Nothing will ever be the same in Catalonia after the events on September 2012. The massive rally on September 11th, Catalan national day, which gathered over one and a half million people in Barcelona, is a clear sign that our ages-old nation wants to become a free state in Europe.
After the rally, several things of political importance have happened which have radically altered the Catalan-Spanish relations. For one, the Spanish transition to democracy seems to be clearly over. But, because it did not bring about closure, it forced Catalonia to begin its own national transition.
President Mas' speech on the day after the rally gave support to people's sentiments. During his conference in Madrid he explained that Catalans have had enough. His meeting with Spanish President Rajoy put a definite end to any possible fiscal agreement. All these events have made it very clear that Catalans finally has a political leader who represents the People and who is willing to lead us to the future. Many people who never voted for him are openly expressing their support.
Afterwards, we had the Catalan parliamentary general debate, right in the middle of the legislature, which became a springboard for the oldest parliament in Europe towards Catalonia being recognized as an independent state in Europe.
Catalan Parliamentary General Debate
On September 25th we witnessed in Parliament an atmosphere of great historical importance. We had the feeling of being witnesses to history. Some representatives would confess they had butterflies. All kinds of dignitaries showed up to be seen, attracted by the excitement. Journalists and photographers kept rushing to and fro. La Vanguardia ended leaking the news that that elections would be held in two months.
Some Catalan political pundits feel right in their element at Parliament. I ran into the Barbetas, Toni Aira, Iu Forn, Cristina Buesa, J.Maria Martí, Quico Sallés, Marc M. Amat, and Xavier Rius. The gallery was full to the gills, and droves of Twitter commentators populated the social media channels spreading the news.
When President Mas arrived, he went straight to see the President of Parliament, Núria de Gispert. We had a feeling that the autonomic parliament would be dissolved, and there would be new elections. Right before he went in, Councilor Recoder told me that I should pay attention to page number two of the President's speech. Without fail, just in a few minutes President Mas announced that he would convoke elections for November 25th.
President Mas' Speech
Once Mas announced the elections, everybody relaxed a bit. The election campaign seemed to be underway on the Internet already. They still had not explained why, but his opponents were criticizing his decision about the dates.
The heads of the various government agencies were following the speech intently and made some comments about some of the things President Mas was saying:
“It is true that President Rajoy told me to take the Fiscal Pact to the Courts, specifically Congress. That is as true as that I answered him I would not, because I was not willing to go through yet another excruciating and humiliating legal process. This time the Spanish Congress shall not vote. This time the People of Catalonia will.”
“This Parliament has voted on several occasions that Catalonia has a right to self-determination. Now is the time to exercise this right—in a democratic, peaceful, and positive way. We do not need to look for enemies outside—we just need to focus on our own inner strength as a people and a nation.”
“We are all conscious that the newly elected Parliament will face a historical mission, probably the most difficult and transcendental of the last three hundred years. It will also be the most perilous one, the one where there is more at stake.”
An Unexpected Piece of Paper
The President, as is usual at such times, went on to talk about the different matters concerning the state of the nation during a surprisingly bearable long speech. When he finished, he turned the last page, closed his folder, and then took a little piece of paper out of his pocket. Yikes, nobody was expecting that! Everybody became tense.
President Mas announced that, once his goal of allowing the people of Catalonia to self-determine, if possible during the following legislature, he would not run for president again. We were all completely baffled. Did we hear it correctly? That's right, the man who will lead us to independence will not take advantage of this, and will let others govern once we are a free nation. He elaborated, saying that he was not doing this for his own glory, or for the party's glory. The President once more was just Artur Mas. What we saw was Mas's most egalitarian side.
The Debate at Parliament
The second day of the debate was dedicated to the interventions by the different parties. PSC seemed to be in the Twilight Zone. Ms. Camacho resorted to scare tactics (the threat of the tanks), which for sure will be used again by her Spanish colleagues. Eco-socialist Joan Herrera tried to hide behind social reasons, but in the end he had to admit that they will be a part of the new, free Catalonia alongside CiU. Mr. Puigcercós was nostalgic, but happy to be a part of the auspicious Esquerra-CiU understanding.
President Mas answered them all one by one. One of his most memorable quotes is: "We want a United States of Europe, where Catalonia is as much of a state as are Holland, Lithuania, or Denmark. He also explained why he refuses to use the word 'independence'. “I do not speak of independence for a reason, because the states in Europe are interdependent. We want to be a sovereign nation in Europe.”
The Third Day: Triumph for the Referendum
At 6:37pm the Parliament voted about the right of self-determination, with a result of 84 in favor, 21 against, and 25 abstentions. Thus Catalonia began its journey to self-determination backed legally by its Parliament. During the next legislature we will have a vote or a referendum that will set the legal foundation for Catalan independence. Therefore, the next election will define our future as a whole. The newly elected representatives will be in charge of putting an end to Catalonia as a 35-year old Spanish autonomous region, and they will have to retake the path towards freedom thwarted in 1714, in order to become a free European state.
Emotional Afterword
The President of Parliament asked that the Catalan national anthem be sung at the end. Everybody stood up and you could just feel their emotion. At the end, I noticed that many representatives could not hold back their tears. I had a feeling of having witnessed historical events for Catalonia.
Once outside, people were still crying. We now know what we want to be—independent. The Vice-President, Ms. Ortega, a few representatives, and the President of Parliament stepped forth to greet the people who welcomed them with pro-independence cries.
The President greeted the Mossos d’Esquadra (Catalan police) and, as he was leaving, we could hear the cries of: "President, sigues valent. Catalunya independent" (President, be brave. Catalonia independent).
About the author of this article for Help Catalonia
Marc Monells
Director of Institutional Relations at the Catalan government
Generalitat de Catalunya, Territori
0 comentaris:
Publica un comentari a l'entrada