Carles Puigdemont, the deposed President of Catalonia, attended a gathering on Grote Markt in Leuven on Tuesday evening. Around 100 Catalans were also there to mark the 100 days of exile in Belgium of the separatist leader, and four of his former ministers.
The demonstration was a joint initiative of the Brussels wing of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Omnium.
Between 7.30 p.m. and 8 p.m., around 100 Catalans gathered in Leuven, filmed by a dozen or so Spanish journalists. Participants were waving banners calling for the respect of human rights.
Apart from Carles Puigdemont, Toni Comin, the former Catalan Minister for Health, was also seen there.
The two organising bodies for the event say that the Catalan leaders, who are currently detained in Spain, are “political prisoners whose only act of wrongdoing was defending the people’s right to vote.” They request that Carles Puigdemont and his former ministers should be able to return to their country, without fear of being imprisoned.
In a brief speech, the deposed President stressed that the Catalans simply wished to determine their future for themselves, and in a peaceful manner.
The Brussels Times
