by Free Catalonia
More than half a million Catalans have already voted in any of the
fourth waves of questions about the independence of Catalonia that
were held in 13.09.2009 (only Arenys de Munt included), 13.12.2009,
28.02.2010 or the last one on 25.04.2010.
Over 90% has voted for the "Yes" to independence. This represents
approximately 22% of citizens who were entitled to vote, about 2.3
million, which are all registered to one of the 461 municipalities
that have made the query over 16 years and including people from
outside Spain. Both cannot vote in the Spanish "official" elections.
If we compare the last elections, it is noteworthy that the query
without having all the municipalities in the Principality (missing
more than half of the census), consultation longer than 4 of the
6-independence political parties are represented in the chamber
Catalan, a figure only exceeded CiU and PSOE Queries have mobilized
close to 30,000 volunteers who have worked without any monetary
remuneration.
The fourth wave of consultation on the independence of Catalonia has
managed to mobilize almost 20% of the electorate over 16 years (23% on
the official census). In this 25-April 1.327.575 were called to the
polls and approximately 250,000 have exercised their right to vote,
has become a 92.64% in favor of independence from Spain, only 4 , 84%
had not opted for the 2.22% of the votes were white and 0.3%, null.
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
700,000 Catalans will be able to vote for Independence on December 13
by Vilaweb
Six-hundred, twenty-three thousand Catalans, at least, will be able to vote in the referendum on Independence that will be held on December 13 in more than 100 towns in the Principat* (see a pdf of the list with the population of each). Everyone sixteen or older listed in the census of those towns will be eligible to vote, regardless of their nationality. It is believed that before the list is completed, in mid November, there will be many more town included.
In the last few days, important steps have been achieved in organizing the referendums, especially in Osona, where the executive director of Osona Decideix, Alfons López Tena has formally requested that there be international observers at the referendums and there is also a plan for the represented political parties to authorize voters. Each week, meanwhile, more towns approve motions in support of the referendums in their council meetings.
Six-hundred, twenty-three thousand Catalans, at least, will be able to vote in the referendum on Independence that will be held on December 13 in more than 100 towns in the Principat* (see a pdf of the list with the population of each). Everyone sixteen or older listed in the census of those towns will be eligible to vote, regardless of their nationality. It is believed that before the list is completed, in mid November, there will be many more town included.
In the last few days, important steps have been achieved in organizing the referendums, especially in Osona, where the executive director of Osona Decideix, Alfons López Tena has formally requested that there be international observers at the referendums and there is also a plan for the represented political parties to authorize voters. Each week, meanwhile, more towns approve motions in support of the referendums in their council meetings.
Europe and the catalan language
by Prof. Joan Solà
European Parliament
Dear Members of the European Parliament:
We have come here before you as speakers of a European language that at several moments in its history has dispalyed first rate production and quality. It is a language that between the XIIth and XVth Centuries, cultivated prose and poetry of great richness and subtlety in all areas of public and private life: in the Administration, science, history, philosophy, religion and literature, with figures of international projection such as Raymund Lully (Ramon Llull), Ausiàs March, Jaume I or Saint Vicent Ferrer. This diverse and rich cultural tradition is still edited, translated and commented on today by experts from all over Europe.
After the medieval period this language suffered a retreat in the public and written sphere which lasted several centuries. But as of the mid-19th Century, until the present day, it has almost fully recovered. It once again offers the international community creative works of a very high standard and has translated the most important literary works of other languages. This recovery may be almost exclusively put down to the will of different Catalan-speaking communities to conserve their language and culture and to the popular effort exerted to achieve this. Today the speakers of this language have even managed to obtain a particular language internet domain: ".cat". Only on very rare occasions have the Catalans had a political structure capable of serving this strong will to save our culture; on the contrary, the administration has generally gone against us, even strongly against us in particular periods.
The political workings of the space taken up in the past by what is today the European Union, and the very European Union itself today, have led to a situation in which this language, and the culture that it is associated with, lack the basic support that is needed to survive in the conditions dictated by today's world, in which globalization, mobility, migrations, large economic trusts and all-powerful media predominate, and in which demographically or politically strong languages push weaker ones off the board, especially those that lack suitable political backing.
Our language is spoken in four European states (France, Spain, Italy and Andorra) and has an effective quota of speakers around the eight million mark, which is greater than that of several fully acknowledged EU working languages for the simple reason that they enjoy the backing of a state, a factor that gives these languages an even more disproportionately large stability and expansive power than other languages.
The European Union has given signs of wanting to preserve the cultural and distinguishing values of the different people that make it up. But until now the Catalan-speaking communities have not been able to benefit from this will because of the strictly political circumstances I referred to above. We therefore demand the same acknowledgement and support that other languages are receieving; that is, the political and legal acknowledgement and the moral and economic backing that are vital to enable us to overcome the disadvantages we have suffered for centuries and to be able to develop our culture unhampered in the complex present-day world.
Many thanks for your attention and the good will you are without doubt going to apply to our case.
Minor languages, major importance
by Michael McCarthy / The Independent
Everyone knows what we mean by a troubadour, I imagine. (A sort of generalised wandering minstrel). But the original troubadours were something specific – the first poets in Europe to write in a Romance language, one which had developed from Latin, and they began the European poetic tradition in southern France in the 12th century, writing in what used to be called Provençal (but is now referred to as Occitan).
The most famous troubadour poem is "Amor de Lonh", "Love From Afar", by Jaufré Rudel, pictured, a young nobleman who was so taken with reports of the beauty of a faraway princess – she was meant to be Hodierna of Tripoli – that he set out on a pilgrimage to see her, the legend has it, fell ill as he arrived, and died in her arms. The poem itself is mesmerisingly repetitive, and if you want to get a feel for what the original troubadours sounded like, the first two lines go like this: "Lanquan li jorn son lonc en mai / M'es belhs dous chans d'auzelhs de lonh" ("When the days are long in May, the song of faraway birds is very sweet to me").
I mention this because I spent the latter half of last week in Barcelona, covering the final session of negotiations prior to next month's international climate summit in Copenhagen, and it was too dark at the end of the working day to look at what nature had to offer in the capital of Catalonia (apart from the dismal caged birds on the Ramblas), so I found myself listening to Catalan, on the hotel room TV.
Catalan and Provençal/Occitan are very close, except that the latter seems to be slowly dying in France, whereas in Spain Catalan has never been healthier, with 10 million speakers and several TV channels, such as Barcelona's all-Catalan TV3. And I found myself watching the adverts for shampoo and insurance, and the Europa Cup match between Slavia Prague and Valencia, all in Catalan, and closing my eyes and letting the language wash over me, and thinking, is this what Jaufré Rudel sounded like?
Praise be for the survival of Europe's minor languages, and for the encouragement that the EU has given them. There are worlds locked up in each one.
A real talking point
If you have a feel for threatened species, it is hard not to have sympathy for threatened languages. In each case we are taking of wondrous, complex creations which are likely to be streamrollered by modernity. There are perhaps 6,000 languages in the world, but a mere 30 account for the vast majority of the world's people. Many are likely to go the way of the dodo – unless they fight a rearguard action, Catalan-style.
Spain fears rise of separatism in Catalonia
by Earthtimes.org
The Spanish government, the last 13th of September, downplayed a referendum organized by one village on the independence of Catalonia, fearing that it could act as a precedent and encourage separatism in the north-eastern region. Several ministers stressed that the vote had no legal value, while the conservative opposition accused Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's socialist government of being soft on separatists.
Ninety-six per cent of the voters backed an independent Catalonia in a vote organized by a separatist commission in Arenys de Munt, of 8,000 residents. Voter turnout, however, was only about 40 per cent. A court had prohibited the village from staging the referendum, but the separatist village council circumvented the ban by not participating directly in organizing the vote.
The event drew numerous media, visitors and about 100 demonstrators from the tiny right-wing Falangist movement, formerly a pillar of the 1939-75 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. The Falangists chanted slogans in favour of the unity of Spain, while about 1,000 Catalan separatist protesters defended an independent Catalonia. Some 60 Catalan villages were reportedly planning similar votes, raising the prospect of increasing separatism in the wealthy region of more than 6 million people.
"This is like an oil spill that will spread through all of Catalonia," said Joan Puigcercos, leader of the separatist party ERC. The government had sought a court order in an attempt to block the vote, arguing that it could act as a precedent. Infrastructure Minister Jose Blanco on Monday described the referendum as a "stupidity" and criticized the large Catalan nationalist party CiU for having backed the "illegal" vote.
The conservative opposition People's Party (PP) accused the government of not "defending" Catalonia against separatists. The party has taken legal action to block a new Catalan autonomy status which it sees as favouring separatist strivings. Catalonia already enjoys a wide measure of autonomy, including its own police force and the right to promote its language. Support for an independent Catalonia has risen from 13.6 per cent of the population in 2005 to 19 per cent, according to official regional polls.
Some 15,000 people demonstrated in favour of independence in Barcelona on the occasion of the Catalan national day on Friday. Catalan top politicians have not followed the example of former Basque prime minister Juan Jose Ibarretxe, whose attempts to call a Basque vote on self-determination were foiled by the Spanish parliament and Constitutional Court. Catalonia does not have a violent separatist movement, unlike the Basque region, where the militant group ETA has killed more than 820 people since 1968.
The Spanish government, the last 13th of September, downplayed a referendum organized by one village on the independence of Catalonia, fearing that it could act as a precedent and encourage separatism in the north-eastern region. Several ministers stressed that the vote had no legal value, while the conservative opposition accused Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's socialist government of being soft on separatists.
Ninety-six per cent of the voters backed an independent Catalonia in a vote organized by a separatist commission in Arenys de Munt, of 8,000 residents. Voter turnout, however, was only about 40 per cent. A court had prohibited the village from staging the referendum, but the separatist village council circumvented the ban by not participating directly in organizing the vote.
The event drew numerous media, visitors and about 100 demonstrators from the tiny right-wing Falangist movement, formerly a pillar of the 1939-75 dictatorship of General Francisco Franco. The Falangists chanted slogans in favour of the unity of Spain, while about 1,000 Catalan separatist protesters defended an independent Catalonia. Some 60 Catalan villages were reportedly planning similar votes, raising the prospect of increasing separatism in the wealthy region of more than 6 million people.
"This is like an oil spill that will spread through all of Catalonia," said Joan Puigcercos, leader of the separatist party ERC. The government had sought a court order in an attempt to block the vote, arguing that it could act as a precedent. Infrastructure Minister Jose Blanco on Monday described the referendum as a "stupidity" and criticized the large Catalan nationalist party CiU for having backed the "illegal" vote.
The conservative opposition People's Party (PP) accused the government of not "defending" Catalonia against separatists. The party has taken legal action to block a new Catalan autonomy status which it sees as favouring separatist strivings. Catalonia already enjoys a wide measure of autonomy, including its own police force and the right to promote its language. Support for an independent Catalonia has risen from 13.6 per cent of the population in 2005 to 19 per cent, according to official regional polls.
Some 15,000 people demonstrated in favour of independence in Barcelona on the occasion of the Catalan national day on Friday. Catalan top politicians have not followed the example of former Basque prime minister Juan Jose Ibarretxe, whose attempts to call a Basque vote on self-determination were foiled by the Spanish parliament and Constitutional Court. Catalonia does not have a violent separatist movement, unlike the Basque region, where the militant group ETA has killed more than 820 people since 1968.
Catalonia pays homage to independence
By Victor Mallet / Arenys de Munt
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009.
A quiet country town, with an unpaved main street that doubles as a
river bed for flash floods from the hills, Arenys de Munt seems an
unlikely starting point for a revolution.
But when the town north of Barcelona held a referendum last month and
voted overwhelmingly in favour of Catalonia's secession from Spain
(with 96 per cent of the 2,671 who voted saying Yes to independence)
it spawned dozens of copycat referendum plans across the region.
A few fascist falangistas arrived in Arenys that day to demonstrate in
favour of Spanish unity and damp the festive atmosphere, while
moderate unionists stayed away – limiting the turnout to 41 per cent –
and called the vote a flawed publicity exercise with no constitutional
force.
The vote, however, reflects long frustration among Catalonia's 7.4m
inhabitants with the way their autonomous region is treated by Madrid
– and growing excitement among a passionate minority that independence
is a real possibility, whether by referendum or a unilateral
declaration of independence in the Catalan parliament.
"I think in 2010 independence can peacefully be fulfilled," says
Carles Móra i Tuxans, the mayor, arguing that wavering Catalans
(latest opinion polls show only 19 per cent want full independence)
can be persuaded to support secession if only they understand how much
they would benefit financially.
"Spain has limited us and marginalised us," agrees Carolina Moya, a
shopkeeper who runs a household goods store in the town. "Now the
government knows what all the Catalans think."
Like many Catalans, she believes that Spain takes more budget money
from prosperous Catalonia than it puts in (true) and that other
Spaniards enjoy special privileges (false). "We have to pay very high
taxes. If you go to the rest of Spain, you don't pay motorway tolls
and houses are cheaper," she says. "All this comes from the Middle
Ages. But now it's worse."
For a supposed nation in waiting, surprisingly little is known abroad
about Catalonia or its history as a Mediterranean power absorbed by
Spain.
George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia is neither a homage nor about
Catalonia, but a mixture of reportage and analysis of the Spanish
civil war. Among the few Catalan nationalists whose names might mean
something to foreigners today is Joan Laporta, chairman of the
Barcelona football club.
It was the global crisis that poked into flames a Catalan nationalism
already smouldering with resentments about language, culture and a
strong work ethic compared unfavourably by Catalans with the languor
of Castilians and Andalucians.
Mr Móra, the mayor, says his town and half the Catalan municipalities
are financially "ruined", in part because the central government is
not paying its share of the bills and in part because local tax income
has collapsed along with the property market.
With the €60m ($88m, £55m) transferred each day to the rest of Spain,
Catalonia could build 12 schools or eight homes for the elderly, he
says. "It's brutal; they are bleeding us . . . Now it's not about
language and literature. This is what annoys Spain. For the first time
in its history, the independence movement is coming via people's
purses."
For Diego Sánchez Simón, local head of the Spanish unionist Popular
party, that is exactly the point. Politicians such as Mr Móra, he
says, seek to distract attention from the near-bankruptcy of their
fiefs and the decline of public services by shouting about Catalan
nationalism, a phenomenon that is made worse by the approach of
Catalan regional elections next year.
Mr Sánchez calls himself a proud Catalan, but says Catalans "have this
mania for being victims, for saying that we're being robbed or
despoiled".
One of the extraordinary aspects of modern Catalan nationalism is how
little it has to do with ethnicity. More than a third of the
inhabitants were born outside the region, and many eager nationalists
(including Ms Moya) have roots in Andalucia in southern Spain, or as
far away as north Africa or northern Europe.
Still, the numerical weight of politically moderate cities such as
Barcelona means Catalan independence will be a long time coming, if it
comes at all.
Even in Arenys, not everyone thinks secession is a good idea. "It's
all nonsense and it won't go anywhere," says José López, a garage
mechanic. "I'm Spanish."
And even nationalists know it will not be easy. "It would be a good
idea, but we'll never see it," says Ms Moya. "Spain will never let go,
because Catalonia brings in lots of money that helps the other
regions."
Barcelona village held the first referendum on independence of Catalonia
The referendum asked villagers whether Catalonia, one of the most
ancients nations within Spain, should become an independent democratic
state within the European Union. Arenys de Munt, a Catalonian village
of 8,000 people in the region of Barcelona, held on Sunday a
referendum on the independence of Catalonia.
The referendum was proposed by a local movement and supported by a
Town Hall vote. It asked villagers whether Catalonia should become an
independent democratic state within the European Union. A Barcelona
court accepted an appeal lodged by Spanish Government lawyers, who
argued that the referendum violates the law which rules local Town
Halls and says that only the stage can stage referendums.
Arenys de Munt mayor claims that the referendum is legal as it was
organized by a local movement and not by the Town Hall. Far-right
group 'Falange Española' announced a demonstration in the village on
the same day as the vote but the mayor has assured it would be held in
a different place.
Finally, the self-determination referendum was held, pacefully, on 12
sept 2009. With a 41% of participation, the referendum was the first
oportunity for the catalan citizens to decide abouth his political
future. The winner: the independentist movement (96%
voted 'Yes'). Overwhelming Catalan victory in Arenys de Munt, 60 towns
decided to call other independence consultations in the next months.
By the other hand, thousands of supporters of independence marched
Friday through Barcelona to push for the creation of their own state,
few days ago (11 sept 2009). The protestors marched through the
streets of the capital of Catalonia behind a large black and red
banner that read in the Catalan language: "We are a Nation, We want an
own state."
Among those taking part in the demonstration, timed to coincide with
the Catalonian National Day, was the president of European football
champions FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta. In 2006 Catalonia approved in a
referendum an autonomy statute to give itself even greater powers but
its validity has been contested by the opposition Popular Party with a
ruling from Spain's constitutional court expected alter this year.
ancients nations within Spain, should become an independent democratic
state within the European Union. Arenys de Munt, a Catalonian village
of 8,000 people in the region of Barcelona, held on Sunday a
referendum on the independence of Catalonia.
The referendum was proposed by a local movement and supported by a
Town Hall vote. It asked villagers whether Catalonia should become an
independent democratic state within the European Union. A Barcelona
court accepted an appeal lodged by Spanish Government lawyers, who
argued that the referendum violates the law which rules local Town
Halls and says that only the stage can stage referendums.
Arenys de Munt mayor claims that the referendum is legal as it was
organized by a local movement and not by the Town Hall. Far-right
group 'Falange Española' announced a demonstration in the village on
the same day as the vote but the mayor has assured it would be held in
a different place.
Finally, the self-determination referendum was held, pacefully, on 12
sept 2009. With a 41% of participation, the referendum was the first
oportunity for the catalan citizens to decide abouth his political
future. The winner: the independentist movement (96%
voted 'Yes'). Overwhelming Catalan victory in Arenys de Munt, 60 towns
decided to call other independence consultations in the next months.
By the other hand, thousands of supporters of independence marched
Friday through Barcelona to push for the creation of their own state,
few days ago (11 sept 2009). The protestors marched through the
streets of the capital of Catalonia behind a large black and red
banner that read in the Catalan language: "We are a Nation, We want an
own state."
Among those taking part in the demonstration, timed to coincide with
the Catalonian National Day, was the president of European football
champions FC Barcelona, Joan Laporta. In 2006 Catalonia approved in a
referendum an autonomy statute to give itself even greater powers but
its validity has been contested by the opposition Popular Party with a
ruling from Spain's constitutional court expected alter this year.
Self-determination in Catalonia
09/09/09
Few days ago, the Catalan Government approved a draft bill that will allow Catalans to celebrate referendums on issues of special transcendence within the Catalan and local ambit. It is, as Minister Jordi Ausàs said, a law that goes as far as the Spanish Constitution permits, and represents a significant step to foment direct participation on public issues and to improve democracy in Catalonia.
These referendums, however, will have two main drawbacks. First, the Spanish government will ultimately have to give the go-ahead to celebrate any referendum and, second, the results of these referendums will be non-binding. These are certainly not minor details but again we must remember that this law will be built under the Spanish Constitution, and nobody is so naive to think Spain will never allow Catalans to celebrate binding referendums on everything we want without its authorization.
But at the same time, everybody is able to see the symbolic power that these referendums will have, and that despite its consultative and advisory character, they represent the first step towards the day in which the Catalan people will celebrate a referendum to decide its own future.
However, these days (september 09), a social entity in Arenys de Munt, a city near Barcelona, is organizing a non-binding referendum on the independence of Catalonia for the next 13th of September. The city council decided to support the referendum last June, basically by facilitating some public buildings to install the ballot boxes. One can expect the typical pro-Spanish groups (i.e. "Falange Española de las JONS", a fascist party born during Franco's dictatorship that the Spanish tribunals have never bothered to illegalize) to start a campaign against its celebration, but so far, nothing out of what should be ordinary democracy and freedom: a group of citizens plans to consult their co-citizens their opinion on a certain matter while those who still think Franco is alive make as much noise as possible to stop it.
So What? Well, unfortunately, Catalonia are still in Spain, a country that has a low level understanding of democracy. Not only the Spanish State have authorised a march of "La Falange" through the streets of Arenys the same day of the referendum, but the Spanish courts have banned the support of the city council on the referendum, and no one knows what else they might do in the coming days to stop the celebration of the referendum.
Luckily for everybody, this display of fear at the sight of regular act of democracy is yet another prove of how Spain is incapable of facing a reality it has always denied: Catalonia is a nation that will, eventually, exercise the first and basic step towards justice and freedom that consists on deciding with whom you want to share a democratic system. This decision lies at the foundations of every single democratic system, and I'm sure it will represent the theoretical core of the next processes of creation of new states in democratic areas such as Europe.
Source: http://www.cataloniablog.com/
Few days ago, the Catalan Government approved a draft bill that will allow Catalans to celebrate referendums on issues of special transcendence within the Catalan and local ambit. It is, as Minister Jordi Ausàs said, a law that goes as far as the Spanish Constitution permits, and represents a significant step to foment direct participation on public issues and to improve democracy in Catalonia.
These referendums, however, will have two main drawbacks. First, the Spanish government will ultimately have to give the go-ahead to celebrate any referendum and, second, the results of these referendums will be non-binding. These are certainly not minor details but again we must remember that this law will be built under the Spanish Constitution, and nobody is so naive to think Spain will never allow Catalans to celebrate binding referendums on everything we want without its authorization.
But at the same time, everybody is able to see the symbolic power that these referendums will have, and that despite its consultative and advisory character, they represent the first step towards the day in which the Catalan people will celebrate a referendum to decide its own future.
However, these days (september 09), a social entity in Arenys de Munt, a city near Barcelona, is organizing a non-binding referendum on the independence of Catalonia for the next 13th of September. The city council decided to support the referendum last June, basically by facilitating some public buildings to install the ballot boxes. One can expect the typical pro-Spanish groups (i.e. "Falange Española de las JONS", a fascist party born during Franco's dictatorship that the Spanish tribunals have never bothered to illegalize) to start a campaign against its celebration, but so far, nothing out of what should be ordinary democracy and freedom: a group of citizens plans to consult their co-citizens their opinion on a certain matter while those who still think Franco is alive make as much noise as possible to stop it.
So What? Well, unfortunately, Catalonia are still in Spain, a country that has a low level understanding of democracy. Not only the Spanish State have authorised a march of "La Falange" through the streets of Arenys the same day of the referendum, but the Spanish courts have banned the support of the city council on the referendum, and no one knows what else they might do in the coming days to stop the celebration of the referendum.
Luckily for everybody, this display of fear at the sight of regular act of democracy is yet another prove of how Spain is incapable of facing a reality it has always denied: Catalonia is a nation that will, eventually, exercise the first and basic step towards justice and freedom that consists on deciding with whom you want to share a democratic system. This decision lies at the foundations of every single democratic system, and I'm sure it will represent the theoretical core of the next processes of creation of new states in democratic areas such as Europe.
Source: http://www.cataloniablog.com/
