Despite Being A Buron, The Former Leader Of Catalunya Independence Escaped 7 Years Back To Spain

Illustration of the crowd in Catalonia or Catalunya which is still part of Spain. (Pixabay-Michal Parzuchowski)

JAKARTA - The former leader of Catalunya, Carles Puigdemont, who fled after the Catalunya movement released from Spain failed in 2017 and is now returning home.

He returned to Spain today as a fugitive from the police. Without any burden, Puigdemont shouted "Long live the free Catalonia!" in his speech in front of a crowd waving the flag of Catalunya independence in red, yellow, and blue.

"I came here to remind you that we are still here," Puigdemont said during a speech to thousands of people near the Catalunya parliament in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, August 8, quoted from AFP.

After his brief address, Puigdemont appeared to be heading to the Catalunya parliament located not far from there.

However, his whereabouts are currently unknown.

Puigdemont's return comes days after the Socialist Party whose cadre is the Prime Minister (PM) of Spain Pedro Sanchez struck an agreement with Catalunya's left-handed republic party, ERC.

This agreement is related to the nomination of the candidate for the Socialist Party, Salvador Illa, as head of the Catalunya regional government for the next period.

The ERC in the contest in Catalunya is in tight competition with the JxCAT Party led by Puigdemont

In the Catalunya regional government head election in May 2024, the Socialist Party won the most seats but still failed to get a threshold vote. For this reason, ERC support is considered very important.

If Catalunya has not yet determined a new regional government on August 26, the re-election will be held again in October 2024.