 | Es pot resistir a la invasió dels exèrcits; però no es pot resistir a la invasió de les idees. Victor Hugo |  |  | He escrit aquesta carta molt més extensa del que és habitual perquè no he tingut temps de fer-la més breu. Isaac Newton |
 | La història és un cove pintoresc d’on una persona relativament enginyosa pot treure arguments en defensa d’allò que li plagui. Joan Fuster |  | Amb el puny clos no es pot donar una encaixada de mans. Indira Gandhi | |
 | No deixaríem que ens cremessin per les nostres opinions, de tan poc segurs com n’estem, però potser sí pel dret de tenir opinions pròpies i de poder-les canviar. Nietzsche |  |
El geni comença les grans obres. però només el treball les acaba. Joseph Joubert
| |
 | Quan les persones assoleixen la llibertat per fer el que volen, és quan es posen a imitar-se les unes a les altres. Françoise Sagan |  | Quant més miris enrere, més difícil et resultarà mirar endavant. Pierre Bonnard | |
 | La vida és alló que et va succeint mentre t'entestes en planificar altres coses. John Lennon |  | M'interesa moltíssim el futur ja que és el lloc on passaré la resta de la meva vida. Woody Allen |
3/28/2012
Gràcies a Caramba Publicitat per aquestes frases
http://carambapublicitat.com/
3/23/2012
MEPs protest to EU Council and Commission over dire situation for Catalan in the Balearic Islands
Source: Eurolang http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eurolang/174907085047
EUROLANG / EUROPEAN LANGUAGE EQUALITY NETWORK
PRESS RELEASE
MEPs protest to EU Council and Commission over dire situation for Catalan in the Balearic Islands
A cross-party grouping of MEPs led by the Hungarian MEPs Csaba Sogor (Hungarian minority, Romania) and Edit Bauer representing Hungarians in Slovakia (EPP), signed by EFA, ALDE and S&D Intergroup members, and after lobbying by Eurolang- ELEN and Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), have sent a formal tabled question to the EU Council and Commission protesting against measures that undermine Catalan in Illes Balears and which have resulted in an ongoing hunger strike by pensioner Jaume Bonet.
The letter asks whether the Commission, as 'Guardian of the Treaties', considers that the measures adopted by the Balearic government undermine "respect for linguistic diversity” and constitutes discrimination on the grounds of language, which under EU law is prohibited?
Furthermore, it asks the Commission what it intends to do in order to protect national minority rights in this situation.
The letter underlines that the measures adopted by the regional government contravene European standards on lesser used language protection found in the EU Lisbon Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, all ratified by Spain.
It adds that the measures also break cross-party political consensus on Catalan promotion and undermine successful language regeneration.
That the letter has also the support of several members of the European Peoples Party, of which the PP Iles Balears government are members, is highly significant - a significance that will have resonance in European, national and regional political circles. It illustrates a new mood at the European level, under the ‘new European architecture for human rights,’ that it is no longer acceptable for governments to attack or undermine a regional language.
The PP government of Illes Balears, led by José Ramón Bauzá, voted a week ago to amend the law on Catalan normalisation which removes Catalan language requirements in order to work in the public administration. The move has been heavily criticised by NGOs for breaking a decades long cross-party political consensus on regenerating the language.
Specialists in the field of minority language rights have highlighted what they see as an abusive use of the concept of 'freedom' to implement policies (some not even included in the election manifesto) to annul existing measures seeking to guarantee minority language speakers' rights. Similar measures by the government in the hands of the same party, in Valencia, also based on the same principle, have also been accused of failing to support the language and its use by speakers.
So far there has been no reaction from the Balearic government while Senyor Bonet-Moll’s condition continues to weaken. He has lost 20 kilos (44 lbs), has a heart complaint, and has had his visiting hours restricted.
OCB are organising a mass demonstration against changes in the language law and in support of Jaume Bonet for Sunday 25th March in Palma.(Eurolang 2012)
ENDS
Editors Notes
ELEN is the new European level network working to promote lesser used languages replacing the well known EBLUL organisation.
Links
OCB http://www.ocb.cat
Eurolang http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eurolang/174907085047
EUROLANG / EUROPEAN LANGUAGE EQUALITY NETWORK
PRESS RELEASE
MEPs protest to EU Council and Commission over dire situation for Catalan in the Balearic Islands
A cross-party grouping of MEPs led by the Hungarian MEPs Csaba Sogor (Hungarian minority, Romania) and Edit Bauer representing Hungarians in Slovakia (EPP), signed by EFA, ALDE and S&D Intergroup members, and after lobbying by Eurolang- ELEN and Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), have sent a formal tabled question to the EU Council and Commission protesting against measures that undermine Catalan in Illes Balears and which have resulted in an ongoing hunger strike by pensioner Jaume Bonet.
The letter asks whether the Commission, as 'Guardian of the Treaties', considers that the measures adopted by the Balearic government undermine "respect for linguistic diversity” and constitutes discrimination on the grounds of language, which under EU law is prohibited?
Furthermore, it asks the Commission what it intends to do in order to protect national minority rights in this situation.
The letter underlines that the measures adopted by the regional government contravene European standards on lesser used language protection found in the EU Lisbon Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and the Council of Europe's European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, all ratified by Spain.
It adds that the measures also break cross-party political consensus on Catalan promotion and undermine successful language regeneration.
That the letter has also the support of several members of the European Peoples Party, of which the PP Iles Balears government are members, is highly significant - a significance that will have resonance in European, national and regional political circles. It illustrates a new mood at the European level, under the ‘new European architecture for human rights,’ that it is no longer acceptable for governments to attack or undermine a regional language.
The PP government of Illes Balears, led by José Ramón Bauzá, voted a week ago to amend the law on Catalan normalisation which removes Catalan language requirements in order to work in the public administration. The move has been heavily criticised by NGOs for breaking a decades long cross-party political consensus on regenerating the language.
Specialists in the field of minority language rights have highlighted what they see as an abusive use of the concept of 'freedom' to implement policies (some not even included in the election manifesto) to annul existing measures seeking to guarantee minority language speakers' rights. Similar measures by the government in the hands of the same party, in Valencia, also based on the same principle, have also been accused of failing to support the language and its use by speakers.
So far there has been no reaction from the Balearic government while Senyor Bonet-Moll’s condition continues to weaken. He has lost 20 kilos (44 lbs), has a heart complaint, and has had his visiting hours restricted.
OCB are organising a mass demonstration against changes in the language law and in support of Jaume Bonet for Sunday 25th March in Palma.(Eurolang 2012)
ENDS
Editors Notes
ELEN is the new European level network working to promote lesser used languages replacing the well known EBLUL organisation.
Links
OCB http://www.ocb.cat
Eurolang http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eurolang/174907085047
Eurodiputados protestan al Consejo y la Comisión de la UE sobre la grave situación del catalán en las Islas Baleares
Fuente: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eurolang/174907085047
Eurolang / Red Europea para la Igualdad Lingüística (ELEN)
NOTA DE PRENSA
Eurodiputados protestan al Consejo y la Comisión de la UE sobre la grave situación del catalán en las Islas Baleares
Una agrupación multipartidista de eurodiputados encabezados por los eurodiputados húngaros Csaba Sógor (minoría húngara, Rumania) y Edit Bauer en representación de los húngaros en Eslovaquia (PPE), con las firmas de miembros del Intergrupo de EFA, ALDE y S&D, y después de la presión ejercida por Eurolang-ELEN y la Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), ha enviado preguntas formales depositadas, al Consejo de la UE y la Comisión europea, en protesta contra las medidas que atentan contra el catalán en las Islas Baleares y que han dado lugar a una huelga de hambre, todavía vigente, por parte del pensionista Jaume Bonet.
En la carta se pregunta si la Comisión, como "guardiana de los Tratados", considera que las medidas adoptadas por el Gobierno Balear socavan "el respeto a la diversidad lingüística" y constituyen una discriminación por motivos de idioma, que en virtud de la legislación comunitaria está prohibida.Además, se le pregunta a la Comisión qué pretende hacer con el fin de proteger los derechos de la minoría nacional en esta situación.
La carta subraya que las medidas adoptadas por el gobierno regional contravienen laos normas europeas sobre la protección de lenguas minorizadas, recogidas en el Tratado de Lisboa de la UE, la Carta de Derechos Fundamentales, la Carta Europea de las Lenguas Regionales o Minoritarias y el Convenio Marco para la Protección de las Minorías Nacionales, todos ellos ratificados por España.Añade que las medidas también rompen el consenso entre partidos políticos en la promoción del catalán y debilitan la recuperación lingüística exitosa.
Es muy significativo que la carta tenga también el apoyo de varios miembros del Partido Popular Europeo, del cual el partido del gobierno de las Islas Baleares, el PP, es miembro, - y esta significación tendrá resonancia en círculos políticos europeos, nacionales y regionales. Indica un nuevo estado de ánimo en el ámbito europeo, en virtud de la "nueva arquitectura europea de los derechos humanos," que ya no es aceptable para los gobiernos atacar o desprestigiar una lengua regional.
El gobierno del PP de las Islas Baleares, dirigido por José Ramón Bauzá, decidió hace una semana enmendar la ley de normalización, para eliminar el requisito de catalán para trabajar en la administración pública. La medida ha sido fuertemente criticado por las ONG porque rompe un largo consenso de décadas entre partidos políticos paera la recuperación de la lengua.
Especialistas en el campo de los derechos lingüísticos minoritarios han puesto de relieve lo que consideran un uso abusivo del concepto de "libertad" para poner en práctica las políticas (algunos ni siquiera incluidas en el programa electoral) para anular las medidas existentes tendientes a garantizar los derechos de los hablantes de lenguas minoritarias. Medidas similares por parte del gobierno en manos del mismo partido, en la Comunidad Valenciana, también basadas en el mismo principio, también han sido acusadas de no ayudar a la lengua y su uso por parte de sus hablantes.
Hasta el momento no ha habido reacción por parte del gobierno balear, mientras que la condición del señor Bonet Moll sigue debilitándose. Ha perdido 20 kilos, tiene una afección cardiaca, y ha tenido que restringir su horario de visitas.
OCB están organizando una manifestación masiva contra los cambios en la ley de política lingüística y en apoyo de Jaume Bonet, para el domingo 25 de marzo en Palma. (Eurolang 2012)
FIN
Nota para los editores
ELEN es la nueva red de ámbito europeo que trabaja para promover las lenguas menos utilizadas, en sustitución de la conocida organización EBLUL.
Enlaces
OCB http://www.ocb.cat
Eurolang http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eurolang/174907085047
Eurolang / Red Europea para la Igualdad Lingüística (ELEN)
NOTA DE PRENSA
Eurodiputados protestan al Consejo y la Comisión de la UE sobre la grave situación del catalán en las Islas Baleares
Una agrupación multipartidista de eurodiputados encabezados por los eurodiputados húngaros Csaba Sógor (minoría húngara, Rumania) y Edit Bauer en representación de los húngaros en Eslovaquia (PPE), con las firmas de miembros del Intergrupo de EFA, ALDE y S&D, y después de la presión ejercida por Eurolang-ELEN y la Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), ha enviado preguntas formales depositadas, al Consejo de la UE y la Comisión europea, en protesta contra las medidas que atentan contra el catalán en las Islas Baleares y que han dado lugar a una huelga de hambre, todavía vigente, por parte del pensionista Jaume Bonet.
En la carta se pregunta si la Comisión, como "guardiana de los Tratados", considera que las medidas adoptadas por el Gobierno Balear socavan "el respeto a la diversidad lingüística" y constituyen una discriminación por motivos de idioma, que en virtud de la legislación comunitaria está prohibida.Además, se le pregunta a la Comisión qué pretende hacer con el fin de proteger los derechos de la minoría nacional en esta situación.
La carta subraya que las medidas adoptadas por el gobierno regional contravienen laos normas europeas sobre la protección de lenguas minorizadas, recogidas en el Tratado de Lisboa de la UE, la Carta de Derechos Fundamentales, la Carta Europea de las Lenguas Regionales o Minoritarias y el Convenio Marco para la Protección de las Minorías Nacionales, todos ellos ratificados por España.Añade que las medidas también rompen el consenso entre partidos políticos en la promoción del catalán y debilitan la recuperación lingüística exitosa.
Es muy significativo que la carta tenga también el apoyo de varios miembros del Partido Popular Europeo, del cual el partido del gobierno de las Islas Baleares, el PP, es miembro, - y esta significación tendrá resonancia en círculos políticos europeos, nacionales y regionales. Indica un nuevo estado de ánimo en el ámbito europeo, en virtud de la "nueva arquitectura europea de los derechos humanos," que ya no es aceptable para los gobiernos atacar o desprestigiar una lengua regional.
El gobierno del PP de las Islas Baleares, dirigido por José Ramón Bauzá, decidió hace una semana enmendar la ley de normalización, para eliminar el requisito de catalán para trabajar en la administración pública. La medida ha sido fuertemente criticado por las ONG porque rompe un largo consenso de décadas entre partidos políticos paera la recuperación de la lengua.
Especialistas en el campo de los derechos lingüísticos minoritarios han puesto de relieve lo que consideran un uso abusivo del concepto de "libertad" para poner en práctica las políticas (algunos ni siquiera incluidas en el programa electoral) para anular las medidas existentes tendientes a garantizar los derechos de los hablantes de lenguas minoritarias. Medidas similares por parte del gobierno en manos del mismo partido, en la Comunidad Valenciana, también basadas en el mismo principio, también han sido acusadas de no ayudar a la lengua y su uso por parte de sus hablantes.
Hasta el momento no ha habido reacción por parte del gobierno balear, mientras que la condición del señor Bonet Moll sigue debilitándose. Ha perdido 20 kilos, tiene una afección cardiaca, y ha tenido que restringir su horario de visitas.
OCB están organizando una manifestación masiva contra los cambios en la ley de política lingüística y en apoyo de Jaume Bonet, para el domingo 25 de marzo en Palma. (Eurolang 2012)
FIN
Nota para los editores
ELEN es la nueva red de ámbito europeo que trabaja para promover las lenguas menos utilizadas, en sustitución de la conocida organización EBLUL.
Enlaces
OCB http://www.ocb.cat
Eurolang http://www.facebook.com/pages/Eurolang/174907085047
Cas JAUME BONET: DIARI DE SESSIONS DEL PLE DEL PARLAMENT BALEAR (20/3/2012)
http://web.parlamentib.es/repositori/PUBLICACIONS/8/ple/PL-08-028.pdf
DIARI DE SESSIONS DEL PLE / Núm. 28 / 20 de març del 2012
p. 1213
DIARI DE SESSIONS DEL PLE / Núm. 28 / 20 de març del 2012
p. 1213
EL SR. MAICAS I SOCÍAS:
Gràcies,
Sr. President. Senyores diputades, senyors diputats.
Un
ciutadà d’aquesta terra que nom Jaume Boned, mestre jubilat, es troba en vaga
de fam en defensa de la nostra llengua pròpia, el català. Sent vostès el Govern
de tots els ciutadans, i no només govern dels seus votants, s’han preocupat per
la salut de Jaume Boned que lícitament, pacíficament, protesta per allò que
ell, com molts altres, consideram injust?
EL SR. PRESIDENT:
Té la
paraula el Sr. Conseller d’Educació i Cultura.
EL SR. CONSELLER D’EDUCACIÓ, CULTURA I UNIVERSITATS (Rafael Àngel Bosch i Sans):
Li ben
assegur que sí m’he preocupat.
EL SR. PRESIDENT:
Té la
paraula el Sr. Diputat.
EL SR. MAICAS I SOCIAS:
No ho
considera així el Sr. Boned, de totes formes.
“Transformar
vells enemics en adversaris lleials -Sr. Conseller tot l’endemà fèrtil ho és en
funció de l’èxit d’aquest projecte”, són paraules de René Char, poeta i membre
actiu de la resistència a la França ocupada. Òbviament no les adreçava aquestes
paraules als ocupants que s’afanyaven, entre molts altres objectius
d’extermini, a substituir el francès per l’alemany ni tampoc als col·laboracionistes,
que els ajudaven en l’execució del genocidi, les adreçava a aquells que després
de la destrossa haurien de reconstruir el país, tornar-lo a fer democràtic, habitable
i tolerant.
Vostès confonen, com deia Joan Riera, la victòria electoral amb l’èxit militar i el càstig per als vençuts. Les meves paraules, però, tampoc no van adreçades a vostès, vostès ja
saben el mal que causen, el seu objectiu deliberat és causar-lo, vull
adreçar-me als adversaris lleials i, sobretot, als resistents a aquest setge
lingüístic que, com un botí de conquesta electoral, ens vol arrabassar d’arrel
allò que som, allò que foren els nostres avantpassats. Des d’aquest escó vull
agrair a Jaume Boned l’exemple de les seves conviccions, el seu coratge de defensar-les.
Des d’aquest escó vull adreçar-me a tots aquells que estimen la nostra llengua
i la nostra terra per tal que no cedeixen. No poden guanyar els qui ens volen
desposseir de la nostra identitat. Tanmateix defugiré de la temptació de preguntar
al seu grup com un sol home, que pot posar en perill o que posa en perill la seva
salut, pot fer xantatge al seu govern.
Suposadament,
abans que govern, tots, aquí, som persones.
Actuïn.
(Alguns aplaudiments)
EL SR. PRESIDENT:
Té la
paraula el Sr. Conseller d’Educació.
EL SR. CONSELLER D’EDUCACIÓ, CULTURA I UNIVERSITATS
(Rafael Àngel Bosch i Sans):
Moltíssimes
gràcies, Sr. Maicas, per la seva intervenció i el seu to. Ha parlat de
lleialtat a l’adversari, jo li posaré, primer de tot, la defensa de la
democràcia. A mi em preocupa l’actitud d’un ciutadà, de qualsevol ciutadà que
ho passi malament, en aquest cas que ha pres la decisió voluntària de posar la
seva vida en risc fins a un determinat nivell per enfrontar-se a una decisió democràtica,
a una decisió d’un parlament democràtic, una decisió presa democràticament. Què
diria vostè si un alumne es posàs en vaga de fam per no acceptar una nota,
potser en sisena convocatòria, perquè el fan sortir de la Universitat? Què
diria vostè si un pare es posàs en vaga de fam per avançar un trasplantament a
un fill seu perquè no li toca a la llista d’espera?
Acceptaria
aquest xantatge? Doncs jo vull que el primer de tot defensem la democràcia, el
primer de tot respectem les institucions. Jo li deman al Sr. Boned que deposi
aquesta actitud i jo em reuniré amb ell les vegades que vulgui.
Moltes
gràcies.
(Alguns aplaudiments)
3/21/2012
Hunger strike for Catalan in Majorca
On March 1st, a respected retired teacher of
Catalan began a hunger strike in Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain; see, for instance, the article by a leading Majorcan academic, Gabriel Bibiloni, “El govern balear vol destruir la bona convivència i la pervivència de la identitat del país” / “The Balearic government wants to destroy coexistence and the survival of the country’s identity”: http://www.vilaweb.cat/opinio_contundent/3995353/gabriel-bibiloni-govern-balear-vol-destruir-bona-convivencia-pervivencia-identitat-pais.html; this article has been quoted or reproduced on 367 websites and blogs within three days of being published). Senyor Jaume BONET-MOLL's hunger strike, which he started on behalf of Jubilats per Mallorca (Pensioners for Majorca), is in protest against the measures announced by the Government of the Balearic Islands (Spain) which would greatly restrict the effective compliance of international instruments adopted by the Government of Spain, such as the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, as regards the Catalan language, which has been the language of these islands since they were taken from the Moors in the 13th century.
These measures include changing current legislation so as to retain only one of the two official languages (Spanish) as a requirement for regional civil service candidates. Knowing Catalan would become just a "merit" (see, for example, http://www.diariodemallorca.es/mallorca/2011/12/27/ley-quitara-catalan-requisito-informacion-publica/731385.html).
Senyor Bonet-Moll is a member of the board of Jubilats per Mallorca. Their website is http://jubilats.balearweb.net.
His condition is weakening (he has lost 20 kilos - 44 lb - and has a heart complaint), so visiting hours have been restricted.
There are filmed and written filmed interviews with him here: http://www.vilaweb.cat/noticia/3994799/20120315/jaume-bonet-vaga-fam-llengua-seria-fotut-deixar-morir-sense-dir-res.html and here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrsK6LhlLE
Given that the only reaction we have read, from government circles, is by an MP, Sra. Ana María Aguiló, who was cynical and disdainful ("Prefiero ir a visitar a personas que de verdad no pueden comer y ayudarles en lo que pueda" / "I prefer to go and visit people who are really cannot eat, and do what I can to help them", https://twitter.com/AnaMariaAguilo/status/180803252814753795), I fear that his plight is falling on deaf ears and his health will be in great danger unless someone acts as an intermediary.
The Majorcans are easy-going, cheerful people. That Jaume Bonet has taken this step is a good indicator of how serious the language policy situation is since the Spanish PP won the regional election in the Balearic Islands last spring from a leftist coalition which was supportive of the local language (as Mr. Sogor know full well, Catalan) and culture. They have cut back, closed down or removed grants for cultural organisations, Catalan-language periodicals, language services, a Catalan-language TV channel; they promised changes in the education system which will mean less Catalan being taught and will threaten the aim that all schoolchildren should end their compulsory schooling with a good command of both official languages.
The planned changes to the Civil Service Act (which Bonet claims will also change legislation adopted unanimously in 1986) curtailing Catalan language speakers' rights was NOT an election promise. Their manifesto (significantly, with a Catalan title, but the hyperlink is to a Spanish text!) can be downloaded here: http://www.ppbalears.es/upload/file_aj28_02_12_11_23_27.pdf
What they did promise in their manifesto was to remove the requirement that professionals wishing to work in the public health service in the Balearic Islands have a command of both official languages. Spanish was still to be obligatory, but not Catalan. This arose out of a corporativistic reaction by doctors and nurses (demonstrations in the street included), after the former government announced in-service language requirements, following a more-than-ample transition period. We are talking here about two Romance languages. Learning one when you know the other, before taking a civil service examination, is not an unsurmountable task!
The Spanish People's Party knows that by preaching "freedom" it can more easily impose Spanish throughout the traditionally non-Spanish-speaking parts of the country. What this will do is make it harder for citizens to have their right to use Catalan respected, in dealings with the authorities. Having people working inside the public administration who do not know Catalan will be both inefficient and will make the generalised use of Spanish more likely. This sentence will make a lot of sense here: "Entre le fort et le faible, entre le riche et le pauvre, entre le maître et le serviteur, c'est la liberté qui opprime, c'est la loi qui affranchit" (45me conférence de Notre-Dame, Henri Lacordaire (1802-1861).
All in all, the PP in the Balearic Islands has a language policy that will reverse much of what has been won, step by step (inertias are of course very, very hard to overcome), for the Catalan language in the islands since democracy returned over 30 years ago.
English-language press covering the hunger strike include the Majorca Daily Bulletin:
"Opposition furious as government plans to “down grade” Catalan": http://www.majorcadailybulletin.es/first.dba?3686+1+30618
"Hunger striker ends second week to save Catalan": http://www.majorcadailybulletin.es/first.dba?3684+1+30597
These measures include changing current legislation so as to retain only one of the two official languages (Spanish) as a requirement for regional civil service candidates. Knowing Catalan would become just a "merit" (see, for example, http://www.diariodemallorca.es/mallorca/2011/12/27/ley-quitara-catalan-requisito-informacion-publica/731385.html).
Senyor Bonet-Moll is a member of the board of Jubilats per Mallorca. Their website is http://jubilats.balearweb.net.
His condition is weakening (he has lost 20 kilos - 44 lb - and has a heart complaint), so visiting hours have been restricted.
There are filmed and written filmed interviews with him here: http://www.vilaweb.cat/noticia/3994799/20120315/jaume-bonet-vaga-fam-llengua-seria-fotut-deixar-morir-sense-dir-res.html and here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vrsK6LhlLE
Given that the only reaction we have read, from government circles, is by an MP, Sra. Ana María Aguiló, who was cynical and disdainful ("Prefiero ir a visitar a personas que de verdad no pueden comer y ayudarles en lo que pueda" / "I prefer to go and visit people who are really cannot eat, and do what I can to help them", https://twitter.com/AnaMariaAguilo/status/180803252814753795), I fear that his plight is falling on deaf ears and his health will be in great danger unless someone acts as an intermediary.
The Majorcans are easy-going, cheerful people. That Jaume Bonet has taken this step is a good indicator of how serious the language policy situation is since the Spanish PP won the regional election in the Balearic Islands last spring from a leftist coalition which was supportive of the local language (as Mr. Sogor know full well, Catalan) and culture. They have cut back, closed down or removed grants for cultural organisations, Catalan-language periodicals, language services, a Catalan-language TV channel; they promised changes in the education system which will mean less Catalan being taught and will threaten the aim that all schoolchildren should end their compulsory schooling with a good command of both official languages.
The planned changes to the Civil Service Act (which Bonet claims will also change legislation adopted unanimously in 1986) curtailing Catalan language speakers' rights was NOT an election promise. Their manifesto (significantly, with a Catalan title, but the hyperlink is to a Spanish text!) can be downloaded here: http://www.ppbalears.es/upload/file_aj28_02_12_11_23_27.pdf
What they did promise in their manifesto was to remove the requirement that professionals wishing to work in the public health service in the Balearic Islands have a command of both official languages. Spanish was still to be obligatory, but not Catalan. This arose out of a corporativistic reaction by doctors and nurses (demonstrations in the street included), after the former government announced in-service language requirements, following a more-than-ample transition period. We are talking here about two Romance languages. Learning one when you know the other, before taking a civil service examination, is not an unsurmountable task!
The Spanish People's Party knows that by preaching "freedom" it can more easily impose Spanish throughout the traditionally non-Spanish-speaking parts of the country. What this will do is make it harder for citizens to have their right to use Catalan respected, in dealings with the authorities. Having people working inside the public administration who do not know Catalan will be both inefficient and will make the generalised use of Spanish more likely. This sentence will make a lot of sense here: "Entre le fort et le faible, entre le riche et le pauvre, entre le maître et le serviteur, c'est la liberté qui opprime, c'est la loi qui affranchit" (45me conférence de Notre-Dame, Henri Lacordaire (1802-1861).
All in all, the PP in the Balearic Islands has a language policy that will reverse much of what has been won, step by step (inertias are of course very, very hard to overcome), for the Catalan language in the islands since democracy returned over 30 years ago.
A recent poll by IBES claims to show that 64% of the population support the government's language policy, though a quarter of their own voters are against it). "Uno de cada cuatro votantes del PP está en contra de la política lingüística de Bauzá. El 64 por ciento de la población de las Islas aprueba los cambios en materia de lengua anunciados por el Govern" (Última Hora, 17/3/2012):
http://ultimahora.es/mallorca/noticia/noticias/local/uno-de-cada-cuatro-votantes-del-pp-esta-en-contra-de-la-politica-linguistica-de-bauza.htmlEnglish-language press covering the hunger strike include the Majorca Daily Bulletin:
"Opposition furious as government plans to “down grade” Catalan": http://www.majorcadailybulletin.es/first.dba?3686+1+30618
"Hunger striker ends second week to save Catalan": http://www.majorcadailybulletin.es/first.dba?3684+1+30597
3/15/2012
Economic discrimination against the Catalans
http://www.ara.cat/societat/infraestructures-recoder-pastor-accessos-port-aeroport_0_657534382.html
A minister of the Catalan government, Lluís Recoder, was reported on March 5th as having announced he would call on his Spanish counterpart, Ana Pastor, with whom he was shortly to meet, to explain why two projects that the Spanish government gave the green light to, at the same Cabinet meeting in November 2002, have only come to fruition in one case.
According to Recoder, at that meeting over nine years ago the Spanish government decided to build high speed railway connections from the two main airports in Spain, Madrid-Barajas, and Barcelona-El Prat, to the respective cities and the high-speed railway network.
In the case of Madrid-Barajas airport, the connection was opened in Septmeber of last year.
In the case of Barcelona-El Prat airport, work has yet to begin.
A minister of the Catalan government, Lluís Recoder, was reported on March 5th as having announced he would call on his Spanish counterpart, Ana Pastor, with whom he was shortly to meet, to explain why two projects that the Spanish government gave the green light to, at the same Cabinet meeting in November 2002, have only come to fruition in one case.
According to Recoder, at that meeting over nine years ago the Spanish government decided to build high speed railway connections from the two main airports in Spain, Madrid-Barajas, and Barcelona-El Prat, to the respective cities and the high-speed railway network.
In the case of Madrid-Barajas airport, the connection was opened in Septmeber of last year.
In the case of Barcelona-El Prat airport, work has yet to begin.
3/14/2012
ASSEMBLEA NACIONAL CATALANA. VÍDEO DE L'ESTAT PROPI
Video per a la Constitució de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana 10.03.12
La consecució d'un Estat propi serà un fet el dia que tots els ciutadans que habiten aquesta terra, és a dir, gent de procedències, llengües i tendències polítiques no necessàriament coincidents, s'uneixin democràticament per agafar les regnes del seu destí.
Aposta per l'Estat català!!
(4m 43s)
A, de més a més...
La consecució d'un Estat propi serà un fet el dia que tots els ciutadans que habiten aquesta terra, és a dir, gent de procedències, llengües i tendències polítiques no necessàriament coincidents, s'uneixin democràticament per agafar les regnes del seu destí.
Aposta per l'Estat català!!
(4m 43s)
A, de més a més...
- Recull de premsa sobre l'acte de constitució de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana (Palau de Sant Jordi, Barcelona, 10 de març de 2012): http://miquelstrubell.blogspot.com/2012/03/assemblea-constituent-de-lassemblea.html
- Articles i entrevistes recents sobre l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana: http://miquelstrubell.blogspot.com/2012/03/ens-cal-arribar-als-sectors-provinents.html
- 11 entrevistes de 29 minuts a Esplugues TV, amb persones promotores de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana: http://miquelstrubell.blogspot.com/2011/11/raons-de-pes-per-lestat-propi.html
- Web de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana: http://www.assemblea.cat
«Ens cal arribar als sectors provinents de la immigració espanyola dels anys 50 i 60»
Entrevista sobre l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana, constituïda el passat dia 10 de març al Palau Sant Jordi de Barcelona.
http://www.eltriangle.eu/cat/notices/2012/03/_ens_cal_arribar_als_sectors_provinents_de_la_immigracio_espanyola_dels_anys_50_i_60_28871.php
http://www.eltriangle.eu/cat/notices/2012/03/_ens_cal_arribar_als_sectors_provinents_de_la_immigracio_espanyola_dels_anys_50_i_60_28871.php
Altres articles a El Triangle sobre l'ANC:
- La societat passa a l’acció en la lluita per la independència
Reportatge d'Àlex Romaguera
- Cap a la independència
Article de Carme Forcadell
3/12/2012
European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (Council of Europe)
Is it too late to bring to the Committee of Experts' notice a number of recent issues more or less directly related to the (non)compliance with the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages by the authorities in Spain, as regards the Catalan language?
- 15/1 Aragon's minister for Culture announces government plans to eliminate references to "Catalan" in the new Languages Law, and to reduce language rights in the region: http://www.elperiodicodearagon.com/noticias/aragon/la-dga-comunica-consejo-que-modificara-ley-de-lenguas_727979.html
- 16/1 Patient denied medical attention by doctor who wanted to force him to speak Spanish in Crevillent 8Valencia): http://www.elpuntavui.cat/noticia/article/2-societat/5-societat/506138-parlar-valencia-a-crevillent.html
- 28/1 Young Catalan lawyer hit in the face and neck several times by a Spanish policeman at Barcelona airport, for speaking in Catalan: http://www.elpuntavui.cat/noticia/article/2-societat/5-societat/500584-un-guardia-civil-agredeix-un-advocat-perque-parlava-catala.html
- 2/3 A retired Majorcan, Jaume Bonet, starts a hunger strike in protest against the Islands' Government's plans to drop Catalan language proficiency as a job requirement for prospective civil servants. http://dbalears.cat/actualitat/balears/en-vaga-de-fam-per-la-llengua.html
- 5/3 Spanish Supreme Court regards a document written in Catalan to be defective, and refuses to study an appeal: http://www.elpuntavui.cat/noticia/article/2-societat/5-societat/516650-el-suprem-diu-no-al-catala.html
- 6/3 Organisations in Majorca (Balearic Islands) announce demonstrations against the Islands' Government's plans to drop Catalan language proficiency as a job requirement for prospective civil servants. http://dbalears.cat/actualitat/balears/l-ocb-convoca-la-primera-gran-manifestacio-pel-catala.html
3/11/2012
Cobertura mediàtica de l'Assemblea constituent de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana (Palau Sant Jordi, 10 de març de 2012)
* Cobertura mediàtica d'un gran dia *
(foto: Nació Digital)
1. VIDEOS
2. MITJANS DE COMUNICACIÓ
3. FOTOGRAFIES
1. VÍDEOS
2. MITJANS DE COMUNICACIÓ
3. FOTOGRAFIES
1. VÍDEOS
- http://www.vilaweb.cat/noticia/3993584/20120310/lanc-constitueix-avancar-cap-independencia.html
(4h 28m)
- http://www.lamalla.cat/politica/article?id=1018479 (1m 31s)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSzzTt (4h 26m)
- Discurs de cloenda de l'Assemblea, llegit per Sergi López (9m 36s):
2. NOTÍCIES
Diari de Girona, DEIA, VILAWEB, ARA, El PUNT AVUI, 3 Cat 24, LA VANGUARDIA, EL PERIÓDICO DE CATALUNYA, NACIÓ DIGITAL, LLIBERTAT.CAT, REUS DIGITAL, EMPORDÀ.INFO, REGIÓ 7, CUGAT.CAT, LA MALLA, e-NOTICIES, INFOINDEPE, ARA O MAI, ABC, Catalunya Nord També:
LA VERDAD (Murcia) / http://www.laverdad.es/murcia/v/20120306/espana/asamblea-catalana-fija-como-20120306.html
•La Asamblea Catalana se fija como objetivo la independencia en 2014
EUROPA PRESS / http://www.europapress.es/catalunya/noticia-constituyen-asamblea-nacional-catalana-plataforma-independencia-20120310134814.html
• Constituyen la Asamblea Nacional Catalana, una plataforma por la independencia
• Nace la Asamblea Nacional Catalana, que aspira a un referéndum en 2014
Diari de Girona / http://www.diaridegirona.cat/catalunya/2012/03/10/neix-forma-oficial-lassemblea-nacional-catalana/551408.html
•Neix de forma oficial l´Assemblea Nacional Catalana
VILAWEB / http://www.vilaweb.cat/noticia/3993584/20120310/lanc-constitueix-avancar-cap-independencia.html
• L'ANC es constitueix per avançar cap a la independència. Prop de 7.000 assistents omplen el Palau Sant Jordi en l'acte constituent de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana...
• Neix oficialment l'Assemblea Nacional de Catalunya per traçar el camí cap a la independència. Més de 5.000 persones omplen l'acte constituent de l'ANC, que ha rebutjat presentar-se a cap convocatòria electoral...
• Objectiu: Un estat propi. L'Assemblea Nacional Catalana veu la llum en un acte al Palau Sant Jordi de Barcelona amb l'objectiu de convocar un referèndum sobre la independència l'any 2014. L'Assemblea està formada per persones a títol individual i és hereva de les consultes per la independència...
• Neix l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana amb l'objectiu de promoure un referèndum per la independència el 2014…
• El camí cap a la independència iniciat per l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana triomfa a Twitter...
LA VANGUARDIA / http://www.lavanguardia.com/politica/20120310/54266566268/constituyen-asamblea-nacional-catalana-independencia.html
• Constituyen la Asamblea Nacional Catalana, una plataforma por la independencia. Al acto de constitución de los estatutos celebrado en el Palau Sant Jordi han asistido unas 7.000 personas...
EL PERIÓDICO DE CATALUNYA / http://www.elperiodico.cat/ca/noticias/politica/constitueixen-assemblea-nacional-catalana-plataforma-independencia-catalunya-1524021
• Constituïda l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana, una plataforma per la independència de Catalunya. L'objectiu és pressionar per reclamar la celebració d'un referèndum abans de març del 2014.
• L'esperit d'Arenys pren cos...
LLIBERTAT.CAT / http://www.llibertat.cat/2012/03/unes-7.000-persones-presencien-la-constitucio-de-l-assemblea-nacional-catalana-16997
• Unes 7.000 persones presencien la constitució de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana. L'ANC dóna el tret de sortida per iniciar el camí cap a l’estat propi
REUS DIGITAL / http://www.reusdigital.cat/index.php?command=show_news&news_id=24075#.this
• Neix l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana per obrir pas cap a la independencia. L'ANC descarta per majoria presentar-se en una convocatòria electoral i ha rebut el suport públic de diverses personalitats. L'Assemblea Nacional Catalana s'ha constituït formalment aquest dissabte al migdia per fer "camí per tenir un estat propi" ha assegurat un dels conductors de l'acte Sergi López, que ha estat l'encarregat de "proclamar" l'ANC….
EMPORDÀ.INFO / http://www.emporda.info/catalunya/2012/03/10/neix-forma-oficial-lassemblea-nacional-catalana/160689.html
• Neix de forma oficial l´Assemblea Nacional Catalana. L'ANC descarta per majoria presentar-se mai en una convocatòria electoral i ha rebut el suport públic de diverses personalitats…
• Neix de forma oficial l´Assemblea Nacional Catalana. L'AC descarta per majoria presentar-se mai en una convocatòria electoral i ha rebut el suport públic de diverses personalitats…
CUGAT.CAT / http://www.cugat.cat/noticies/Politica/73677.htm
• Presència santcugatenca en un nou pas de l'independentisme...
• Full de ruta dels independentistes cap al 2014. 5.000 persones participen al Sant Jordi en l'acte de constitució de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana, que aspira a un referèndum el 2014...
• Sobiranistes a CDC. Digients de Convergència assisteixen a la constitució de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana...
• Dirigents de CiU també assisteixen a la constitució de l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana ...
/ http://www.xarxaindepe.org/2012/03/els-partits-politics-es-posicionen.html
• Els partits polítics es posicionen envers l'Assemblea Nacional Catalana...
ARA O MAI / http://t.co/3HNx9uB4
• "El que diu la premsa de fora de Catalunya de la Constitució de l'ANC" (El País, El Mundo, Gara)
• CiU bendice a los promotores del referendo de independencia. 7.000 personas asistieron a la creación de la Asamblea Nacional Catalana.
Catalunya Nord També / http://cntambe.wordpress.com/2012/03/11/s-ha-constituit-l-anc-ara-la-volem-fer-creixer/
• S’ha constituït l'ANC. Ara la volem fer créixer!
FOTOGRAFIES
- http://www.lluisbrunet.cat/llb_w/reportatges/rd_b_02.html
- http://www.naciodigital.cat/galeria/1173/constitucio/assemblea/nacional/catalana/personalitats
- http://www.naciodigital.cat/galeria/1174/pagina1/constitucio/assemblea/nacional/catalana
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/racocatala
- http://www.lavanguardia.com/fotos/20120310/54267016145/el-acto-de-constitucion-de-la-assemblea-nacional-catalana-celebrado-en-el-palau-sant-jordi-de-barcel.html
3/09/2012
L'ofensiva judicial al model lingüísticoescolar de Catalunya
- Sentència del Tribunal Constitucional, número 337/1994 (BOE núm. 19, 23-01-1995)avalant la constitucionalitat de l'article 15 de la Llei 7/1983, de 18 de abril, de Normalización Lingüística a Catalunya. http://idpbarcelona.ub.edu/docs/normativa/ccaa/jurisp/stc_337_94.htm
- Sentència del Tribunal Constitucional (sobre la Llei Orgànica de l'Estatut d'Autonomia de Catalunya), de 28 de juny de 2010, http://www.3cat24.cat/multimedia/pdf/1/2/1278678231021.pdf
- Sentència de 9 de diciembre de 2010, de la Sala 4a del Contenciós-Administratiu del Tribunal Suprem, respecte del recurs de cassació número 793/2009: http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/3180704/sentencia-ts-793-2009-pdf-october-5-2011-9-58-am-275k?da=y
- Sentència de 13 de diciembre de 2010, de la Sala 4a del Contenciós-Administratiu del Tribunal Suprem, respecte del recurs de cassació número 796/2009: http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/3180705/sentencia-ts-796-2009-pdf-october-5-2011-9-58-am-277k?da=y
- Sentència de la Sala 4a del Contenciós-Administratiu del Tribunal Suprem, de 16 de desembre de 2010, sobre el recurs de cassació número 1839/2009 presentat per Consuelo Santos Neyra contra la sentència de la Sala Contenciós-Administratiu, Secció 5a del Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya, de 9 de febrer de 2009: http://www.elpais.com/elpaismedia/ultimahora/media/201012/22/espana/20101222elpepunac_3_Pes_PDF.pdf / http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/3180706/sentencia-ts-1839-2009-pdf-october-5-2011-9-58-am-291k?da=y
- Interlocutòria de la Sala 5a del Contenciós-Administratiu del Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya, de 28 de juliol de 2011, referent al recurs ordinari número 485/2006-E, http://www.vilaweb.cat/media/continguts/000/032/529/529.pdf
- Interlocutòria de la Sala 5a del Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya, de 2 de setembre de 2011, http://media.e-noticies.com/ext/20110902/tsjc-ejecucion-catalan-ensenanza-3.pdf
- Recurs de reposició de la Generalitat de Catalunya, presentat per l'Advocat de la Generalitat, Àngel Egea Llanés, el 7 de setembre de 2011, contra la interlocutòria del Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya 28 de juliol de 2011, http://www.ara.cat/societat/Text-presentat-Generalitat-interlocutoria-TSJC_ARAFIL20110914_0001.pdfpresentat-Generalitat-interlocutoria-TSJC_ARAFIL20110914_0001.pdf
- Sentència de la Sala 2a del Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya, número 602/2011, de 20 de setembre de 2011), http://tsj.vlex.es/vid/-346395370, es refereix a la Llei 12/2009, d'Educació, http://www.gencat.cat/educacio/lleieducacio/cat/articulat.htm diu, entre altres coses, que "El derecho a recibir la primera enseñanza en la lengua habitual ya se reconocía en el art. 14.2 de la Llei 7/1983 [de Normalització Lingüística de Catalunya] y en el 21.1 de la Ley 1/1998 [de Política Lingüística a Catalunya]..." "(El) art. 11.4 de la Llei 12/2009 dispone que: 'En el curs escolar en què els alumnes iniciïn el primer ensenyament, les mares, els pares o els tutors dels alumnes la llengua dels quals sigui el castellà poden instar, en el moment de la matrícula, i d'acord amb el procediment que estableixi el Departament, que llurs fills hi rebin atenció lingüística individualitzada en aquesta llengua'. Dicho precepto, precisamente, no se halla incluido en el recurso de constitucionalidad número 8741-2009 [presentat per 50 diputats del Partido Popular] admitido a trámite contra otros preceptos de este ley".
- Interlocutòria de la Sala 5a del Contenciós-Administratiu del Tribunal Suprem, del Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya, Tribunal Superior de Justícia de Catalunya, de 8 de març de 2012, que "estima parcialmente el recurso de reposición interpuesto por el Abogado de la Generalitat de Catalunya", http://www.lamalla.cat/media/000000000002978/000000001488531.pdf
3/05/2012
More than their fair share
[N'hi ha una traducció al català, feta per mi, a la revista TRIBUNA, http://www.tribuna.cat/opinio/politica/mes-del-que-els-pertoca-05-03-2012.html, amb el títol "Més del que els pertoca". L'original el reprodueixo amb permís de l'autor, que ha demanat restar en l'anonimat]
Over the centuries since Catalonia lost its independence, Catalans have been on the receiving end more than most. Is that what 'belonging' to Spain amounts to?
For over 350 years the troops of the kingdom of Castile have bombarded, besieged and ravaged Catalonia's cities. French armies, in the name of their King and then for the Republic, have annexed large tracts of their land north of the Pyrenees, and have burnt down, among many other monuments, one of the greatest libraries in Europe. The armies of rival Spanish dynastic pretenders have wreaked havoc in our towns and villages. Germans, for their Fuhrer, and Italians, for their Duce, have tried out their military developments and weapons on civilian urban targets. An unholy alliance of Spanish monarchists, fascists and army officers, - with the help of Moorish troops and the support of Catholic Church leaders- have fought for control with defenders of a Republican model of Spain, while the Soviets waged their own war in the streets of Barcelona-, driving thousands of Catalans, including their political, social and scientific elites, into exile over the mountains to avoid still-unpunished bloodbaths and acrid vengeance.
For some, the miracle is that despite all this, the Catalans still exist as a vibrant people, with a living language, a creative culture and an unflagging will to look to the future.
What a rapidly growing number doesn't understand, however, is why Catalonia is not, like most other European nations, a free country in its own right.
All the more so when in the past year every single opinion poll has shown that those saying they would vote for independence in a referendum outnumber those that say they would vote against, in several recent cases by around twenty percentage points.
The Catalans' resilience is in part due to their traditional posture in the face of - always - far more powerful forces than their own. Theirs is a culture of passive, 'back-office' defiance rather than face-to-face assertiveness. Each time Catalan has been banned in schools, clandestine groups have gathered to share literacy classes, to read literature, to hold secrete poetry competitions. When Catalan (or Valencian, or Majorcan) singers' lyrics have been politically censored they have found subtle euphemisms to talk about dictatorships and the lack of freedom ('the aging mountain', 'the post'...), or have been forced to earn their living abroad. When publishers were forbidden to print works in Catalan other than those of classical authors (and in archaic spelling), they tricked the system in various ways; one printed the work of a (living!) Classics teacher.
All this, it may be said, belongs to the past. But Catalonia still belongs to Spain, whose elites have for centuries shared a national project in which Catalonia as a differentiated people with a language, a culture, a history, and institutions going back even more centuries has had no place.
It is the past that explains this present European anomaly.
And it is the present that explains why the largest demonstration in the recent history of the continent took place in Barcelona, on July 10 2010, after what many regard as the ultimate attempt, by the main Spanish parties and the Constitutional Court, to humiliate the Catalans and cut back their claims to (greater) autonomy. And why hundreds of grass-root organisations across the country have since held local referenda - with no official sponsorship or public funding whatsoever, but exquisitely organised - on Catalonia's independence. And why the last of them, held on April 10th last year in Barcelona, almost doubled the turnout of a previous popular consultation (on a different issue) organised by the City Council with the backing of a massive budget.
Yet despite the title of this article, the press is full of the opposite message: that Catalonia feels it is getting less than its fair share. And this is also true, and is helping to fuel the flames. Catalonia's economy is being choked by the lack of central government investment. Official statistics show that in 2005 (the last time the figure has been calculated) fiscal spoliation amounted to almost 9% of Catalonia's GDP. Longterm milking of the Catalan economy is exacting a crippling toll, as Catalan firms pay the price in terms of lost competitiveness. What used to be Spain's power-house is scarcely allowed to have intercontinental flights (when, for that matter, did anyone last see an Iberia plane at a Catalan airport?). Work on essential European-gauge railway infrastructures needed to allow the port of Barcelona (and Tarragona... and Valencia and Alicante) to act as the natural nodes of Europe's trade with the Middle and Far Eastern markets is being held up by the Spanish government, which keeps hinting it would prefer to bore a pharaonic tunnel through the Central Pyrenees, even though the French seem unwilling to take on their (monumental) share of the project on the other side.
It can be argued that it is fitting that richer regions pay more and poorer regions receive more. True and reasonable. But not to such a degree (more than twice the upper limit allowed in Federal Germany, for instance), not if this means Catalonia is actually being overtaken by less wealthy regions. And not if two wealthy regions do not pay such contributions at all (and whose inter-regional fiscal deficit as a result is under 3%!).
It is in this context that thousands of Catalan citizens (by no means all Catalan-born and bred; all segments of society are suffering in the crisis because of Catalonia's current status as a region of Spain with very limited powers to overcome) are joining the Assemblea Nacional Catalana (http://www.assemblea.cat) which will hold its first General Assembly on March 10th. This grass-roots organisation already has over 200 local assemblies across the country and aims by democratic means to consolidate the social majority in favour of independence, and to put pressure on the political parties a majority of whose voters support this noble objective to include (in some cases, for the first time) their commitment to independence through a referendum or a plebiscite in their 2014 election manifesto.
Noone hides the gravity of the challenges ahead. On the international front, the precedents are there for all to see. Ruthless Spanish diplomatic pressure on national sports federations around the world, to prevent Catalan federations joining their international sports federations is a good example (a notorious case in point being the International Roller Sports Federation, of which Scotland is a member). It is hard to believe that fully twenty Catalan federations are indeed recognised! Nor are some other countries sympathetic: French courts have blocked the Catalan Rugby Federation, a founder-member of the International Amateur Rugby Federation in 1934, and its attempts to reverse its expulsion in 1941, when the Pétain and the Franco régimes were in power.
Yet the Catalans are learning the virtues of being ambitious. How else could they have achieved a unique internet top-level domain for .CAT, covering the whole Catalan(-speaking) community?
March 10 may prove to be a crucial stepping-stone in the Catalans' steadfast march along the Road Map towards what, after all, is no less (and no more) than what most European peoples have achieved, though often at the expense of tragically shedding blood. It is my heartfelt hope that Europe will endorse, and indeed encourage, the use of democratic means to allow the Catalans to forge their own place in the world and make their contribution to a more just, sustainable and prosperous planet.
Over the centuries since Catalonia lost its independence, Catalans have been on the receiving end more than most. Is that what 'belonging' to Spain amounts to?
For over 350 years the troops of the kingdom of Castile have bombarded, besieged and ravaged Catalonia's cities. French armies, in the name of their King and then for the Republic, have annexed large tracts of their land north of the Pyrenees, and have burnt down, among many other monuments, one of the greatest libraries in Europe. The armies of rival Spanish dynastic pretenders have wreaked havoc in our towns and villages. Germans, for their Fuhrer, and Italians, for their Duce, have tried out their military developments and weapons on civilian urban targets. An unholy alliance of Spanish monarchists, fascists and army officers, - with the help of Moorish troops and the support of Catholic Church leaders- have fought for control with defenders of a Republican model of Spain, while the Soviets waged their own war in the streets of Barcelona-, driving thousands of Catalans, including their political, social and scientific elites, into exile over the mountains to avoid still-unpunished bloodbaths and acrid vengeance.
For some, the miracle is that despite all this, the Catalans still exist as a vibrant people, with a living language, a creative culture and an unflagging will to look to the future.
What a rapidly growing number doesn't understand, however, is why Catalonia is not, like most other European nations, a free country in its own right.
All the more so when in the past year every single opinion poll has shown that those saying they would vote for independence in a referendum outnumber those that say they would vote against, in several recent cases by around twenty percentage points.
The Catalans' resilience is in part due to their traditional posture in the face of - always - far more powerful forces than their own. Theirs is a culture of passive, 'back-office' defiance rather than face-to-face assertiveness. Each time Catalan has been banned in schools, clandestine groups have gathered to share literacy classes, to read literature, to hold secrete poetry competitions. When Catalan (or Valencian, or Majorcan) singers' lyrics have been politically censored they have found subtle euphemisms to talk about dictatorships and the lack of freedom ('the aging mountain', 'the post'...), or have been forced to earn their living abroad. When publishers were forbidden to print works in Catalan other than those of classical authors (and in archaic spelling), they tricked the system in various ways; one printed the work of a (living!) Classics teacher.
All this, it may be said, belongs to the past. But Catalonia still belongs to Spain, whose elites have for centuries shared a national project in which Catalonia as a differentiated people with a language, a culture, a history, and institutions going back even more centuries has had no place.
It is the past that explains this present European anomaly.
And it is the present that explains why the largest demonstration in the recent history of the continent took place in Barcelona, on July 10 2010, after what many regard as the ultimate attempt, by the main Spanish parties and the Constitutional Court, to humiliate the Catalans and cut back their claims to (greater) autonomy. And why hundreds of grass-root organisations across the country have since held local referenda - with no official sponsorship or public funding whatsoever, but exquisitely organised - on Catalonia's independence. And why the last of them, held on April 10th last year in Barcelona, almost doubled the turnout of a previous popular consultation (on a different issue) organised by the City Council with the backing of a massive budget.
Yet despite the title of this article, the press is full of the opposite message: that Catalonia feels it is getting less than its fair share. And this is also true, and is helping to fuel the flames. Catalonia's economy is being choked by the lack of central government investment. Official statistics show that in 2005 (the last time the figure has been calculated) fiscal spoliation amounted to almost 9% of Catalonia's GDP. Longterm milking of the Catalan economy is exacting a crippling toll, as Catalan firms pay the price in terms of lost competitiveness. What used to be Spain's power-house is scarcely allowed to have intercontinental flights (when, for that matter, did anyone last see an Iberia plane at a Catalan airport?). Work on essential European-gauge railway infrastructures needed to allow the port of Barcelona (and Tarragona... and Valencia and Alicante) to act as the natural nodes of Europe's trade with the Middle and Far Eastern markets is being held up by the Spanish government, which keeps hinting it would prefer to bore a pharaonic tunnel through the Central Pyrenees, even though the French seem unwilling to take on their (monumental) share of the project on the other side.
It can be argued that it is fitting that richer regions pay more and poorer regions receive more. True and reasonable. But not to such a degree (more than twice the upper limit allowed in Federal Germany, for instance), not if this means Catalonia is actually being overtaken by less wealthy regions. And not if two wealthy regions do not pay such contributions at all (and whose inter-regional fiscal deficit as a result is under 3%!).
It is in this context that thousands of Catalan citizens (by no means all Catalan-born and bred; all segments of society are suffering in the crisis because of Catalonia's current status as a region of Spain with very limited powers to overcome) are joining the Assemblea Nacional Catalana (http://www.assemblea.cat) which will hold its first General Assembly on March 10th. This grass-roots organisation already has over 200 local assemblies across the country and aims by democratic means to consolidate the social majority in favour of independence, and to put pressure on the political parties a majority of whose voters support this noble objective to include (in some cases, for the first time) their commitment to independence through a referendum or a plebiscite in their 2014 election manifesto.
Noone hides the gravity of the challenges ahead. On the international front, the precedents are there for all to see. Ruthless Spanish diplomatic pressure on national sports federations around the world, to prevent Catalan federations joining their international sports federations is a good example (a notorious case in point being the International Roller Sports Federation, of which Scotland is a member). It is hard to believe that fully twenty Catalan federations are indeed recognised! Nor are some other countries sympathetic: French courts have blocked the Catalan Rugby Federation, a founder-member of the International Amateur Rugby Federation in 1934, and its attempts to reverse its expulsion in 1941, when the Pétain and the Franco régimes were in power.
Yet the Catalans are learning the virtues of being ambitious. How else could they have achieved a unique internet top-level domain for .CAT, covering the whole Catalan(-speaking) community?
March 10 may prove to be a crucial stepping-stone in the Catalans' steadfast march along the Road Map towards what, after all, is no less (and no more) than what most European peoples have achieved, though often at the expense of tragically shedding blood. It is my heartfelt hope that Europe will endorse, and indeed encourage, the use of democratic means to allow the Catalans to forge their own place in the world and make their contribution to a more just, sustainable and prosperous planet.