dissabte, 27 de febrer del 2010

28-F's referendum campaign closes in Cardona and Bas Valley

The campaign for the February 28  independence consultations ended with an emotional ceremony at the Castle of Cardona. A particularly symbolic act, moreover, because it was the last Catalan town to be reduced by the Spanish and French troops on September 18, 1714. The ceremony was attended  the promoters of referendums. A torches march from the castle to the Cardona's village, a famous village by its salt mountain, ended at midnight the campaign.

FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta took part in another closing meeting in Sant Esteve d'en Bas. It was organized by Òmnium Cultural, a cultural movement founded during the Franco's fascist regime. Laporta said: 'It is a step to achieve that Catalonia to be recognized as a state of full international level and that the Catalans could exist in a normal world'. During his speech, he claimed an own state for Catalonia in order to be recognized in its own right before the international community and especially to prosper with their own policies for managing their own resources. 'It is undeniable that a Catalan state to defend their interests will best hospitals, schools, roads and improve the welfare of the Catalans'. Also referred to the struggle for defending the rights of Catalonia as 'the most romantic one that a peoplee can aspire', saying that the Catalan people have already done all the achievements in the fight for freedom. He finally said: "We've been narcotized too much time: it is time for us to awake".

dijous, 25 de febrer del 2010

Former Scottish minister feels "horrified by the hatred and resentment" toward Catalonia by Spain

The Foreign Minister of Scotland between 2007 and 2009, Linda Fabiani, defended the legitimate right of Scots and Catalans to decide freely on their independence. This Fabiani told the conference she gave in Torroella in the framework of a conference on the future of stateless nations and the case of Scotland. The former minister admitted that she was "horrified by the hatred and resentment" that some Spanish people express respect for the aspirations of sovereignty of Catalonia.


In her talk, Fabiani said she was convinced that Scotland will get independence from the United Kingdom and was assured that, contrary to warn that some sectors, independence "will further strengthen Scotland economically and as a country." The member of the Scottish National Party (SNP) believes the future lies in medium and small nations, in contrast to large countries, "for its ability and agility to adapt quickly to changes. This year, the SNP plans a referendum on independence in Scotland and Fabiani defends the right of Scottish people to decide the role that the country wants in the world. She felt that independence of Scotland would be "accepted by the European Union, because Europe does not want a weaker, but the opposite."

dilluns, 22 de febrer del 2010

The architect of modern Catalan

Finally, a taste of the Pompeu Fabra’s great work has been published in English too. “The architect of Modern Catalan” is a book of Fabra’s selected writings by Joan Costa Carreras (Pompeu Fabra’s University). Pompeu Fabra (1868-1948), as has been said in “Free Catalonia” is renowned as the person who reformed and codified the Catalan language, giving it the condition of a normativised language for the years to come.

In spite of an strong value of the Fabra’s figure at Catalan level he was almost undiscovered at international level. The volume, translated by Alan Yates (Univerity of Shetfield), includes a general presentation of the language too with an outline survey of the social history of the Catalan language, chased during five centuries by both the Spanish and the French languages. It costs 95 €.

dijous, 18 de febrer del 2010

February 28th : independence consultations third round

Firstly was the village of Arenys de Munt on September 13th.
Secondly 167 other Catalan villages with county capitals as Berga and Vic on December 13th.
All of them have voted about Catalan seccession from Spain. The results? About 95 % of people voted for independence. The turnout was about 30 % but reached more than the 50 % in many places.

On February 28th a third wave of villages will held the referendum too. About a eighty villages, just 77, are being implied.
The villages were the referendums will take place are, for instance,: Agramunt, Alella, Alforja, Alp, Begues, Bellpuig, Bescanó, la Bisbal d'Empordà, Breda, les Cabanyes, Cabrils, Caldes de Montbui, Cardona, Castellterçol, l'Escala, l'Espluga de Francolí, Gelida, Llinars del Vallès, Llorenç del Penedès, Maçanet de la Selva, Moià, Molins de Rei, Montblanc, Palamós i Sant Joan, Palau-Sator, la Pobla de Lillet, Riells i Viabrea, Sant Andreu de Llavaneres, Sant Feliu de Codines, Sant Quintí de Mediona, Sant Quirze del Vallès, Teià, Torrelles de Llobregat, Vidreres, Vilassar de Mar, Vilobí d'Onyar, Salitja i Sant Dalmai, el Vendrell i Xerta.

dissabte, 13 de febrer del 2010

dijous, 11 de febrer del 2010

Danish paper lies and Emma Collective answer

The Danish newspaper Politiken recently published an article about the Catalonia’s language policy. The paper exposed it as a radical nationalist action against Spanish language. Emma Collective, in another excellent answer now in Danish language, explains why to defend a minor language is not to attack a major one.
Nowadays cinema (the cinema law is the origin of the article) is 97 % in Spanish but only 3 % in Catalan, justice is completely in Spanish and products are labeled in Spanish in 90 %. Only 10 % have a Catalan version too. If Catalonia was an independent state Politiken would have the same opinion?. It is always easy to attack the small.


Kære damer og herrer,
Vi har med stor bekymring læst artiklen “Censurens mange ansigter”, udgivet i jeres avis den sidste 31. januar, hvor I taler om Cataloniens anstrengelser for at bevare dets sprog og kultur (og catalanernes demokratiske vilje til selv at bestemme over deres politiske forhold til Spanien) som et eksempel på censuren og stærk nationalisme. Personligt synes vi, at sådan en sammenligning er absurd og smagløs.
Alle taler og forstår spansk i Catalonien i dag, og selv om Cataloniens eget sprog er catalansk, er det stadigvæk et stærkt diskrimineret sprog. Der er mange eksempler på dette: i biografen er det kun 2 % af filmerne, der er oversat til catalansk, i butikkerne er det 90 % af de kommercielle varer, som er etiketteret på spansk, catalanerne må næsten aldrig bruge catalansk i juridiske forhold, og i de fleste restauranter og caféer, er det næsten et mirakel, hvis man bliver forstået af tjeneren, når man taler catalansk. Kan man med udgangspunkt i dette påstå, at det spanske sprog er undertrykt? Nej, det er netop omvendt. Selv om diktaturen blev afskaffet for 35 år siden, er catalansk stadigvæk diskrimineret og dermed også catalanerne, fordi de ikke har de samme rettigheder, som indbyggerne i resten af landet.
Vi vil endvidere gøre opmærksom på, at det er helt forkert at bruge ordet “nationalistisk” for at beskrive stemningen i Catalonien. Catalanerne tror ikke, at deres sprog og kultur er bedre end andres: de vil bare gerne have de samme rettigheder, som indbyggerne i resten af Spanien har, og demokratisk at kunne bestemme over deres politiske fremtid. At være imod dette ville være, at være imod demokratiet. Derfor opfordrer vi jer om, at gøre jeres research om Catalonien noget grundigere, for netop at undgå, at I bringer artikler som “Censurens mange ansigter” i fremtiden, der ikke blot er stødende, men også er i modstrid med virkeligheden.

Diana Coromines
Col•lectiu Emma
Col•lectiu Emma er et netværk af catalanere bosiddende i en række lande, der har gjort det til deres job at følge nyhederne i den internationale presse, som relaterer sig til catalansk økonomi og samfund.

dimecres, 10 de febrer del 2010

Spain, Europe’s last fascist refugee

Toni Strubell i Trueta is a well known researcher as well as a leading member of the Dignity Commission which fights for the return of documents stolen from the Catalan people by the Spanish fascists at the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). Strubell, member of the association Reagrupament too, has wrote a letter to the international newspapers to explain the continuity between present Spain as the fascist Spain. In fact Franco’s dictator selected the present day Spanish king as his heir!:




Dear Sir,

I would very much like to call your attention to worrying events coming from today's Spain. Last February 4th, Spanish newspapers reported that a National Audience judge, Baltasar Garzón, is to be put on trial and possibly suspended. What was his crime? Having dared to try and open up an investigation into the mass graves and other crimes perpetrated by the Franco regime (in Valencia alone, mass graves holding over 26,300 post-war Franco victims have recently been discovered). That very day the newspapers also informed that the huge fascist monument honouring the cruiser Baleares in Palma bay (the pride of Franco's fleet sunk by the Republicans after having shelled thousands of fleeing refugees on the coastal roads of Andalusia) is not to be demolished. It is to be conserved. What must Spanish democrats and relatives of the victims make of this? Can anyone imagine the same occurring with a monument dedicated to a Fascist-manned warship in any other part of the democratic world? Furthermore, on February 5th newspapers informed that the Basque Parliament, where Spanish Constitutional parties at present hold a majority (due to the illegalization of the Basque left party) voted against instating a Truth Commission (such as the one established by Nelson Mandela in South Africa in the early nineties) to discover the truth about the crimes of Franco. What in heaven's name is happening in Spain? I think it is high time democrats all over the world be informed about the huge democratic deficit that exists today in Spain. Europe largely ridded itself of Fascism in 1945. The one place it lives on is in Spain, where 56 streets in Madrid still bear the names of Franco generals. The sooner the whole world knows the truth about Spain, the sooner we can start to put an end to so much iniquity and disgrace.
Toni Strubell i Trueta

The former head of State at a Fascist rally in Madrid in September 1975...and the current head of State at the same Fascist rally in 1975

diumenge, 7 de febrer del 2010

Catalan language flame renovated

On 1968 it was commemorated the first century of the Pompeu Fabra’s born. Fabra was the man who codified the Catalan language. He is buried in Prada de Conflent, Northern Catalonia in the French state. As an homage as well as an allegiance a flame was started in his grave. Since then, every year, this flame is renovated in the Catalan sacred mountain, Montserrat. Montserrat is for the Catalans just as the Black Hills for the Sioux or the Uluru mountain for the Australian aboriginals.


A religious and vindication act was organized in Montserrat on February 7th by the Sant Feliu de Guíxols country trippers. Every year a local section of country trippers take the flame from Prada and renovate their allegiance to the language. This is the 41st edition of the Catalan language flame’s renovation.

dimecres, 3 de febrer del 2010

Guest language in Expolangues: Catalan

Expolangues is the World most important saloon about languages. Every year it receives a language as an honour guest. This year the language chosen is Catalan. This is the first time that a non-state language is the guest one. The small state of Andorra is the only one where Catalan is the first language. In the Spanish state it is partially official while in the French and Italian it is not.

Expolangues 2010 is held in Paris, as usual, from 3-6 February. Several actions will recognize the Catalan language as “the language of ten million European people”. The mission is lead by the Ramon Llull Institute. Ramon Llull was an important writer in the Middle Age from Mallorca. The Institute is formed by the autonomous government of Balearic islands, Catalonia, the general council from Northern Catalonia (Oriental Pyrinees), Andorra’s state, the Valencian cities net as well as the city of Alguer from Sardinia, Italian state.
The same institute has began a public campaign to promote the recognition of the language in France. It is composed by advertisements in the subway as well as television spots with the actor Sergi Lopez well known by the French public.