By MATT MOFFETT | The Wall Strett Journal
Activists calling for the independance of Catalonia, currently a region of Spain, take part in a 'human chain' during a protest on Wednesday.
BARCELONA—Hundreds of thousands of Catalans protesting what they consider economic and cultural abuse by Spain's central government joined hands in a 400-kilometer (250-mile) human chain Wednesday to underscore their call to make this industrialized region an independent nation.
While the ambitious protest seemed to go off without a hitch, the secessionists face a more daunting organizational challenge as they try to line up support for a referendum on independence. Such a vote, pledged for 2014 by Catalonia's two leading political parties, has provoked opposition from the conservative central government in Madrid and revealed strains within the independence movement that seem unlikely to be resolved even by the massive turnout at the demonstration.
It wasn't immediately clear whether Catalans filled the entire length of the route, which ran from the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains to the Mediterranean Sea. But footage taken by television helicopters flying over rural areas didn't reveal notable gaps in the line. In Barcelona, the atmosphere was festive as the chain ran past landmarks like the Sagrada Familia Basilica and Camp Nou stadium.
Carlos Muñoz said he and his wife traveled an hour and a half from central Catalonia via train, subway and bicycles to take places in the chain in downtown Barcelona. "I would have come twice as far to be a part of this," he said.
The demonstrators, decked out in Catalonia's yellow and red colors, came with a message for Madrid. One young girl held a sign reading "Catalonia is not Spain." University students Mercè Esteve and Agnès Gassò hoisted a sign reading: "Freedom is the Only Way."
Catalonia, Spain's wealthiest region, has long asserted that the central government discriminates against its language and culture while draining off much more in tax revenue than it returns in investment. Spain's painful recession has intensified the disputes over scarce resources and fanned secessionist flames.Independence activists face an uphill struggle. In recent days, plans for Wednesday's protest were often overshadowed by Catalonian political leader Artur Mas' seemingly contradictory statements about his promised independence referendum. In a radio interview last week, Mr. Mas appeared to back off a pledge to hold the vote next year, saying he didn't expect the central government to permit it. Instead, he offered the option of holding a parliamentary election in 2016 that would also allow voters to take a position on independence and would carry the force of a referendum.
Mr. Mas's comments provoked grumbling from members of the second largest party in Catalonia's parliament, the Republican Left of Catalonia, or ERC, which has a longer history of backing independence than Mr. Mas's more mainstream Convergence and Union Party, or CiU. The two parties have fashioned a political alliance of convenience—which includes a joint pledge for the referendum—since the ERC gained seats and the CiU lost some in parliamentary elections in November.
In the face of criticism from the independence movement, Mr. Mas retreated from what he told the radio interviewer and said the referendum will occur in 2014 "one way or another." He vowed not to "back off one millimeter" from that pledge.
Mr. Mas told reporters Wednesday that it was wrong to interpret his statements as showing inconsistency or wavering from the goals of the independence movement. He said his statement last week reflected the reality of "a very closed position" by the central government against the referendum. Again, he mentioned the option of delaying the issue until 2016, but only as "a last resort."
Talk of delay is anathema to independence activists. "Normally history is decided by those who know how to use windows of opportunity before they close," said Elisenda Paluzie i Hernández, an independence backer who is dean of economics at the University of Barcelona.
Other analysts point out that while Mr. Mas has tried to ride the pro-independence wave, he doesn't control the diffuse movement.
"This is a movement that's always been more about average people than about politicians," says Joan Serra, spokesman for the Catalan National Assembly, the largest of some 14 citizens groups that organized the chain. He called Wednesday's protest "a show of strength" and a demonstration of organizational capacity. Pro-independence forces developed a special phone app to keep people informed on the event and deployed drones to photograph it.
The secessionists got a break from the weather. A a drizzle that had persisted through much of the morning gave way to sunny skies an hour before the protest started. To shouts of "Independencia!" demonstrators locked hands at exactly 5:14 p.m. The hour of the protest, 17:14 military time, was significant because on Sept. 11, 1714, the Spanish Crown captured Barcelona after a bloody siege.
Thousands of pro-independence Catalans linked arms Wednesday to form a nearly 400-kilometer chain, crossing in front of Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Basilica.
In Madrid, where the independence movement is viewed warily, the chain protest received cursory coverage on state television. It showed live shots of protesters along the chain for about four minutes after they joined hands, then cut to a stock market report and a story on the 9/11 remembrance in New York. Last Sept. 11, independence activists widely criticized state television for making a march by about one million Catalans its fifth-most important story of the day.
Some Catalans who oppose independence said it would be mistaken to give Wednesday's demonstration too much weight. The protestors are "a hyper-mobilized minority" whose voice is further amplified by pro- independence Catalan media, said Joaquim Coll, a historian at the University of Barcelona. He said the anti-Madrid sentiment that has surged in Catalonia in response to Spain's long recession is comparable to the anti-immigrant or anti-euro sentiment that has emerged in some other crisis-battered European countries.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324094704579068622928422380.html?mod=WSJEurope_hpp_LEFTTopStories
No comments:
Post a Comment