The ousted president of Catalonia is making his first public appearance in Belgium since he appeared in court Sunday on an arrest warrant from Spain.
Around 200 mayors from Catalonia gathered in a Brussels art museum on Tuesday to show their support for Carles Puigdemont. Spanish authorities removed him from office on Oct. 28 and are seeking to extradite him to face possible rebellion charges.
Puigdemont and other former members of the regional government are being investigated for their roles promoting Catalonia’s secession from Spain.
Catalan mayors who travelled to Brussels raise their staffs while taking part in an event in support of the ousted Catalan government. (Geeert Vanden Wijingaert/Associated Press)
The mayors raised walking sticks — the symbol of mayoral power in Spain — in the air and chanted “President, president, president” as they waited for Puigdemont to come through the door.
Angles town mayor Astrid Dessed said the local representatives were there “to say to the members of the Catalan government who are here that we are standing with them, we support them.”
She also thanked Belgium for not jailing Puigdemont — nine former Catalan government members have been imprisoned in Spain. He stands ready to campaign for snap a regional election called for Dec. 21.
Dessed added: “We ask Europe, please, listen to us, we feel European, and we are here at the heart of Europe to say this.”
While the mayors descended on Brussels, around 100 pro-Spanish supporters rallied nearby, some with signs saying “No to Catalan independence.”
People gathered to protest against the independence of Catalonia in front of the European Commission in Brussels on Tuesday. (Stephanie Lecocq/EPA-EFE)
