MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st October, 2018) Catalonia's exiled leader Carles Puigdemont on Tuesday presented a parallel government, the Council for the Republic, which would push for the independence of the rich Spanish region.
The council was unveiled at the palace in Barcelona which houses the Catalan government. The ceremony was attended by the government's present head, Quim Torra, and members of his cabinet. Puigdemont appeared in a video conference.
"The Council for the Republic [was created] in accordance with the mandate of October 1 ... We have no option but to push for freedom," Torra said at the event.
The privately-funded council will be headquartered in the Belgian city of Waterloo where Puigdemont has been living since fleeing rebellion charges for his role in an independence referendum on October 1 last year, where a majority of those, who took part in the vote, backed the split from Spain. Madrid called the vote illegal.
