Catalonia Protests ‘One Nation’ in Spain

by Epoch Times

While hundreds of millions watched the World Cup finals, over a million Catalans took to the streets of Barcelona protesting a verdict by the Spanish supreme court denying them official status as an autonomous nation.

The citizens of the northeastern region of Catalonia, one of the Spain's 17 autonomous regions, want to be recognized as an autonomous nation. Spain's highest court acknowledged that Catalonia as a separate nation is "a perfectly legitimate idea" but with no legal basis, reported AP.

Spain's conservative opposition Popular Party (PP) said that Catalonia's autonomy might endanger the unity of Spain. In 2006, it appealed to cancel or reinterpret 113 of the 221 articles of a Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, just approved by the Spanish Parliament and a Catalan referendum earlier that year. The PP said the articles were unconstitutional, according to the Catalan News Agency, (CNA).

Following the court's decision on Friday, Catalan will not be the official language of Catalonia. The region cannot have its own justice council, and will not have a guaranteed minimum expenditure from the Spanish government, according to CNA.

The court's decision came a day before a planned protest on Saturday where Catalonians marched under the slogan "We decide, we are a nation."

The demonstration was led by President of the Generalitat of Catalonia José Montilla; President of the Catalan Parliament Ernest Benach; and former Catalan Presidents Jordi Pujol and Pasqual Maragall, among others.

A huge 2,700-square-foot "senyera," the flag of Catalonia, preceded the procession, which flooded the main traffic routes of Barcelona.

The mayor of Barcelona called the rally "unprecedented."

The rally was sponsored by the Catalan cultural organization, Òmnium Cultural. According to the organizers, the attendants reached 1.5 million people and 1,500 organizations, while the police counted 1.1 million.

Barcelona is the main city of Catalonia.

During the dictatorship of Spanish Gen. Francisco Franco (1939-1975), the Catalan language was forbidden and books in Catalan were banned. Catalan citizens now have an increasing interest in reviving the Catalan culture and re-establishing its cultural, social, and economical connections.