The Minister of the Interior, Núria Parlon, apologized this Wednesday for the infiltration of two agents of the Mossos d'Esquadra in an educational assembly held last week and attributed what happened to a "human error". The head of the Department of the Interior made this statement in the Interior Commission of the Parliament.
Parlon defended that there was no political decision behind the operation, but at the same time acknowledged that the action was a "well-intentioned, but unfortunate and poorly planned maneuver". Political tension has focused there, because the minister admits the failure while several parliamentary groups are already demanding the dismissal of Josep Lluís Trapero.
Parlon will activate reserved information to decide whether to open a file
During her appearance, the councilor announced that she will initiate the reserved information procedure to analyze the case. Based on that analysis, the Interior Ministry will determine if the "necessary elements" exist to open a file.
Furthermore, Parlon assured that there will be more supervision from now on. In her speech, she also defended the "work and professionalism" of the Mossos d'Esquadra and asked not to break "the trust" between social movements, unions, and citizens.
"We need to strengthen the spaces of trust between social activism and the Mossos" - Núria Parlon, Minister of the Interior, Generalitat de Catalunya
The councilor insisted that the Government does not intervene in the operational decisions of the Catalan police. With that argument, she dismissed that the presence of the two agents at the educational assembly responded to a political instruction.
Trapero maintained that the General Information Commissioner's Office sought to gather information
Josep Lluís Trapero, director general of the Mossos d'Esquadra, explained that the action originated from the Comissaria General d'Informació and that its purpose was to gather information. He admitted the error, although he denied that there was "bad faith" or "an anti-democratic attitude".
Trapero maintained that this information gathering does not seek to "investigate, much less criminalize or spy," but rather to guarantee the exercise of rights and protect both the participants and the rest of the citizens in demonstrations. He also stated that the information gathering actions are not carried out in a generalized or indiscriminate manner.
The explanation did not convince a good part of the opposition. Junts per Catalunya, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, En Comú Podem and the CUP considered the apologies insufficient and demanded the dismissal of Trapero for his role in the case.
Junts per Catalunya focused on the "illegality" of the operation. Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya maintained that the assumption of responsibilities must go further, En Comú Podem expressed its confidence that the apologies will lead to a change, and the CUP branded the explanations offered in the commission as "ridiculous".
In the right-wing bloc, the PP defended that it is "normal" for the Mossos to collect information. Vox, on the other hand, accused the Government of "instrumentalizing" the police force.
USTEC-STEs and CGT study taking the infiltration to the courts
Outside Parliament, the response has also moved to the union arena. USTEC-STEs and CGT are considering going to court over the presence of agents at the educational assembly.
Both unions maintain that the infiltration constituted a violation of the rights of assembly, strike, and union freedom of teachers. The possible judicial route thus adds to the open political pressure following the appearance in the Parliament's Interior Commission.
The infiltration affected an educational assembly and Parlon located the origin of the case in the actions of two Mossos d'Esquadra agents last week.