Former Catalan president said he should have declared independence from Spain earlier

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Catalonia's deposed leader Carles Puigdemont during an interview on the sideline of the International film festival and forum of the human rights (FIFDH) on March 18, 2018 in Geneva. Puigdemont said in an interview that he should have declared independence earlier, as delaying the call in hopes of starting dialogue with Madrid proved futile. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:07am, 19 Mar 2018Updated: 1:07am, 19 Mar 2018

Catalonia’s deposed leader Carles Puigdemont said in an interview published on Sunday that he should have declared independence earlier, as delaying the call hoping to start a dialogue with Madrid proved futile.

Puigdemont moved to Belgium after the Catalan parliament unilaterally declared independence on October 27 following a banned referendum on the Spanish region’s secession.

He is in Geneva this weekend to attend a human rights film festival.

An effigy depicting former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont is seen as thousands of people take part in the demonstration called by Societat Civil Catalana (SCC) under the motto 'Now more than ever, common sense' to denounce the political blockage in Catalonia, in Barcelona, Spain, on March 18, 2018. Photo: EPA-EFE

Asked by the Tribune de Genève newspaper if he would have done anything differently in the tension-filled days that followed the October 1 referendum, Puigdemont said he would not have waited until the 27th to make the independence call.

“There is one thing I would have done differently. On October 10, we had planned to proclaim independence, but I decided to suspend the definitive move to leave a door open for dialogue with the Spanish government,” he said.