"Let's be serious, does anyone really believe that the independence process is comparable to the terrorism that Spain suffered for decades? What we all understand by terrorism, what Spain suffered during decades of terrorism, that is outside the amnesty." The phrase, pronounced yesterday by the Minister of Justice, Félix Bolaños, has become the framework on which the law to exonerate those accused of the process will be debated next week.
After several weeks in which votes have taken place for its consideration, first, and for the introduction of amendments, then, it will be next Tuesday the 30th - already in the Congress of Deputies as the works on its chamber are being completed without delays -, when it is sent to the plenary session.
The passage through the Justice commission has led to changes in the text to, among other things, protect those accused of terrorism if they were not pursuing "serious human rights violations." It should be remembered that the judge of the National Court Manuel García-Castellón attributes terrorism crimes to the leader of Junts, Carles Puigdemont, and the general secretary of ERC, Marta Rovira, in the Tsunami Democràtic case.
Consequently, the current framework leaves the Government denying that the alleged terrorism of the process is comparable to that of ETA, and the opposition, especially the PP, accusing Pedro Sánchez's Executive of being "complicit with the terrorists."
The changes that have fueled the discussion, even within the PSOE through the mouth of the president of Castilla-La Mancha, Emiliano García-Page, are due to the fact that Junts keeps alive not only its unapproved amendments, but also those it agreed with ERC and PNV and that did not move forward in the Congressional Justice Commission.
These are the amendments that, precisely, will be voted on again in the Plenary Session of Congress on the 30th, where, predictably, the majority that certified the investiture of Pedro Sánchez guarantees its approval. All of this after a usually non-working month of January that, for the occasion, the Government has enabled parliamentary speaking to try to speed up as much as possible the processing of a law that, when it reaches the Senate, will suffer a significant slowdown.
The PP has taken advantage of its absolute majority in the Upper House to modify the regulations. So the text of the amnesty will not be processed through the urgent procedure - two weeks - but through the ordinary one, which will extend it for two months.
The Popular Party will also take advantage of their majority to overthrow the Amnesty law in the Senate, which would automatically be sent to Congress. But those vetoes, in turn, could be lifted in the Lower House if the plenary session so decides by an absolute majority and within the following two months.
However, it is expected that the future law could be definitively approved in April or May and, at that time, pass into the hands of the judges.
