The president of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès, has warned that revelations about allegedly widespread surveillance of senior figures in the region’s independence movement mean “a red line has been crossed” which could see him withdraw parliamentary support for the Spanish government. However, he said he is determined to continue ongoing negotiations with Madrid on the territorial issue if trust can be restored.
“Catalan society has suffered so much repression [in the past] that it could hardly feel more surprised or outraged,” Aragonès told The Irish Times of the alleged espionage during a visit to Madrid. “But in this case I think there is a clear feeling within Catalan society that a red line has been crossed and that this damage must be repaired.”
The technology research centre The Citizen Lab, linked to the University of Toronto, found that the phones of at least 65 individuals, almost all of who are associated with the Catalan independence movement, had been targeted for hacking. In almost every reported case Pegasus spyware, developed by Israeli firm NSO, was used. The findings were published by the New Yorker.
Aragonès (39) was among those whose phone was believed to have been hacked, when he was still vice-president of Catalonia, allowing activity on his device to be monitored.
Targeted
Among others who were targeted, according to The Citizen Lab, were former Catalan presidents Artur Mas and Quim Torra, president of the Catalan parliament Roger Torrent, MEPs, national legislators and rank-and-file civic leaders. In some cases, family members of political and civic leaders were also targeted. Almost all the cases were registered between 2017, the year a Catalan bid for independence failed, and 2020.
The Citizen Lab found that “entities within the Spanish government” were likely to be responsible and Aragonès has directly blamed the CNI Spanish intelligence service. “You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to point to the CNI,” he told one radio interviewer.
“This wasn’t one agent or police officer acting on their own – they need an infrastructure behind them which can only be provided by an intelligence agency,” he told The Irish Times, pointing out that Pegasus has reportedly only been acquired by governments or states.
“There are several areas of the state powers in which there was never a process of reform, a process of transformation when the country made the transition to democracy [from a dictatorship, four decades ago],” he added. “Some of those powers are linked to the judiciary, but we can also say that the same applies to the intelligence services.”
Espionage
The government of Pedro Sánchez, who became prime minister in 2018, has denied any involvement in or knowledge of the espionage. “The government and the CNI always act according to the law,” said defence minister Margarita Robles, who refused to confirm or deny media reports that the intelligence service had acquired Pegasus.
However, Aragonès said that the Spanish government must take responsibility for the affair. He has demanded that Sánchez open both parliamentary and governmental investigations, as well as ensuring that the individuals responsible are held to account.
“At the moment we’re seeing a woolly, evasive response,” he said, adding that “right now the ball is in the court of the Spanish government, which must take decisions”.
On Sunday, after this interview took place, the Spanish government promised to take measures, including opening a probe into the CNI’s activities. However, the Catalan government said this was insufficient.
If there is not a satisfactory response in the coming days, Aragonès said, his Catalan Republican Left party (ERC) will withdraw its parliamentary support for Sánchez’s leftist coalition, a move which could bring down the Spanish government.
One of the main reasons for ERC providing that parliamentary backing was the commitment by the Spanish government to a series of negotiations aimed at finding a solution to the long-standing territorial conflict. Aragonès hopes the talks will eventually lead to agreement with Madrid on a binding referendum on secession. However, the pandemic has repeatedly stalled the talks. Also, ERC’s partner in the Catalan coalition government, Together for Catalonia (JxCat), has warned the negotiations are fruitless, pointing to the Spanish government’s insistence that it would never agree to a referendum.
"There are people inside the independence movement who already felt before that a negotiation process made no sense," said Aragonès. "Right now they might be right when it comes to querying the willingness of the other side – in this case the Spanish government – when it comes to moving ahead with the process of negotiation. But my conviction is firm: I believe that this negotiation is the way to resolve the political conflict between Catalonia and Spain. "
Necessary measures
Aragonès said he still believes the talks can bear fruit, as long as the Spanish government can take the necessary measures to restore trust in the wake of the spying scandal.
“Precisely because [negotiations] are the only route we have right now, we must protect them and guarantee that anything which affects this process of negotiation, like this mass espionage, should be resolved through transparency and the holding to account of those responsible,” he said.
