Catalonia: For the Right to Decide!

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press

Monday February 13, 2006 20:05

by gerard

WE ARE A NATION AND WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECIDE!

WE ARE A NATION AND WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DECIDE!

We, the undersigned organisations and social movements-drawing on a broad plurality of Catalan political and socials sectors-wish to be heard in the debate that has been opened over the reform of the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia and to express our concern over the climate of hostility being generated from anti-democratic circles intended to undermine our country's legitimate political and democratic aspirations. Evoking the struggle of the Assembly of Catalonia for the reestablishment of the Statue of Autonomy as a means of exercising the right to self-determination, and evoking as well the memories of twenty-five years past when the Catalan nation marched in resistance to the offensive against expressions of its identity, we find it necessary to take to the streets once again under the banner "We are a nation and we have the right to decide!"

It is the conviction of the organisers that we must exercise our right to protest if we are to ensure that our laws are consistent with the needs and wishes of the Catalan people, and as such that they contribute to social progress, citizens' and immigrants' rights, social and labour rights, language and culture, the environment, gender equality, housing, communication technologies, education, healthcare and social security, among other issues. In this way we reaffirm that there can be no true self-government without fiscal sovereignty, without investment in infrastructure and without international relations and cooperation.

Because we are a country that wishes to defend its identity, it is our right--as it is of other nations--to freely decide for ourselves the kind of future we want. What we decide for ourselves should not be meddled with by others.

As a matter of liberty and of democracy, we will march on February 18 to demonstrate that "We are a nation and we have the right to decide!"

Platform "Pel dret de decidir" (For the right to decide)

save preference

Comments (10 of 10)

yes folks we still don't have the "estatut" and yet we have the "estatut".

by iosaf

Tue Feb 14, 2006 11:56

barcelona

or we do, but its not done and dusted. Zp allinged with the opposition to the tripartite government to fudge a "new estatut" arguing over the finance (that Catalans continue to pay for Andalucia) and moved the first article "Catalonia is a nation" into the preamble as an "aspiration".
As a result the ERC (republicans) were put under pressure to leave or stay in the tripartite. The spanish right PP under Rajoy as Aznar's proxy have stoked anti-catalanism, you might remember the "general under house arrest" and they want a referendum to say "no!" to the estatut and they delayed the return of the "civil war archive" for more than a year. We are now in the anniversary year of the start of the civil war, and Franco's coup d'etat which ended the Spanish republic. That coup d'etat was sparked by Montseny's feminist reforms (the anarchist minister and first female minister in government anywhere) and the Catalan "estatut" of Lluis Companys which declared an autonomous republic "within" the Spanish republic. Companys was executed by Franco after being returned from exile in France by the Gestapo during the war. He was the only legitimate head of state to be murdered during WW2.

I asked a woman from Castille and Leon who owns an off-license yesterday what she thought as the new pamphlet on this protest came through our letter boxes. & she replied that she has lived all her life and worked all her life in Catalonia, though a Spaniard and one who thinks and speaks castillian and perhaps is annoyed at her kids having to study at school in Catalan, her main gripe is that her tax keeps Andalucia. The British right wing (The telegraph) put it snidely :- "if the catalans are so european, and europe is about solidarity, then why don't they show it with the poor spanish". But the fact is all of Europe, the whole €U has to think about Andalucia and the entrance of north and other african migrants to the €U. They need infrastructure, jobs, industries, help. & in truth. Perhaps puts a perspective on this group who are also hading out leaflets http://altresandalusos.org (it means the other andalucians).

background links on imc ireland:-

how the estatut was accepted overwhelmingly by the Catalans themselves.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/72240
the military mouthing off and being house arrested & relieved of their commands.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/73706
how the "papers" came back after more than year's wrangling to Catalonia
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/73880
the english translation of the estatut. It is now termed "the proposed estatut".
http://www.cataloniatoday.info/pdf/estatut.pdf

It is sometimes said, that in the absence of a minority within "the state", the same prejudice which in other societies in Europe created anti-semitism found its expression Spanish society as anti-catalanism. Certainly it is more virulent than the prejudice against the Basques and much more complex. We thus find evidence of this engrained hatred in slang, in jokes, in all of it. & it really is shocking at times, but it helps you understand Ireland and her problems.

75th anniversary of II Republic, 70th of Civil War

by Mago

Wed Feb 15, 2006 18:37

And 25th of Tejero's coup d'etat, in a week's time.

There's always been certain aversion towards 'catalanes'; this traditional resentment caused by the inability to accept that others want to be different, or want different things. Also, prejudiced attitudes (i.e. I don't like catalans because of the prejudiced attitude of some of the most extremist catalans). And this is being boosted by PP and surrounders in their hysterical campaign to retrieve Government. One of its expressions: petition for a boycott on catalan products.

On the very same Saturday, a march in Dublin of a relevant kind:
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/7427

Illustration of stupidity. This is placed on the front door of a 'zumos' bar in Barcelona's old quarter. Allegedly. I believe it.

Apologies

Wed Feb 15, 2006 18:42

Obviously, that linked the wrong story, I dropped the last 1.
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/74271

And why not?

Wed Feb 15, 2006 19:11

26th anniversary of referendum for 'estatuto andaluz' in 12 days.

next time I get a ryanair for cheap cigs

by ! & / but

Wed Feb 15, 2006 23:20

I'll scour the city for that.

Shock news in Iberian constitutional referenda issues

by pixie watcher

Thu Feb 16, 2006 21:33

The Andalucian independence block has withdrawn support for the "other andalucia" / "we have the right to decide" march. Andalucia Libre http://www.andalucialibre.tk/ {with website in the wonderful atoll (new zealander dependency) of TK land, (which will at present global sea level forecasts cease to exist in less than 50 years)} has demanded of the organisers of the Catalan march and referendum campaign that both "the lobby for independence" http://www.lobbyperlaindependencia.org/ {with a perfectly usual domain name and higher than tk costs} as well as "catalan national unity" http://www.unitat.org/ groups be excluded.
The Andalucians maintain that their nationalist position is xenophobic and crypto fascist no matter if they say they're socialist and stuff.
This is certainly a shock development as more than 200 social entities have been trying hard to allow Catalan nationalists their day out. still 198 green bottles...

there's an imc link too all this shock constitutional referenda debate & days out

by reader

Thu Feb 16, 2006 21:38

http://barcelona.indymedia.org/newswire/display/236769/...x.php
its in catalan (a language I don't really understand) but the article seems to suggest some sort of mallorca connection. Perhaps the balearic islands have an agenda as well???
still neither the andalucians nor the balearics have ever fucked up anyone's day.

obviously a lot of water goes under the bridge with these things.

Fri Feb 17, 2006 12:32

Today iberian constitutional watchers & fellow travelling pixie watchers don't really have much to add. The catalan nationalists are getting their day out, with 198 entities. (see above)

And plucky little José Maria Aznar has come back into the news!
You may remember plucky little Mr Aznar from such wonderful moments of our past as "the search for wmd", "the containment of world terror", "the succesful management of eco-disaster and prestige", "the transparent & respectful relationship with the media".

well Aznar has had a lovely week, he had lunch on wednesday with mr Bush one of his pals after doing a tour of Latin America to warn them all against the wave of popularist leftist bolshevism and sinister masonic anarchy they're suffering from. & then he came back to a meeting of Spain's "council of state". Which yesterday approved a "review" of the constitution of 1978 known as the "magna carta" with a majority vote, & just so we all know, only one vote "no!" that of Aznar.

http://www.swissinfo.org/ses/swissinfo.html?siteSect=14...11000

* the review (not reform) contains 4 elements-
& complex issues they are too.
1) changing the law of succession to the throne, thus tackling the problems of sallic law for the first time since the carlist wars.
C/f http://www.indymedia.ie/article/73787#comment134580
2) the reform of the senate (which seems to be a bit of an old boys shop as Fraga has just ascended there
C/f http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=70326
3) the inclusion of the names of the regional autonomous regions of the Spanish state in overarching constitution framework.
C/f http://indymedia.ie/article/6481
4) and salvaging the good bits from the EU constitution
c/f http://indymedia.ie/article/68685

________________________________________________________

& other afficianados of the more dangerous type of pixie will be bemused to know that against the backdrop of a rumoured imminent ceasefire ETA exploded a device in the basque country last night, no injuries, one hour warning, material damages to a buidling company. Perhaps they are anti-real estate especulation?

saint patricks day 2003. in the azores. 900 miles east of Europe 2,300 miles west of Washington

I've just been standing around in the background. (works for me)

by pixie counter

Sat Feb 18, 2006 18:38

the march left placa madrid to arrive at placa catalunya. (get the symbolism) at 4pm irish time.
ahead of the organisers estimated 15,000 on the basis of their 300 buses. They've set up a stage and music and plasma screens for when they arrive. Given that I've just come back from the stage, I reckon there is about 25 - 30 thousand of them. But thats on the speed they've walked the distance so far. I haven't done the proper "cycle around them and look" thing. & aha! voices the clever sod.
I'm not walking with them. Why am I not walking with them? Coz I think some things are very very obvious. I don't really see the need for a "we are a nation" march in Dublin for example. And when you assemble a few thousand people to say so, you can risk leaving out loads of others who hadn't really given the fact much thought. So I took the trouble of looking in on the little square where on a saturday one normally finds the local teenage skinhead divisions. & noted that a few were sporting the new "jordi shield" patch, a variation on the george's cross (being the patron saint of catalonia) more familiar to irish people as the engurlish flag. Perhaps significantly one the groups whose support of the march caused the andalucian independence bunch to drop out, figure the jordi shield on their website. (see comments above). Thats the thing with nationalism. It is a very potent thing to go walking about outside of extreme circumstances. Meanwhile at the stage I did hear passerby's shout (allbeit in a muffled tone) "viva españa!" I'll update exact turnout figures as reported by cops and media and organisers later.

the catalan independent pixies have had their day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by sugar cube

Sat Feb 18, 2006 23:47

estimates :-
statistics office 70,000 based on metre squared used at arrival point.
guardia urbana (barcelona's own police force) say 125,000 in barcelona today were catalan independence pixies
the organisers claim a participation of - 700,000 people.
reckon only 30,000 of the assembled were eligible to vote in the proposed referendum (meaning they were over 18 years of age, and not being pushed into it by the mammy and daddy).

here's photos
http://www.vilaweb.cat/www/especials/especial?id=1745370
and report in catalan the language of the nation in case you hadn't got that point.
Colombus wrote his diary in Catalan you know.
= a Catalan discovered America.
yippeee!!!! now we'll see which of the other 17 autonomous communities of the spanish state want their day out ¿will we?

Number of comments per page

Upcoming Events

New Events

Other Press

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

The Saker

Public Inquiry

Human Rights in Ireland

Lockdown Skeptics

Catalonia: For the Right to Decide!

Comments (10 of 10)