THE President of Catalonia has said he is ready to go to prison for the cause of independence, as he visited Scotland and said nationalists must always keep pushing and never give up.

Pere Aragonès said he was prepared for “all consequences” in the long fight to break away from Spain, and accepted that included ending up behind bars.

“I hope not, but there is a possibility. We know the risk.”

The comments underlined the dramatically higher stakes in the Catalan conflict compared to the debate over independence here.

On his first international trip since becoming the leader of the semi-autonomous region of 7.5million people in May, Mr Aragonès spoke to the Herald about his political goals.

He had a half-hour meeting with Nicola Sturgeon at the COP26 summit last week, when the pair discussed their mutual desire for independence as well as the environment.

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A former lawyer, economist and graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Mr Aragonès has been a member of the Catalan parliament since 2016.

In a system used to new parties spawning and collapsing with dizzying frequency, he has been with the Republican Left of Catalonia (Esquerra Republicana) throughout.

His party is now the largest and most moderate of three in a pro-independence alliance formed after Catalan elections in February saw separatists win 52 per cent of the vote.

His comment about going to prison isn’t far-fetched. 

Some of the coalition talks took place in jail with former leaders prosecuted for their part in staging Catalonia’s wildcat referendum of October 1, 2017.  

Backed by Spain’s then PM Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish police used violent raids to disrupt voting in the region, leaving more than 800 injured.

Although Spain’s new PM, Pedro Sanchez, recently pardoned the jailed Catalans, Mr Aragonès wants an amnesty for around 3000 others who still face prosecution for organising the vote in defiance of Madrid, some of them forced into exile.

It’s one of his two big demands in negotiations with Mr Sanchez about resolving the political conflict in Catalonia. The other is a legally-agreed referendum.

Mr Sanchez, who faces accusations of being too soft on Catalan nationalism, has ruled out both a complete amnesty and a referendum, but Mr Aragonès isn't downhearted.

He has the precedent of the Scottish referendum of 2014 to point to. He also has patience.

“Sanchez said in the election campaign that the people in jail will fulfil all the penalty - and now they are free because he approved a pardon,” he said. 

“In politics things can change. 

"The Spanish Government has accepted there is a political conflict about the relationship between Catalonia in Spain. 

“So they have to make a proposal. We are waiting for it. 

“This problem cannot be neglected. For nine years there have been majorities for independence in the Catalan parliament. 

"Now we have in Catalonia the biggest majority - in popular vote and the number of MPs that support independence - in our history.

“For Madrid it’s impossible to say there isn’t anything going on. No, no, you have to address the situation, and have a proposal.”

In a message with obvious resonance in Scotland, he added: “A negotiation about sovereignty is always complex and complicated and needs time.

“For as important an issue as sovereignty, you have to be patient.

“But you have always, always to push. Never give up, never stop pushing, because finally you represent the democratic will of your people.”

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Ms Sturgeon has said she wants to re-run the agreed process of 2014, and that if Boris Johnson keeping blocking Indyref2 she will put a Referendum Bill though Holyrood without Westminster consent, with the aim of a vote by the end of 2023.

Mr Aragonès wants an agreed process akin to that of 2014, but unlike Ms Sturgeon, he won’t put a date on a referendum, seeing it as potentially counterproductive.

“One of the lessons of the last years is that talking about a date and a special year... and special deadline, more important than deadlines are the conditions that you to create to make a step [forward]. So I think that’s the lesson we’ve learned in Catalonia.” 

Nor does he want another unilateral referendum like 2017 in Catalonia.

“The Spanish state can be unilateral because they have the power to do so. Now, we don’t have the conditions to win unilaterally independence.

“So we are engaged in this negotiation process. It will have more consensus in Catalonia, higher consensus about referendum, about independence, if we have good relationships with the international community.”

A compromise with Madrid on more powers for Catalonia is also unappealing to him.

“Independence must be an option, always,” he said.

“Because now independence has the support of 52% of the people who voted in the last Catalan elections and we have 74 seats out of 135 in the Catalan Parliament.

“The political mandate we have is to fight for an independence referendum and a solution that includes a referendum and not greater autonomy.

“Because 16 years ago we approved greater autonomy to the Catalan Parliament and that was unilaterally changed by the Constitutional Court of Spain after a referendum.

“So we walked this path in the past. I’ll only be satisfied if Catalan people can decide in a referendum and they can vote on independence.”

And if the Spanish government just keeps saying no to that?

“We’ll have to continue fighting in democratic and pacific terms as we did in the past.”

Do you think you might go to prison? “I hope not, but there is a possibility.”

Would you be willing to do it for the cause of independence?

“I will always defend independence, with all the consequences. Because our proposal comes from deep, a deep will of the Catalan people. We don’t want independence because we get up some day and decide, OK, let’s be an independent state. 

“It’s because of our history, the interests of our people, because we want to build a better future for our children.

“And the best way to build this future is to have all the most important decisions in your country and to have the interests of Catalonia represented globally by the Catalan government, not by the Spanish Government.

“So we only want to be a normal nation in the world, as the other nations are. 

“No better or worse, but as a nation, a free nation.”

With all consequences? 

“With all consequences, yes. For example, there are four ministers of the Catalan Government that are under investigation because of their political commitment.

“Some of them because they participated in the referendum of October 1st.

“Myself, I’ve been investigated by the Spanish Guardia Civil because of my job as economy secretary during the referendum. My job was to pay salaries in the Catalan Government. 

“And I was investigated because of that. So we know the risk.”

For all their similarities, it’s hard to imagine Nicola Sturgeon ever saying that.