Barcelona-based Assemblea Nacional Catalana (ANC) president Josep Vila says the 10th anniversary of the 1-O referendum in 2027 should mark the start of a new push for Catalan independence.
In an interview with Europa Press, Vila said the group has not yet set out the exact format for the anniversary, but it should not pass as “a normal and ordinary year”. He called it “a very singular milestone” and said the ANC wants it to become “a turning point”.
The 1-O referendum took place on 1 October 2017. It remains a key moment in recent Catalan politics, after the vote was declared illegal by the Spanish government and the Catalan Parliament later made a unilateral declaration of independence. Vila said the ANC wants to use the 10-year mark to “play the 1-O card strongly”, while also giving the community around the Diada de Catalunya, on 11 September, its own space.
He also addressed the possible return of former Generalitat president Carles Puigdemont to Catalonia. Vila said the ANC would get involved if the return was “unlinked from a party act”, but not if it was tied to Junts as a party. He said the organisation wants to keep its “transversality” across the independence movement.
Vila added that the ANC plans to use major events in Catalonia, including the Pope’s visit in June and the Tour de France passing through the region, to make its case internationally. “We will try to make our voice heard,” he said, adding that the group wants to explain that Catalonia is “a stateless nation”. For background on the movement, see our Politics coverage.
Originally published by Europa Press Barcelona. Read the original report. For the ANC’s own position, see the Assemblea Nacional Catalana website.
