Alex Salmond Hammers The EU's "Guilty Silence" Over Catalonia Violence
28 October 2017, 12:38 | Updated: 28 October 2017, 13:04
The EU and UK government will be forever condemned for their guilty silence over state violence conducted in Catalonia, Alex Salmond said.
Catalonia is now in the control of Spain's central government after the region's parliament declared independence.
Direct rule has seen Catalonia's government ministers sacked ahead of new local elections in December.
Alex Salmond slammed the EU's "guilty silence" as Spain perpetrates violence against its citizens.
The former First Minister said: "I don't think the Catalonian government should be in the dock, they're pursuing the will of the Catalonian people.
"I think the EU are in the dock on this.
"My regret is their unwillingness to condemn outright the violence that we saw from the Spanish state on the people of Catalonia who were merely trying to exercise their right to vote.
"That was the guilty silence of the EU, and that applies to the UK government as well.
"Boris Johnson wants to comment on just about everything as well, most of it not in his remit.
"He didn't say a word about the violence of the Spanish state police. Neither did Prime Minister Theresa May.
"I think it's because they're scared of Señor Rajoy.
"Because the UK is in such a weakened position in the Brexit negotiations, our government have lost the ability even to condemn outright state violence by a police force against a peaceful civilian population when all of us saw it on our screens.
"The guilty silence on this issue is not because people are for or against independence for Catalonia, or Catalonian self-determination.
"These are arguable cases, what is not an arguable case is to stand idly by and say nothing when violence is perpetrated against a civilian population.
"That is the guilty silence of the EU and the UK government.
"They shall be forever condemned, that they walked by on the other side of the road, when something in Western Europe happened that was totally unacceptable."
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