to Spain.

The protesters, many waving the yellow, red and blue flag of the Catalan separatist movement, also criticized the Spanish government's handling of the crisis, which recently drew the German judicial system into the fray.

The Berlin demonstration was organized by the German branch of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC-DE), a civil organization advocating for an independent Catalonia. It came six months to the day after a contested independence referendum in Catalonia that the Spanish government had declared unconstitutional and sought to prevent, in part through police force.

A demonstrator holds up a sign demanding freedom for Catalan politicians in jail (picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schreiber)

Demonstrators also called for the release of other Catalan politicians that are being preventively detained in Spain

An appeal to Germany

"The motto today was 'Free Puigdemont,'" Ferran Cornella, the ANC-DE's secretary, told DW in a phone interview.

It was emblazoned across banners and signs carried by the protesters as they demanded that Puigdemont, a key politician behind the region's independence drive, be freed from a German prison in Schleswig-Holstein. German authorities detained the politician on the basis of a European arrest warrant for rebellion and embezzlement, after he drove into the country one week ago.

After Puigdemont's arrest, pro-independence Catalans also took to the streets of Barcelona to demand his release.

"We want Germany to free our president. He was in multiple European countries and could always move freely," Cornella said. "We find it scandalous that he now steps onto German soil and is arrested."

In the coming week, the German justice system in Schleswig-Holstein is expected to decide whether to proceed with Puigdemont's extradition. The decision hinges on whether the German legal system recognizes the crime of rebellion as defined under Spanish law.

The German federal government has said it will not interfere in the state court's decision, to avoid any politicization of the affair.

Demonstrators in front of the Reichtag building hold a large banner (picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schreiber)

Signs demanded 'Freedom for the Catalan political prisoners' in German. The Catalan text says, 'Long live the republic!'

Cornella had critical words for the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel: "The German government has always said up until now that the Catalan conflict is an internal conflict. And now they arrest our president. Where is this neutrality now?"

The marchers in Berlin used banners to call on the German government not to support the Spanish government's "political justice." Independence supporters use the term to describe the Madrid government's attempt to quell their movement through the courts instead of seeking a political resolution.

"This is a political conflict and it requires a political solution, not repression and imprisonment," Cornella said, adding that this is something the ANC-DE wanted from both the German and Spanish governments.

On Sunday, the Catalan independence supporters reserved their sharpest criticism for Spain. "Spain is not a democracy," some protesters' signs read.

Cornella seconded their sentiment. Spain "is a very autocratic state," he said, more along the lines of Turkey than the EU. "You can only wish for democracy there, right now." At the same time, he said it was good that those Catalans supporting continued union with Spain had demonstrated in the past as well. "That belongs to a democracy," he said, while reiterating that the problem was the criminalization of the independence drive. 

Protesters hold signs saying 'Spain is not a democracy' and declaring support for Catalan independence (picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Schreiber)

Protesters held signs saying 'Spain is not a democracy' and declaring support for Catalan independence

The activist estimated that some 500 people joined in the march, "perhaps even a few more," while German police put the number at around 200. Some participants came from as far away as Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Hamburg, the secretary said, though the majority of the marchers came from Berlin and the surrounding regions.

Two representatives in the Catalan regional parliament, Quim Torra and Aurora Madaula, both of whom are members of Puigdemont's political party, Together for Catalonia, also came to Germany to take part in the march.

Catalan politicians were not the only representatives demonstrating their support for Puigdemont and the Catalan independence movement on Sunday. Politicians from Germany's The Left party also expressed their solidarity with the marchers and the imprisoned ex-regional president.

Andrej Hunko, the European policy spokesperson for The Left, joined marchers as they made their way from the Brandenburg Gate to the Justice Ministry in Berlin. Hunko had previously called Puigdemont's arrest a "shame" and said that: "The criminal prosecution is obviously politically motivated."

Also on Sunday, two other Left politicians, Diether Dehm and Zaklin Nastic, visited Puigdemont in the prison in Neumünster, where the Catalan politician is being held. They had offered Puigdemont advice, Nastic wrote in her blog, and found the ex-regional president was in good spirits.

Nastic, a demonstrator from Spain and Dehm (L to R) stand with the 'estelada,' the flag of Catalan independence, in front of the prison where Puigdemont is being held (picture-alliance/dpa/M. Christians)

Nastic also referenced German-Catalan relations under the Nazi regime in her post. She pointed out that Lluis Companys, the president of a short-lived Catalan state during the Spanish Civil War, had been arrested by the Gestapo while in exile in Occupied France and then extradited by German officials to Spain, where he was executed by the regime of dictator Francisco Franco.

"In light of this event, the German government should not place itself so squarely on the side of the autocratic regime of [Spanish Prime Minister] Rajoy," she wrote.

'A new era' continues

As for Puigdemont, the imprisoned independence leader invoked the October 1 referendum in a tweet and vowed to continue the fight for Catalonia's independence from Spain: "That day of popular dignity and police barbarism was the beginning of a new era from which there is no turning back."

ANC-DE activist Cordella echoed Puigdemont's sentiments after the Berlin march had drawn to a close. The arrests of much of the Catalan independence movement's leadership have not weakened the drive to break away from Spain at all, he said.

"The Spanish government has obviously not understood that this independence process is not being steered by the Catalan parliament. Instead it's the opposite: it comes from the streets," he said. "Our independence process will exist and go on as long as there is pressure from the streets."

China hits U.S. goods with tariffs as 'sparks' of trade war fly

BUSINESS NEWS APRIL 2, 2018 
China hits U.S. goods with tariffs as 'sparks' of trade war fly
Ben Blanchard, Tony Munroe

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has increased tariffs by up to 25 percent on 128 U.S. products, from frozen pork and wine to certain fruits and nuts, escalating a dispute between the world’s biggest economies in response to U.S. duties on imports of aluminum and steel.

The tariffs, which take effect on Monday, were announced late on Sunday by China’s finance ministry and matched a list of possible tariffs on up to $3 billion in U.S. goods published by China on March 23.

Soon after the announcement, an editorial in the widely read Global Times newspaper warned that if the United States had thought China would not retaliate or would only take symbolic countermeasures, it could “say goodbye to that delusion”.

“Even though China and the U.S. have not publicly said they are in a trade war, the sparks of such a war have already started to fly,” the newspaper said.

The Ministry of Commerce said it was suspending its obligations to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to reduce tariffs on 120 U.S. goods, including fruit and ethanol. The tariffs on those products will be raised by an extra 15 percent.

“China’s suspension of its tariff concessions is a legitimate action adopted under WTO rules to safeguard China’s interests,” the finance ministry said.

China is moving swiftly with retaliatory action amid escalating trade tension with the United States, which has rocked global financial markets in the past week as investors fear a full-blown trade dispute between the two economic superpowers will damage world growth.

In response to China’s move, Washington said Beijing’s subsidies and overcapacity were behind the action on steel.

“Instead of targeting fairly traded U.S. exports, China needs to stop its unfair trading practices which are harming U.S national security and distorting global markets,” White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said in a statement.

MORE TARIFFS COMING FROM WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump is separately preparing to impose tariffs of more than $50 billion on Chinese goods following an investigation under Section 301 of the 1974 U.S. Trade Act.

The U.S. administration says China has systematically misappropriated American intellectual property - allegations China denies.

About the Section 301 investigation, China had “yet to unsheathe its sword,” the official Xinhua news agency said.

Sometime this week, the Trump administration is expected to unveil a list of Chinese goods that could be subjected to new U.S. tariffs.

U.S. technology industry officials said they expected the list to target products that benefit from Beijing’s “Made in China 2025” program, which aims to upgrade the domestic manufacturing base with more advanced products.

China has repeatedly promised to open its economy further, but many foreign companies complain of unfair treatment. China warned the United States on Thursday not to open a Pandora’s Box and spark a flurry of protectionist practices across the globe.

“There are some people in the West who think that China looks tough for the sake of a domestic audience, and would easily make concessions,” the Global Times said.

The Global Times is run by the ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily, although its stance does not necessarily reflect government policy.

Reaction to China’s measures varied on social media, with some saying Chinese customers would be the ones to ultimately pay for a trade war.

“Why not directly target soybean and planes? The tariffs that China announced today don’t sound a lot to me,” said a user on the Weibo microblog platform.

Aircraft and soybeans were China’s biggest U.S. imports by value last year.

In a statement published on Monday morning, the commerce ministry said the United States had “seriously violated” the principles of nondiscrimination enshrined in World Trade Organization rules, and had also damaged China’s interests.

“China’s suspension of some of its obligations to the United States is its legitimate right as a member of the World Trade Organization,” it said, adding that differences should be resolved through negotiation.

Weibo prominently featured the list of U.S. goods that China is targeting among the day’s “hot” trending topics.

“I will never buy fruit from the U.S.,” a Weibo user wrote.

Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Tony Munroe; additional reporting by David Stanway in Shanghai and Stella Qiu and Lusha Zhang in Beijing; additional Writing by Ryan Woo; editing by Eric Meijer, Shri Navaratnam and Jonathan Oatis

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

மெரினாவில் வெடித்தது இளைஞர்கள் போராட்டம் | Marina Protest

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Julian Assange silenced: Ecuador cutting off communications

Julian Assange silenced: Ecuador cutting off WikiLeaks founder's communications

The government of Ecuador has confirmed that it has cut off internet access in its embassy in London to Julian Assange.

By Associated Press  March 28, 2018 18:09 BST    

Julian Assange gestures as he speaks to the media from the balcony of the Embassy Of Ecuador on May 19, 2017 in London, England Jack Taylor/Getty Images

Ecuador's government is cutting off WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's communications outside the nation's London embassy.

Officials announced Wednesday they were taking the measure in response to Assange's recent activity on social media.

As part of an agreement between Assange and the Ecuadorean government, he is not permitted to send any messages that could interfere with the South American nation's relations with other countries.

Assange has been living in Ecuador's embassy for more than five years.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Ecuador said that the step had been taken because Assange had failed to abide by an agreement not to interfere in the South American country's relations with other states.

"The government of Ecuador warns that Assange's behaviour, through his messages on social networks, put at risk the country's good relations with the United Kingdom, the other states of the European Union, and other nations," the statement said.

Ecuador gave Assange asylum after he sought refuge in the embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden for investigation of sex-related claims. Sweden dropped the case, but Assange remains subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail.

Assange, who has been holed up in the embassy in Knightsbridge, London, since 2012.

WikiLeaks disclosed tens of thousands of emails during the 2016 US presidential election that the US government believes were provided by Russian intelligence-linked hackers.

Assange denied his source was a "state actor" but declined to elaborate further.

Source:IBT

வெள்ளை வானில் கூடும் வீடு!

கூட்டமைப்பு ஆட்சியமைக்க ஈபிடிபி, ஐதேக நிபந்தனையற்ற ஆதரவு

யாழ். மாநகர சபையில் தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ஆட்சியமைப்பதற்கு, ஈபிடிபியும், ஐதேகவும் நிபந்தனையற்ற ஆதரவை வழங்குவதாக அறிவித்துள்ளன.

வடக்கு கிழக்கில் பெரும்பாலான உள்ளூராட்சி சபைகளில் எந்தக் கட்சியும் பெரும்பான்மை பலத்தைப் பெறவில்லை. இதனால் தொங்கு நிலையில் உள்ள உள்ளூராட்சி சபைகளில் பிறகட்சிகளின் ஆதரவுடனேயே நிர்வாகத்தை நடத்த வேண்டிய நிலை ஏற்பட்டுள்ளது.

இதனால், தமிழ்க் கட்சிகள் ஒன்றிணைந்து, உள்ளூராட்சி நிர்வாகத்தை பலப்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்ற கருத்து, சிவில் சமூகத்தினால் வலியுறுத்தப்பட்டது.

இந்தச் சூழலில், 45 உறுப்பினர்களைக் கொண்ட யாழ்ப்பாண மாநகர சபையில், அதிகபட்சமாக 16 ஆசனங்களை வென்ற தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்புக்கு, வெளியில் இருந்து- நிபந்தனையற்ற ஆதரவை வழங்க 10 ஆசனங்களைக் கொண்ட ஈபிடிபியும், 3 ஆசனங்களைக் கைப்பற்றிய ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சியும் முன்வந்துள்ளன.

பெரும்பான்மை பலம் இல்லாத உள்ளூராட்சி சபைகளில், அதிக ஆசனங்களைப் பெற்ற கட்சி, ஆட்சியமைப்பதற்கு ஈபிடிபி ஆதரவு அளிக்கும் என்றும், மக்கள் நலத் திட்டங்களை முன்னெடுப்பதற்காக ஆறு மாதங்களுக்கு அளிக்கப்படும் இந்த நிபந்தனையற்ற ஆதரவு, நிர்வாகத்திறனைப் பொறுத்து நீடிக்கப்படும் என்றும் அறிவித்துள்ளது.

அதேவேளை, மத்தியில் கூட்டு அரசாங்கத்துக்கு  தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ஆதரவு அளிப்பதால், யாழ். மாநகர சபையில் தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்புக்கு ஐதேக ஆதரவு அளிக்கும் என்று அந்தக் கட்சியின் யாழ். மாவட்ட அமைப்பாளரான விஜயகலா மகேஸ்வரன் தெரிவித்துள்ளார்.

PROTEST HIT BARCELONA AFTER CATALAN LEADER ARRESTED

https://youtu.be/w1XzuoniTFw

BLOODY PROTEST HIT BARCELONA AFTER EX-CATALAN LEADER ARRESTED
By Jare Tiamiyu - March 25, 2018

Thousands of Catalan separatists hit the streets of Barcelona on Sunday, vowing the arrest of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont in Germany would not stop their push for independence.

Some threw garbage cans at Catalan police in riot gear, who responded by beating demonstrators with their batons or firing warning shots in the air.

“This Europe is shameful!,” they chanted as they marched by the office of the European Commission in the Catalan capital.

Despite the efforts of Puigdemont, who fled to Brussels after the Catalan parliament declared independence on October 27 and Madrid countered by taking control of the region, no European Union member state backed the secessionist cause.

Outside of the German consulate demonstrators held up a photo of German Chancellor Angela Merkel sporting a Hitler-style moustache.

Many chanted “no more smiles”, a reference to the longstanding claim from Catalan separatist leaders that their drive to break the wealthy northeastern region away from Spain would be a “revolution of smiles”.

But other separatist leaders like Elsa Artadi, a lawmaker in the Catalan parliament for Puigdemont’s Together for Catalonia party, appealed for calm.

The protest was called by the radical Committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDR), which were set up just before Catalonia held a referendum on independence on October 1 that was banned by the courts.

– ‘More radical’ –

“They are not going to stop anything with these arrests, on the contrary,” said Yolanda Salleras, a 37-year-old physiotherapist.

“They want to bury us but each time they hit us, four new separatists arise. They want to decapitate us but we are two million,” she added.

Salleras said the time had come for separatists to do more than just hit the streets in protest.

“We need something more radical. I would paralyse the country, a general strike lasting several days until they free everyone,” she said.

According to Catalan public radio, CDR members blocked several roads in Catalonia, causing traffic jams, just as they did during two strikes in the region last year called to protest police violence during the independence referendum.

Aside from Puigdemont, who was arrested in Germany on a European warrant issued by Spain, nine other Catalan separatist leaders are in jail over their role in the region’s independence push.

Five other Catalan separatist leaders went into exile along with Puigdemont, who will now have to appear before a German judge who will decide if he is sent back to Spain to face trial.

“I hope they will not extradite him but I am not very optimistic,” said Rosa Vela, a 60-year-old teacher.

– ‘Other Puigdemonts’ –

Sirens wailed in the background throughout the protest which was held under an overcast sky.

Judit Carapena, a 22-year-old architecture student, said Spain’s central government should not “sing victory because it is not the end of separatism, far from it.”

“It’s the people who fuel separatism and they can’t put us all in jail. There will be other Puigdemonts,” she added.

Polls show Catalans are almost evenly divided on the issue of independence but the vast majority back holding a legal referendum to settle the question.

“We are going to continue to resist and fight to be free,” said Julio Vallmitjana, a bearded 64-year-old pensioner who wore his white hair in a pony tail and stood a bit apart from the crowd.

“Before I was in favour of confrontation but I realised that is not the best path. We have nothing more to do than to do things peacefully. The problem is that the good guys never win but we will be the first to do it.”

AFP.

Carles Puigdemont Is Arrested in Germany, Drawing E.U. Giant Into Catalan Fight

Carles Puigdemont Is Arrested in Germany, Drawing E.U. Giant Into Catalan Fight
By RAPHAEL MINDERMARCH 25, 2018

MADRID — Carles Puigdemont, the former leader of Catalonia wanted in Spain on rebellion charges, was detained on Sunday in Germany on an international arrest warrant, in a move that drags Berlin into Spain’s festering territorial dispute.

Mr. Puigdemont was arrested by a German highway police patrol soon after crossing the border with Denmark. He was traveling by car to Belgium from Finland, and had planned to present himself to the Belgian authorities, according to Mr. Puigdemont’s lawyer, Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas.

The arrest came two days after Spain, trying to strike a decisive blow against the secession movement, reactivated a European arrest warrant against Mr. Puigdemont and five other separatist leaders.

Catalonia has been in political turmoil since its leaders formally declared independence in October and the central government ousted them, assuming direct control of the wealthy autonomous region. Madrid also moved to prosecute Mr. Puigdemont and his allies for rebellion and sedition, prompting some to flee to several other European countries.

Now, with Spain renewing its efforts to have the former Catalan officials arrested and returned home for prosecution, Europe may be about to become more embroiled in the conflict.

Whether Spain’s newly aggressive posture would weaken the independence movement or strengthen it was not immediately clear.

In Catalonia, the effect of Mr. Puigdemont’s arrest was immediate. Protesters took to the streets of Barcelona and clashed with the authorities. Riot police officers in Barcelona shoved and struck protesters with batons to keep an angry crowd from advancing on the office of the Spanish government’s representative. Police vans showed stains of yellow paint reportedly thrown by protesters.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain did not respond immediately to Mr. Puigdemont’s arrest, but Albert Rivera, leader of the anti-secession party Ciudadanos, welcomed it.

Mr. Rivera accused Mr. Puigdemont of trying to “destroy a European democracy” and said that “for this, you can’t enjoy impunity,” he argued.

Roger Torrent, the pro-independence speaker of the Catalan Parliament, went on Twitter on Sunday to urge fellow Catalans to form “a common front” to defend individual and collective rights.

Mr. Puigdemont was arrested Sunday morning on the A7 autobahn. He was transferred to a jail in Neumünster, in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, according to the German news agency D.P.A. He was to appear before a German judge on Monday.

The government of Catalonia has been in a deadlock since December, when a snap election called by Prime Minister Rajoy resulted in separatist parties retaining a narrow parliamentary majority. Last week, however, separatist lawmakers could not agree on the latest candidate to replace Mr. Puigdemont as regional leader, Jordi Turull.

Catalonia voted on independence despite opposition from Spain's government. What are the origins of the secessionist movement, and what has happened since the vote?

Unable to win at the ballot box, Spain’s central government seems to be turning its attention to the courts. In addition to reissuing the arrest warrants for the fugitive separatists, it also jailed without bail five still in Spain. One of them was Mr. Turull.

Mr. Puigdemont, the embodiment of Catalonia’s aspirations for independence, announced in early March that he was giving up his efforts to be reappointed as the region’s president. But he continued his efforts to promote the Catalan separatist cause internationally, traveling to Switzerland and Finland to attend conferences there.

When he arrived in Brussels, Mr. Puigdemont said he could not get a fair trial in Spain. He also said he had selected Brussels, home to the main European Union institutions, because he wanted to put Catalonia in the “institutional heart of Europe.”

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Mr. Puigdemont received some support from Flemish nationalists and other separatist politicians across Europe, but his call for the European Union to mediate in Catalonia fell on deaf ears. No European government leader agreed to meet him.

But in a column on Sunday in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, Thomas Urban said Mr. Puigdemont had managed to “internationalize” the Catalan conflict, and that this “cannot be in the interest of Madrid.” He argued that Madrid’s hard line risked reuniting the pro-independence movement, only days after the bickering separatists could not agree on a new leader.

On Saturday, Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation said it had received the warrant for Mr. Puigdemont’s detention issued by Spain, but the police said they had no knowledge of his whereabouts. According to Spanish media reports, Mr. Puigdemont’s car was trailed by the Spanish secret service as it left Finland, who alerted their German counterparts about his arrival.

With Mr. Puigdemont’s arrest in Germany, the spotlight now turns to judges in European countries who will review Spanish arrest warrants, including in Belgium, Scotland and Switzerland. The countries the separatists chose for refuge is important, because European nations have different criminal codes. Some may not recognize the charges brought by Spanish state prosecutors against the Catalan politicians, particularly rebellion.

The arrest in Germany could pose a challenge for Angela Merkel, who started her fourth term as chancellor this month at the helm of a coalition government after months of tense negotiations.

“Legally, the arrest of Mr. Puigdemont is not objectionable, but politically it creates great problems,” a member of Parliament from the Free Democrats, Alexander Graf Lambsdorff, told The Augsburger Allgemeinen Zeitung, a regional paper, on Sunday.

In Scotland, the police said that the lawyer for one fugitive there, the former Catalan education minister, Clara Ponsati, had been in touch with them, and that they were preparing for her to turn herself in.

In December, Pablo Llarena, the Spanish Supreme Court judge who is leading the case against the Catalan separatist leadership, withdrew his initial European arrest warrant against Mr. Puigdemont and others who fled to Belgium, amid concerns that the Belgian judiciary might seek to limit the crimes for which the separatists could be charged if they were returned to Spain.

Altogether, the Spanish Supreme Court is seeking to try 25 Catalan separatist leaders for violating Spain’s Constitution during their unsuccessful secession attempt.

State prosecutors in Spain have moved to sentence the separatist leaders to decades in prison for organizing the independence referendum in October that they say violated Spanish law. The separatists followed the referendum with their declaration of a new Catalan republic.

Mr. Puigdemont is among 13 defendants who are accused of rebellion, the most serious charge, as well as other offenses that include the misuse of public funds to host the referendum.

Christopher F. Schuetze contributed reporting from Berlin.NYT