FREE CAT ALO NIA [EN] SPREAD THE WORD! The struggle for the independence of Catalonia in 4 languages

Transcription

1 FREE CAT ALO NIA [EN] SPREAD THE WORD! The struggle for the independence of Catalonia in 4 languages

2 FREECATALONIA The Catalan nation s struggle for freedom You may have heard of Catalan culture: the Romanesque art of Boí and Taüll; avant-garde artists Joan Miró, Joan Tàpies or Salvador Dalí; Architects Rafael Guastavino and Antoni Gaudí; musicians Enric Granados and Jordi Savall; authors Quim Monzó, Mercè Rodoreda or the novel Tirant lo Blanc. In sports, you will know Barça (Barcelona Football Club), the successful century-old club of the Catalan capital, and USAP, Perpignan (in Catalan, Perpinyà)

3 well-known rugby club. You may enjoy the festivities of Ibiza (in Catalan, Eivissa) the Fallas (in Catalan, Falles) of Valencia, the Costa Brava, and our cuisine - chefs and restaurants selected by the Michelin Guide as being among the best in the world. But maybe you did not know that all these places and their people are part of a great nation dating back a thousand years that yearns for freedom, and is striving for independence.

4 STORY The story of a people that refuses to disappear Catalonia is an ancient nation. It was born politically over a thousand years ago, in 988, on the emancipation in the so-called Marca Hispanica territories between the line of borders of the Muslim and Christian worlds, to the south, and the Frankish kingdom some way north of the Pyrenees. It expanded down the Iberian Peninsula and across the Mediterranean, from the kernel of the territories set up as sovereign counties. Its independence was always based on its sovereign institutions. In 1640, the Principality of Catalonia suffered its first serious conflict within the Hispanic Kingdom, against Castile and its French ally, in the so-called Reapers War. Catalonia fought against French annexation to the north and against the centralism of Castile impo-

5 sed by its army on Catalan territory. Catalonia s defeat in that war led to the French annexation - through the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) - of the Catalan counties north of the Pyrenees: Roussillon, Conflent, Vallespir and Alta Cerdanya, and the public administration of what at that time was the second largest city in the country, Perpignan, was stripped of any Catalan vestige from that moment on. In 1705, rival claims to the thrones of Castile and Catalonia- Aragon again confronted the two countries and their allies in a trans-european war: the War of Spanish Succession. Catalonia confronted the Franco-Spanish Bourbon king Philip V, who defeated those supporting the other pretender, Charles of Austria. Catalonia s defeat in this war meant the de facto annexation of Catalonia to the Kingdom of Castile, by the abolishment of its institutions and its historic rights; it lost its freedom and independence. The Nueva Planta Decree was enacted, Castilian-model legislation for all the Catalan, Valencian, Balearic and Aragonese territories with the aim of turning the country into a barren colony subject to the Kingdom of Castile. The impact of that episode was so great that it is remembered every year on April 25th and September 11th, the dates on which the war was lost, respectively, in Valencia and in Catalonia, where it is the National Holiday. After that war, however, the Catalan struggle against the Bourbons did not end. Resistance began just after the war, although it was not until over a hundred years later that Cata-

6 lonia began to really reorganize itself in order to recover its liberties by any possible means, including popular uprisings and revolts. In 1873, 1931 and 1934 the Catalan Republic was proclaimed three times. After a 1936 Fascist military coup which had been crushed in Catalonia but led to a three-year civil war in Spain, the leader of the coup, General Francisco Franco, won the war in 1939 with the support of Hitler and Mussolini, and his dictatorship once again abolished Catalonia s liberties and all Catalan institutions. The dictatorship began a brutal repression against Catalan culture and language and civil rights in general, and all areas of the new occupying administration were governed directly by military officers for the first decades. The persecution against every sign of Catalanness was extremely harsh; it was a repression that has been defined as an attempted cultural genocide. Spanish, referred to as the language of the empire or simply Christian, (in contrast to Catalan, which was regarded as being well nigh heretical), was imposed in all public services as the only official language, in a clear attempt to systematically replace the language. Anyone who showed the slightest sign of Catalan-ness ran the risk of being fined, imprisoned... or worse. The epitomy and main symbol of that repression was the torture and execution in Barcelona of the exiled president of Catalonia Lluís Companys, after being captured in France by the Gestapo, in the summer of 1940.

7 economic drainage Colonial economic drainage acknowledged by the metropolis After the death of dictator Franco, in Catalonia the democratic struggle restored the Generalitat and the Parliament of Catalonia as legitimate governing bodies. Thus began a convoluted path to recover institutions and to decriminalize Catalan culture, as part of Spain s new framework of the parliamentary monarchy of Bourbon king Juan Carlos (whom Franco had appointed to be his heir in 1969). Catalonia is, it is claimed, currently living in a democratic state. However, the design of a falsely decentralised political model hides not only legislative constraints and supervision outside Catalonia (Constitutional Court) but also a net tax outflow from Catalonia, admitted by the Spanish Government, which has be calculated to amount to 16 billion every year. This scale of financial blood-letting affects all citizens indiscriminately, whether or not they support independence. It is a true spoliation that impoverishes the present and the future of generations of Catalonia s citizens.

8 Self-determination Self-determination, a right denied by Spain The Catalan nation has a natural right to its independence, as it is a society with its own culture and language, within a geographically defined territory. It has also a historic right, thanks to the persistence of its people over the centuries, and a political right, given the will of a majority to decide its future democratically through a representative government and with the willingness to set up relations with other nations. The Parliament of Catalonia adopted a resolution in 1989 in which it proclaimed that it would never forego its right to selfdetermination. In 2006 and 2007, two large demonstrations in Barcelona, preceding the centenary year of the pro-independence flag, or l estelada (2008), claimed against a clearly pro-independence backdrop - the right to decide on their own territory. In 2009, a process of popular participation began in the Principality in which local referenda on self-determination were organized. These local referenda led up

9 to the November 9, 2014 participatory process which became the final step before the decision to hold a referendum on independence. Spain s legal proceedings against the 2014 non-binding referendum ended up with those responsible being barred from public office and receiving heavy fines ( 5,200,000 to date). After an election in Catalonia, in which the pro-independence members won a majority in the Catalan Parliament, with almost two million votes, efforts progressed to hold a referendum on the independence of Catalonia, which was eventually held on October 1, On September 20, 2017 the Spanish government, which had already usurped control of the finances of the Generalitat, began an offensive to prevent the referendum by force. The Civil Guard, a militarized Spanish police force, began to violate civil rights of freedom of the press and opinion, closing websites, censoring publications, searching warehouses and presses, and threatening reporters and public and private media. At the institutional level, it called in for questioning mayors and public representatives, and even arrested and gaoled some of the political leaders accused of organizing the referendum. Meanwhile about ten thousand riot police officers and various military detachments arrived in Catalonia, after leaving their barracks amidst cries of revenge and hatred chanted by their neighbours and relatives. On October 1, in spite of being officially banned, the referendum was finally held, thanks to the determined defence, by the civilian population, of the polling stations throughout the weekend. The participatory success of more than two million voters - 43% of the census - and a victory of 90% for independence were the irrefutable proof. However, the Spanish State

10 repressed it fiercely with its police forces, who tried to break through with extreme violence, beating thousands of voters, regardless of their age. In all, with court orders, the Spanish police closed 92 polling stations and thanks to their brutality 1,066 people received medical attention, while they caused widespread damage in schools and local council property. More than double that number of polling stations were closed or prevented from opening by the Catalan police, without any incidents. On October 10, President Carles Puigdemont announced the results of the referendum in Parliament, but instead of proposing the declaration of independence established by law, and at the request of European high-ranking presidents, he gave the State the opportunity to open a period of negotiations that were to lead to a peaceful and democratic solution for the pro-independence issue. Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez, leaders of Òmnium Cultural (a cultural organisation with 99,000 members, devoted to the promotion of Catalan culture) and the Assemblea Nacional Catalana (an association with more than 80,000 members and followers, that works for the independence of Catalonia) were detained without bail, accused of sedition and rebellion, and sent to a gaol near Madrid. Given that the Spanish government refused any possibility of dialogue and negotiation and was prepared to activate all its mechanisms of repression, on October 27 the absolute majority of the Parliament of Catalonia resolved to implement the Catalan Republic. The Spanish government had already decided to take full political control of the country, and under Article 155 of the Constitution, arrested ministers of the Catalan Government, while other ministers stayed in Belgium, in exile; and dissolved the Parliament of Catalonia. Hundreds of public servants were dismissed, criminal charges were brought against many democratic leaders, and public and private media were silenced with new threats and reprisals. Under pressure from Europe, the Spanish State called supervised elections, in the hope of toppling pro-independence parties from power. But with a record 82% turnout, the results once again gave the victory to the pro-independence parties with a renewed outright majority. The Spanish government has not accepted this result, and has tried to block selfgovernment again. The struggle of the citizens of Catalonia, for the freedom and the Republic that have already been declared, continues.

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12 SYMBOLS Catalonia s symbols of identity The Catalan flag, the ancient ensign The coat of arms of the Catalan Count-Kings of Barcelona became, over time, the royal flag of the nine yellow and red stripes, recently documented as one of the oldest in Europe. It first appeared in a coin showing the coat of arms of Count Ramon Berenguer IV (12th century). Its colours were flown for centuries throughout the Mediterranean,

13 and are present to this day far, far away, such as in Sicily, where they still glitter proudly. Closer to home, the Spanish flag itself drew its inspiration from the Catalan flag. Over time, the ensign of the Barcelona royal dynasty became the official flag of the country and today it is fully accepted by all, without distinction. Nevertheless, the flag was forbidden and persecuted by various Spanish totalitarian reigns and governments for many years, as it was seen, correctly, as a differentiated mark of national identity. The estelada flag of freedom The estelada is the Catalan flag with a blue triangle - representing humanity at one end - with a five-pointed white star in the middle, representing the yearning for freedom. It was created at the beginning of the last century by the Catalan at the time clandestine - independence movement, and symbolizes the struggle for the independence of Catalonia. freedom and democracy that they represented. Cuba was one of the last Spanish colonies to achieve emancipation and where the first explicitly pro-independence Catalan publication appeared in The flag s massive presence in the streets of Catalonia is a good example of the majority sentiment, more present than ever, which clamours for our own State. Right now, in violation of the freedom of expression of any democracy, the star is banned de facto in most Spanish sports stadiums. The Spanish police often confiscate such flags but, nevertheless, fans of Catalan clubs still brandish them to support their teams. It was originally inspired by the Cuban flag which in turn had been inspired by the U.S. Stars and Stripes, for the values of

14 The black flag: the banner for fighting to the bitter end The Catalan black flag represents the attitude of mourning and of either living in liberty or dying. It is documented as early as the 13th century in Ramon Muntaner s Crònica, and reappeared in the 18th century, in the War of Succession, during the sieges of Barcelona and Cardona. During the three-hundredth anniversary of the War of the Succession (2014), it was redesigned and became the symbol of non-surrender.

15 languages Catalan and Occitan, Catalonia s own and official languages Catalan and Occitan (or Aranese, from the Aran valley) are the expression of the national and cultural reality of Catalonia. They come from vulgar Latin and in the 13th century they became consolidated in all domains. In the case of Catalan, the earliest documented source are the Homilies d Organyà (12th century). From the reign of James I, Catalan spread to its present-day linguistic domain, as it did across the Mediterranean, though there is only one extant testimony, in Alghero (Sardinia). For centuries, the Catalan language was the only private, public and official language throughout the country. Its history of success was cut short by its persecution by Spain and France, through hundreds of regulations and decrees by all kinds of government. This obsessive desire to persecute it aims simply to eliminate any public trace of the language, in the knowledge that it poses a dangerous cognitive mechanism to rationalize a differentiated way of thinking in the face of uniformization. Catalan continues to be the object of negative politicization by the Spanish State and by political Unionist parties in Catalonia, that use it as a handy weapon to try to create linguistic divisiveness in the country, with Spanish reigning supreme.

16 The referendum The referendum on independence in figures The Spanish police were mobilized for months to try to forestall the referendum; more than 10,000 policemen took part, that is to say, this was a military invasion with all its effects. In addition, various groups of Fascists acted with impunity by attacking citizens, and a few of them were identified as policemen out of uniform. The cost of this operation was 87 million. The Civil Guard closed more than 144 websites related to the organization of the referendum. The Spanish police visited the headquarters of various Catalan media to identify journalists. Despite the presence of the Spanish police forces and the army, 10,000 ballot boxes entered across the border with France into

17 the interior of Catalonia thanks to anonymous volunteers, and were later distributed and hidden until the day of the vote. Of all the necessary material to hold the vote, after the Spanish police searched various companies, 11,500,000 ballots and 100 ballot boxes were seized, as well as notifications for 45,000 election officials. The Spanish Data Protection Agency threatened the members of the voting tables with fines of up to 600,000. In spite of this, on the weekend in which the polling stations were occupied until the day of the voting, around hundred of thousands people were mobilized in order to defend them. The turn-out was 2,286,217 voters, and the result was: 2,044,038 YES votes, 177,547 NO votes, 44,913 blank votes and 19,719 invalid votes. Until now, the Spanish judicial system has called in for questioning dozens of teachers, only because the issue of Spanish police brutality arose in their classes the day after the referendum; some of these schools had been savagely assailed, leaving hundreds of casualties and material damage. Up to now, Spanish courts have summoned dozens of school teachers to be questioned, merely because they dealt with police violence in schools the day after the referendum; some schools had been savagely assaulted, leaving hundreds of injured and plenty of damage to school property. Over 700 Catalan mayors have been threatened with court or police summons, for having allowed municipal premises to be used as polling stations for the democratic voting exercise. President Carles Puigdemont, along with three other Catalan ministers, is in exile in Belgium, where they are working to build the Catalan Republic from their new base in Waterloo. Exiled Catalan Minister Clara Ponsatí has gone back to her former university post in Scotland. Political leaders Marta Rovira and Anna Gabriel are also in exile, in Switzerland. In spite of this, Rajoy s government is still chasing Puigdemont, by sending the Spanish secret services to track him unbeknown to the authorities of each country, and have him captured. The latest episode was when they tipped off the German police about Sr. Puigdemont s presence in Germany, on his way from Finland to Belgium. Today, Sr. Puigdemont awaits a German court decision on a European Arrest Warrant and his possible extradition to Spain.

18 The Spanish government has already locked in jail - without bail and ahead of the trial - six other Catalan ministers: vicepresident Oriol Junqueras amb ministers Joaquim Forn, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, Raül Romeva and Dolors Bassa, together with former Speaker of Parlament Carme Forcadell MP and the Òmnium Cultural and Assemblea Nacional Catalana chairmen Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez. None of them has yet been tried, nor have any of them ever condoned violence. They face charges of rebellion, a crime that only appears in Spanish and European legislation when accompanied by violence. Violence has only been exercised in Catalonia by Spanish policemen and groups of Fascist thugs. Amnesty International has accused Spain of violating human rights, and several cases are before the UN Humans Rights Committee. So no-one in Spain (except the Government) can deny that there are political prisoners in Europe today.