Spain strangles the Catalan self-government

A Spanish court has considered that the new Statute of Autonomy is not legal. It has been done by a narrow margin of votes and after several maneuvers removing the vote of some of its members with different arguments. Only six people have decided that the law adopted by the Spanish parliament, the Catalan parliament, the Spanish senate and the entire Catalan people,is just not legal. All of them were wrong. This six aged people are right, they think.

The ruling denies that Catalonia is a nation, it also denies the right to own justice, to use symbols like the flag as part of its institutional activities and to collect taxes. A portion of the sentence is particularly harsh: the Catalan language is considered by the court as a second language to Spanish subject. This will be a pullback towards the previous status where the Catalan language was a priority in the country. Until now, the autonomous TV was completely in Catalan, from now on it should be bilingual as the Catalan institutions activities and the language of the school. Never as now Spain and Catalonia were so far.

651,650 signatures for the reception of Catalan TV in València

On Tuesday 22th June 2010 Cultural Action presented a total of 85 boxes containing 651,650 signatures in the Electoral Board. Thus it exceeds 30% of the minimum half a milion signatures required by entering the pending bill to boost popular initiative “Television without Frontiers”.

Territorial distribution of  signatures delivered has been:

Catalan Countries:
Valencian Country .............................. 253,549
Autonomous Catalonia ........................321,150
Balearic Islands ................................... 29,472

Basque Country

Navarra ................................... 29,070
Autonomous Basque Country............... 16,141

Rest of territories ……………………..... 2,268

Vallencian Country is who has the highest percentage of signatures on the relationship / voters: this means that the claim of the continuity of TV3 Valencia is widely shared by a social majority that includes all political tendencies.
Now, the Electoral Board must notify the validity of signatures and thereby begin the process of parliamentary procedure to obtain the approval of the bill.

Cycling for the language to be official

Cycling 300 km for the Catalan language. Miquel Català has begun to turn the bike on Sunday 20th. He will cross about 300 kilometers separating Paris and Brussels. He has with him 32,000 signatures in favor of the Catalan language to be official in the EU. He will deliver them to the Catalan MEPs at the Flemish capital. Català started the race at in the morning from the headquarters of the Catalan Government in Paris, where he has received support from the government representative who wished him luck in the journey. The same language militant in 2008 translated the official website of the Catalan Parliament, a job which had the support of the majority of MEPs Catalans but it caused problems with legal services of the institution.

The website was well received among Internet users in April 2009 and Catalan embarked on another site, 'oficialitat.cat', through which he has collected some 32,000 signatures in 20 European countries in favor of official status of Catalan in the EU.
'I love cycling and I found a striking way to present the initiative and efforts somehow explain that Catalans are willing to do the official language', has pointed statements in young computer to journalists at the door of the offices of the Government in the French capital.
The battle for official recognition of Catalan in the European institutions that lasts for years, without significant advances that have occurred. It is necessary that the Spanish and French will have to convince the other members of the EU because the European Council declared an official language, Catalan. They won’t.

15’7 % people voted: 89,3 % said yes

The fifth wave of consultations about Catalonia’s independence obtained a 15.7% stake (14.2% of the census broadened). This is the lowest of those made so far. Before this wave, the average participation was 23.5%. This decline of almost eight points was motivated by the failure who have had the consultations in the area of Baix Llobregat. In this country the average participation was 9.1%, It means fourteen points below the average of 23 , 5%. Baix Llobregat is a small region near from Barcelona that it is mainly populated by Spanish people. Most of them have their origins in Spain because they have born there or are second (and third ) generation migrants. Most of them refuse Catalan identity and they live as they still were in Spain.

The other side of the coin of the day has been the consultation in Mataró. In this important city in the Maresme coast the participation was 27.2%, exceeding the 26.97% obtained in April in Girona. In Mataró 23,006 people voted. Just in Mataró two unionists assaulted on electoral college destroying material but there were no wounded people.
Should be noted also that in Cerdanyola del Vallès (also with high numbers of Spanish people) participation stood at 16,52%. Sobremunt a little village in the Osona’s county has been the people with more participation: 73.24.
In absolute numbers, 68.157 people voted on June 20th. 55,388 (89.3%) have done for independence, and 4,648 (7.5%) against. %. You can follow the complete results in the 48 villages in the Coordination web.

The show of force goes on: 500.000 people more to vote on independence

Half a million Catalan people could vote in the fourth wave of consultations for independence to be held tomorrow. On June 20th 46 municipalities may express if they want or not to be in a new independent state. With this fith wave will already have 508 municipalities that have expressed their desire democratically about dependency or independence. In the 48 municipalities wich will vote on Catalan sovereignty there will be 315 polling stations spread installed in 140 electoral colleges. Regional capitals as Mataró and Falset have convoked consultations for self-determination. The list of counties and municipalities whre there will be consultations on 20 June is the next one:


Alt Camp: Alcover

Alt Empordà: Navata

Alt Penedès: Avinyonet, El Pla del Penedès, Sant Llorenç d'Hortons

Anoia: La Pobla de Claramunt

Baix Camp: Mont-roig del Camp

Baix Empordà: Calonge-Sant Antoni, Santa Cristina d'Aro

Baix Llobregat: Cornellà de Llobregat, Esplugues de Llobregat, Olesa de Montserrat, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Sant Feliu de Llobregat

Cerdanya: Bellver de Cerdanya, Guils de Cerdanya, Urús

Conca de Barberà; Sarral

Garraf: Sitges

Maresme: Mataró, Òrrius

Noguera: Térmens

Osona: Sobremunt

Priorat: Falset, Ulldemolins

Ribera d'Ebre: Ginestar i Móra la Nova

Ripollès: Ogassa

Segrià: Almenar i Els Alamús

Selva: Osor

Tarragonès: La Canonja

Vallès Occidental: Cerdanyola, Palau-solità i Plegamans

Vallès Oriental: Vallromanes

Tens of thousands of Catalans march for self-determination in Barcelona

Tens of thousands of demonstrators demonstrated on Saturday 12th in the city of Barcelona to demand the right of self determination. They were 50,000 according to the organization, but the police said they were no more than five thousandUnder the slogan 'Self-determination is democracy", the demonstration has been called by the Platform for the Right to Decide (PDD, Plataforma pel Dret a Decidir). PDD’s chairman said that the demonstration today was a response to the outrage of the Catalans. 'The Spanish state does not recognize the personality of Catalonia as a nation or the rights granted to the Spanish constitution gives (…) referendums, presenting a demonstration on Saturday and the popular initiative are examples of disagreement with the current situation”.


Protesters have also shown banners and slogans in support of the popular Initiative recently approved by the Catalan parliament. The initiative is to convoke a consultation on independence. A concert ended the march with artists as Dekrèpits, Jaume Arnella, Pep Sala and Titot.

The march also served to honor the work done by volunteers from the consultations on the independence vote and to encourage the next lapse, the June 20th. Just to acknowledge the work done by hundreds of volunteers who took part in the organization of consultations, were those who led them. There were two big banners, the first one with the slogan 'Self-determination is democracy'. In the first one there were representatives of many local committees organizers of the consultations. The second banner was with the slogan 'For the self-determination, democracy, labour and solidarity'. Behind the second banner parties and organizations that supported the event, such as ERC, CUP, Rally, Maulets , PSAN and JNC.

Perpignan unanimously approved a charter for the Catalan language

The council of the Northen Catalonia capital, Perpinyà, unanimously approved a charter which recognizes the Catalan as co-official language of the city, along with the French. The charter is covered in several international texts in the French constitution and wants to ensure the survival and transmission of Catalan in the Catalan northern territory which is under French administration. This is the first council to claim official recognition of Catalan in the French state. All groups that make up the council, since the UMP majority group and the various opposition groups voted for the text. The next step from the City of Perpignan wants to carry out that the charter to be voted, approved and ratified in all 229 municipalities of the territory of Northern Catalonia. After this step institutions should create institutions that care for the development of the Catalan language, from education to government and institutions themselves.

Travel to Alguero...50 years later

In August 1960 a group of intellectuals and politicians from Catalonia, València and the Balearic Islands made a journey boat to the city of Alghero, where they were received by their brothers in the Sardinian town. L’Alguer, as it is named in Catalan language, is the only Catalan-speaking language in the Italian state.
That trip, known as ”Lo viatge del Retrobament” (the travel of Reunion), was to strengthen relations between the Catalan speaking territories. From 23th to 26th June a trip has been organized to celebrates the 50th anniversary reunion of the modern era. As the organizers say:

"When arrived news that abroad there was also a city where Catalan is spoken, a group of intellectuals from various Catalan-speaking territories wanted to come with a boat to retrieve the missing links. For expedition to the Catalans, who were admitted to see a crowd at the port of Alghero, with joy, enthusiasm exhibited by the Catalan flag, which at the time was banned by the dictatorship, it was a moment of great excitement and happiness. "

The ties had been broken for decades, and this trip helped them rebuild. A comprehensive program to celebrate a romantic anniversary: that of a people who reunited. Includes cafes, exhibitions, lectures, a commodity market, theater, concerts ... Very sincere congratulations to the organizers, the city of Alghero (ruled by the Berlusconi’s party), the Catalan Government and Catalan Travel Club (Club Català de Viatges).

' Goodbye, Spain?' on TV

Catalan TV, TV3, will broadcast today a documentary titled “Goodbye, Spain?”. It is a 90-minute documentary that compares the Catalan national situation with other similar cases. The other nations without state are like Scotland, Greenland and Quebec. It will be released by TV3 quarter to ten in the evening, the prime strip. Given the recent polls Catalan independentism is not just a minority feelin but it is difficult to translate it in an electoral option for storng differences among the political separatist options.


"Goodbye, Spain?" examines the positioning of the European Union "to the possibility of secession of a part of a Member State and its immediate inclusion in the Union”. It will interview Scottish Prime Minister, Alex Salmond from the Scottish National Party.

Sabadell, the biggest city to vote about independence

The consultation on the independence of Catalonia in Sabadell was organized on May 30. The Platform for Self-determination has registered a participation of 14.5%, with a total of 24,370 votes over a total of 173,426 who were eligible to vote. Sabadell also exceeds the 8.2% stake that was collected on April 25, Lleida, which until now was the largest town (114,000 inhabitants) which had organized a consultation.

A 92,53 % voted Yes, the 5.6% did it for not and the white vote and gets 1.8%. The Sabadell's results are despite lack of support or financial assistance from government institutions, although not official, and despite not having prepared an array of officials working there for free. For instance, over a 12% of participation was collected by a recent consultation on reform of the Diagonal Avenue in Barcelona. The last was organized a couple of weeks by the council of the Catalan capital. It squandered more than 3 million in municipal funds in Barcelona. Besides consulting Sabadell, as other questions about independence that have been made in the Principality, has received the approval and verification of international observers who have confirmed the validity and accuracy of them.

Thousand five hundred people in a concert for independence

The concert was played last Saturday in Mataró. It brought together more than 1,500 people and it was part of a campaign by CUP (Candidatura d’Unitat Popular). The campaign is called ‘Sí’ (‘Yes' in Catalan) to ask Mataró’s people to vote yes for independence in the referendum. Mataró decides, the association wich is behind the referendum has said that it has collected over 8,000 votes in advance. It represents 8% of the standard query that drives the platform decides Mataró when there is still almost a month to the vote day.

The query about the independence is to be held in the capital of the Maresme region on June 20th. The concert served to introduce La Gossa Sorda songs from its new album ‘L’últim heretge’( 'The Last Heretic'), another band, Brams, announced the recording of a new album and their effective return to the stage.

Catalan Wikipedia amounts to the 14th place worldwide

The Catalan language wikipedia advances the version in Finnish language and amounts the 14th place worldwide with over 235,000 items. The Catalan one is the first non-state language in the Wikipedias classification.

The Catalan edition of Wikipedia has surpassed the number of articles in Finnish edition, which has allowed to position itself in the 14th position in world ranking for this category. The growth continues with the Catalan Wikipedia firm, since September 2009 exceeded the 200,000 articles, and in January of this year reached the top position in global quality. This sort of ranking for more than 270 edits, as its extension and the achievement of 1000 items considered most important by users of an encyclopedia. You can view the full details of the Catalan version of Wikipedia in the statistics section.

A crowd claimed for independence at the UN headquarters in Geneva

Hundreds of people (4.000 was the figure given by the organization) gathered on May 8th in Geneva (Switzerland) at the United Nations headquarters to claim an independent Catalan state. Promoters of the demonstration consider the "peaceful conflict" in Catalonia and Spain is aware that Spain, in his opinion, violates and endorses the international commitments that recognize the right of peoples to self-determination in denying this right in Catalonia.

The demonstrators, convoked by Deumil.cat wanted to represent hundreds of thousands of pro-Catalan independence from Spain in consultations which have been held in recent months. In a political act and it lasted almost three entertaining hours, they concentrated in the Swiss city and marched among for independence. Concentration also was attended by delegations from Venetian, Basque, Occitan, Lombard and Scottish separatists. Here you can see a photo gallery and the letter given to the UN (it’s in French language).

Sixty Catalan personalities require a single candidacy towards independence

A manifesto will be presented on Monday May, 17th calling for the independence drive to “work together (...) with the aim to establish a Catalan state”. It is signed by several gold medals from the government, like doctor Moisès Broggi, actress Montserrat Carulla, Cross of St. George as Heribert Barrera (former Parliament president) or former FC Barcelona president Agustí Montal, musician Antoni Ros Marbà, the awards of Honour of Catalan Letters Joan Sola and Antoni Badia Margarit, Raimon Panikkar or the philosopher and ex-PSOE member Xavier Rubert de Ventós.



The text is absolutely clear: 'independence is the only solution that can definitively solve the historical problem between Catalonia and Spain.” It is called “Manifesto for a national conference of sovereignty”. The idea is so simple: to unite everybody under the banner of independence. An important thing is that anyone of the promotors have no relation with politics and refuse to use any type of political office. They only want to appeal to all groups to search an agreement to submit a nomination crossing several ideologies. It could motivate abstentionists and shoul be capable of carrying a group of MPs in Parliament. All of these without renouncing their personal ideologies.


This a new step towards the exciting next elections. Several voices demand an united separatist list. Last two Catalan elections there were elected 23 and 21 MPs under the ERC’s banner but they were used for the party to support the unionist PSOE party. It provoked a big disappointment between the independentist voters so the ERC’s result is expected to be so bad.

Meeting of Majorca’s Schools in Catalan language

On Monday, May 3rd, its was presented at a press conference the agenda of the XXVI Meeting of Majorca’s Schools in Catalan language. It was celebrated in Petra on Saturday, May 8th, coinciding with the end of Correllengua. It is organized by the youth association Joves de Mallorca per la Llengua as well as the Obra Cultural Balear (OCB). The conference was attended by Rosa Barceló, Director of Language Policy of the island’s government.

The first ever trobada (meaning meeting in Catalan language) was organized in 1984. It brings together all schools that are teaching in Catalan and rooted in the reality of the country. The organizers have stressed that the meeting is for the entire school community, not just children, and that novelty this year is the arrival Correllengua (running for the language). For the occasion of Majorca 7,000 school classrooms have been doing community work that is subject to sustainable mobility, and a drawing that consisted of a sustainable means of transport done by each child. It is expected that all drawings be done with a giant mural.

At night there was a toast and a popular rock concert performed by the Majorcan Volvox, the Valencian Aspencat, Brams (popular band which resumes in Majorca after their performances years of silence) and Lax'n'Busto, leading the Catalan rock band. Thousands of people attended the event.