Sant Jordi’s Day in the 60s

St. Jordi's day (St. George's day) in my teens, during the Franco years, was a day of national reaffirmation where in a festive manner, people walked through the streets and stopped at the stands knowing that we expressed our will to be Catalan. The latest releases of fiction and nonfiction books, and Catalan discography, with the great myths of literature, essay or music were an unattainable gift. Towards the end of the Franco regime, with the existence of the unified platform of the Assembly of Catalonia, St. Jordi's day took a more explicit political dimension of struggle for our liberties.

The 60s was the time when records by Catalan singer song writers became very popular. The late singers José Guardiola, Ramon Calduch and others recorded new versions of Italian hits in particular. Also, we had the first records by Setze Jutges and Raimon. In the late 60s, we saw the appearance of many folk musicians, from Pau Riba to Jaume Sisa. And in the early 70s, we saw the huge success gained by Llach, Serrat, Ovidi Montllor, Maria del Mar Bonet. The good literature of that time with works that marked my readings then were Mercé Rodoreda, Joan Sales, Pere Calders, Joan Perucho, Josep V. Foix, Pere IV, Espriu. Among the classics, the complete works by Salvat Papasseit. And the first books by those who I shared militancy or sympathies with for PSAN (National Liberation Socialist Party): Jaume Fuster, Quim Monzó, M. Antonia Olivé, Xavier Bru de Sala, Joan Rendé, Ramon Solsona, Pep Albanell.

Sant Jordi's day was also lived through youth organizations like scouts and outdoors organizations as an opportunity to organize summer camps by selling roses. Usually calculations did not always fit the market demand: at midday we would run out of them or we had to sell them in the evening at a discount.

All of this happened right in my city, at the heart of life from la Plana de l'Om and el Born, to Pere III Avenue and Guimerà  Street. A nerve centre of shops where the emblematic book stands of that time – there are no longer any of those: the symbol being La Xipell – were reinforced by a fleet of collaborators recruited among friends and acquaintances.

The visual landscape was filling up quietly but unstoppably with Catalan flags being used to cover the sides of the tables, as bookmarks or in combinations of flowers. And the communication landscape breathed, for one day, a test of freedom, with most of the Castilian press -the only one- reporters filling the few spaces of freedom to overcome them.

These will be forever the nostalgic St. Jordi's days in my mind. I just wish that in a few years I might be able to do without the nostalgia to describe the current St. Jordi's days, because we will be able to live them with full normalcy. The normalcy that only freedom can give.

Josep Huguet

Josep Huguet Biosca, former Minister of the Government of Catalonia (2004-2010).
President of the Irla Foundation.
Industrial engineering.

Spanish version

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The state as a citizens' tool

As a democrat and a republican, I see political institutions as a tool to guarantee the rights and interests of the citizens. In short, a state — or any other level of public administration — has meaning insofar as the people perceive it is useful. In other words, a political institution must change profoundly if citizens are convinced that in its current form is of little use to them.

Catalonia has the right to call a referendum on independence, not because anyone has invented that right, nor because anyone has plucked the nation out of a hat, but because the citizens have the right, in Catalonia and anywhere else, to decide what form their institutions should take. Among other reasons, it is the people who have endowed themselves of the institutions to govern themselves. Like it or not, the institutions do not emanate from any god-given right...

In the case of the Catalans, the disparity in the political criteria between Catalonia and the Spanish state in the ground rules of society has come to light in recent years, and has become increasingly acute. The list of political conflicts between Spain and Catalonia is long, but it is worth highlighting a few so as to get an idea of their scope.

Firstly, although a broad spectrum of society, including the employers' associations and trade unions, along with most political parties, have for decades demanded a rail freight corridor be built to connect the length of the Mediterranean coast with Northern Europe, along with a high-speed rail connection, successive Spanish governments have refused to invest. Thus, eluding all economic grounds, Spain has consistently shown disdain for this infrastructure that Catalan society considers essential for economic and social development of the Mediterranean coastline.

Another case in point is the full-immersion system of education in Catalan which is supported by 80% of the Members of the Catalan Parliament. Although Catalonia has full responsibility for education, Spain has spent years trying to overthrow the system through the courts. Full immersion ensures students speak both Catalan and Spanish at the end of compulsory education. In fact, the system allows students to get marks in Spanish well above the average in Spain. In any case, the school system is defended by a massive majority in Catalan society, but it is constantly attacked by the Spanish institutions.

Finally, concerning the fiscal relationship between Catalonia and Spain, while the majority of Catalans consider net contribution to Spain is excessive (8.5% of Catalan GDP or €16.5bn every year), a level unmatched anywhere else in Europe, Spain refuses to review the Catalan funding system.

Given the profound political discrepancies, and the perception in Catalonia that Spain does not represent the Catalans or defend their interests, the citizens have the right to endow themselves with another state, one that they will find useful.

A lawyer and a lecturer in Administrative Law, Marta Rovira is the General Secretary of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia.

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The Catalan Way also abroad

If you follow Help Catalonia, you must be aware of the human chain for independence that the Catalan National movement is preparing for the upcoming September 11: 1 , 2. This initiative will be the second mass participation event organized by the Catalan people after last year’s demonstration, when one and a half million people took to the streets of Barcelona to demand the constitution of an independent Catalan state. This time, hundreds of thousands of Catalans will join their hands to form a vast human chain across the country, from north to south, following the Catalan coastline. The initiative has 144,000 volunteers for the moment. Help Catalonia is informing in five languages simultaneously about the event.

But that’s not all:. Between August 15 and September 11, the ANC Catalan Foreign Assemblies are organizing the International Catalan Way, small scale replicas of the human chain in Catalonia in the main cities of the world. So you might be able to join them very soon just around the corner where you live. This will be a unique event to celebrate freedom and solidarity.

The images recorded in the events held until September 3 will be edited in a video that the ANC will use to promote the Catalan Way, to encourage participation, and to internationalise the issue of Catalan self-determination, seeking the support and complicity of other countries. If you would like to be part of Catalan history and join your hands with your Catalan neighbours and friends, just fill out the registration form.

Below you will find a list of locations with the International Catalan Way events that have already been confirmed. But there are many more being prepared in other places of the world. (Please note that all events will be held between August 15 and September 11. The date for each will be communicated directly on your email).

Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Brisbane (Australia)
Melbourne (Australia)
Sydney (Australia), September 1, Opera House
Brussels (Belgium), September 1, Atomium
Santiago de Chile (Chile), August 31, Cerro San Cristobal
London (England)
Manchester (England), August 31, Catalan Square
Paris (France), September 2, Champs de Mars – Tour Eiffel
Dublin (Ireland), September 1, General Post Office (GPO) O’connell Street
Luxemburg City (Luxembourg), September 7, Hêlle Fra
Edinburgh (Scotland)
Lausanne (Switzerland)
Zurich (Switzerland)
Los Angeles (USA), August 28, Grifith Park
New York City (USA), August 31, Times Square



If you can’t find the city of your choice in the list, let the, know where you are in their registration form and they will contact you with further information or send an email to viainternacional@catalanassembly.org

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Spain has still enough money to pay for the holidays of military personnel

The Spanish Government keeps raising taxes, cutting down the investments in R+D, education, health and all kind of social services. The middle class is struggling more and more every day. Poverty is on the rise. However, Spain has still enough money to pay for the holidays of selected military personnel.

The MP, Pere Aragonès, member of the Left Republican Party of Catalonia (ERC) has denounced that up to 219,680.31 Euros of public funds coming from the taxpayers will be used to pay for holiday apartments of the Spanish military personnel to make sure they’re relaxed and ready just in case they are needed for a military action in Catalonia. This is just another example of misuse of the citizen taxes that is leading Spain to economic collapse.

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Insults coming from Brand Spain

Lately it has become fashionable to utter all kinds of insults to the Catalans. From “Nazis” to” thieves” through to “child abusers”. But the xenophobic tradition belongs more to the "Eternal Spain".
It was the Kingdom of Castile which started with the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, doing likewise with the Muslims in 1609. Amidst the Nazi horror, Franco (who indeed strongly supported Hitler) abandoned thousands of Spanish republicans and Spanish Jews to their fate, driving them to a certain death in the Nazi camps. "There are no Spaniards outside Spain" the vicious official motto stated.
After the expulsion of the Jews, the Catalans started to replace the Jews in the Castilian’s collective imagination taking on the role of a scapegoat.  In the 17th century, the famous Castilian writer Quevedo named the Catalans the "three-handed thieves", amongst other things that we won’t list to avoid boring the reader. This anti-catalanism has survived in Spain until today. It is a clear case of ownership. Catalonia is not Spain. Catalonia belongs to Spain –and possessions have no rights.
Today, social media have become a propagator and catalyst of this anti-Catalan feeling. Webs like http : / / apuntem.cat are devoted to record all this flood of popular hatred, which is more repressed amongst the Spanish ruling elite.

But from time to time someone let’s their hair down. In the 1950's it was Luis de Galinsoga, editor of La Vanguardia, (then the main newspaper in Barcelona and Catalonia as a whole), who hurled that infamous "all Catalans are shit". Now we are faced with the news that the no. 2 in the Brand Spain organization (devoted to "clean" the image of Spain in the world), Mr. Juan Carlos Gafo, ex-chief of Protocol in the PM office and former Spanish ambassador in the Lebanon really went for it in Twitter stating something like: "shitty Catalans; they don't deserve anything". This was his reaction to the booing to the Spanish anthem during the opening of the World Swimming Championship in Barcelona.
Is very significant that someone at this level should make such a serious mistake, and it is very telling of the chasm that has been opened between the Spanish and the Catalan societies, even amongst part of their ruling elites. It also seems to reaffirm the fact that the Catalan community has distanced itself from the Spanish community, a distancing that Madrid has always been very aware of.
On the other hand, it is striking that a leading representative of the Brand Spain should consider a simple booing to the Spanish anthem to be worse than the ongoing Noos case (alleged corruption involving the Monarchy), Bárcenas / Gürtel / PP (alleged corruption for illegal funding for more than 20 years involving one of the two parties of the government in Spain) or Bankia / Preferential shares (large-scale scam affecting small savers). None of these affairs provoked any reaction whatsoever in Mr. Gafo
In brief, the Spanish situation is deteriorating by the day despite the Brand Spain –and the Catalans, with their eagerness to be able to hold a referendum, continue to be a magnet for Spanish xenophobia.
Perhaps the independence of Catalonia will be necessary to normalize a flawed centuries-old relationship with its Spanish neighbour.

Àlex Furest
Economist

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Second Symposium on Catalonia in Melbourne (Australia)

Barcelona, Gaudí, Dalí, Miró, Barça all have one thing in common: Catalonia. Catalonia is a nation currently facing a major challenge that could define its future as a country after the massive demonstrations on 11 September 2012. Over 1.5 million people filled the streets of Barcelona in favour of the right to a state of their own, independently from Spain.

In this timely moment, Melbourne University and Monash are jointly hosting the Second Symposium on Catalonia in Australia. The event will bring together, sixteen years after its first edition, the main researchers and research students from Catalonia in this continent.

The Symposium will be held at Melbourne University and has a varied programme, consisting of the following sessions: 'Catalans Abroad', 'Catalonia: Community, Commitment and Collective Action', 'Barcelona: The Great Enchantress' and 'Catalan Literature: Classic and Contemporary'. Experts such as Professor Alfredo Martínez Expósito, Professor of Hispanic Studies at University of Melbourne, Dr Stewart King, Senior Lecturer in Spanish and Catalan Studies at Monash University, Dr Lilit Thwaites, Honorary Research Associate at La Trobe University, Dr Victòria Gras, President of Catalan Cultural Centre of Victoria, Peter Gerrand, Honorary Research Associate at Monash University, and many more will debate around these four themes.

The event, which is free, celebrates the resumption of the teaching of Catalan language and culture at an Australian University and is supported by the Catalan Centre of Victoria, the only organised Catalan community in Australia working to promote its culture.

Location
The University Of Melbourne
University Of Melbourne
230 Grattan StreetParkville Vic 3010
Jim Potter Room, Old Physics G-16.

Date
27/07/2013

Times
Sat: 9.15am – 6.30pm
The event includes four sessions. You can find the program in the following link: http://artsonline.monash.edu.au/spanish-latin-american-studies/files/2013/07/Second-Symposium-on-Catalonia-in-Australia-program.pdf

Price
Free


Bookings
jeremy.taylor@unimelb.edu.au.

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The Catalan Way spreads all over the world

Between 15th August and 11th September, the Catalan Way towards independence will be crossing borders: The International Catalan Way is out.

It has been organized by the Foreign Assemblies of the ANC (Catalan National Assemble) and its main aim is to internationalize the big human mobilization of the coming 11th September as well as the hope of freedom for all the Catalan people. It will also allow all those Catalans that will not be able to make it to Catalonia on the “Diada” (Catalan National Day) to actively take part on the Catalan Way.

As of now, 22 human chains have already been confirmed -and we are expecting many more to join. The International Catalan Way will be held in countries like USA, Australia, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland.

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The British Prime Minister has bad news for Spain: forget about a coup

Help Catalonia among others was quick to report the insults that Jose Manuel Sanchez Fornet directed at the Catalan people after, once more, the Spanish anthem was booed. This time after a race at Catalunya Circuit, in Montmelo, on 16 June. Sanchez Fornet is the secretary general of one of the main Spanish police trade unions, the Unified Police Trade Union [SUP]. He posted his insults on Twitter, and later followed them up with further offensive tweets.

Although initial reports focused on the exact working of his insults, and on the aggravating circumstance that they came from a senior police trade unionist, we should ask ourselves whether it was the booing of the Spanish anthem which really tells the whole story. Of course, for Spanish nationalists seeing slaves in their milking cow colony reject the imposition of alien political rule is painful in and by itself. However, is that all? Or has something happened over the last few days that is making them feel even more frustrated?.

The answer lies in the valiant words by British Prime Minister David Cameron last week, when he warned Spain that it was time to acknowledge Catalan demands and let the people speak. Nothing new for Great Britain, of course, recently in March the Falklands held a referendum where they made it very clear that they had no intention of surrendering to the common or garden dictators. A shock for Spain, though, where democracy is a plant with shallow roots, and the notion of a people democratically deciding their destiny a revolutionary concept.

Until recently, many Spaniards hoped that as a last resort they could always use force, as they had done so often in the past. While some publicly threatened Catalan Prime Minister Mas with prison or execution, others were more discreet but still made it clear that they were ready to use the police and the military to prevent Catalonia from resuming their sovereignty. Tellingly, the Spanish Government has repeatedly refused to rule out a coup.

Well, David Cameron has bad news for Spain: forget about it.

Let us say it again, to make sure everybody understands: Dear Spain, forget about using force against Catalonia. Make your case, try to democratically convince Catalans to stay (in case you can think of any argument against independence, rather a tall order I am afraid), and should you fail in that endeavour, say goodbye to Catalonia. It is not us saying this, it is the prime minister of the United Kingdom. A first-rate power, with a seat at the UN Security Council, and one of the recognized nuclear weapons states.

For a third time, Great Britain is deterring Spain

Now, what makes us be so sure? What if Spaniards simply ignore David Cameron's warning and open fire against civilians? Well, history seems to point out that no matter how much they bark, at the end of the day they behave. During the Second World War they were tempted, deeply tempted, to join Hitler. They knew, however, that Great Britain and her allies would ultimately prevail. So they bit their tongue and behaved. Yes, they sent a division to the Eastern Front, but they did not have what it takes to join in the attack against Great Britain. Then, some decades later, in 1982, they provided diplomatic support to the common or garden dictators. Spain was one of the countries with the dubious honour of voting against UNSC Resolution 502, and was clearly following events in the South Atlantic to gauge British resolve to defend freedom and democracy in Gibraltar. When Spanish police detected a terrorist squad from Argentina, bound for the Rock, Madrid hesitated, but once more was successfully deterred. They were not arrested and handed over to Great Britain, as any civilized country would have done, but instead of letting them proceed they were put on a plane back to their country. For a second time, Great Britain had successfully deterred Spanish nationalists.

Freedom never comes free, we shall do our duty and some will never come home

Now, for a third time, London is telling Madrid to keep her hands in her pockets. This fact, and the realization that a coup is no longer possible, is what is eating at Mr Sanchez Fornet's heart. It is not just seeing people march for independence, but being aware that he will not be able to shoot them. It is the realization that he will not be able to commit war crimes to keep the slaves under control. Therefore, let us thank Great Britain, brace ourselves for increased tensions and even harsher words from our beloved neighbours, and keep working for our children's future. And, once we rejoin the concert of free nations, let us make sure we fully comply with our duties. Freedom never comes free, and just as we now enjoy the fruits of British preemptive intervention, let us never forget that the time will soon come when Catalan and British soldiers will be fighting side by side in some far away field. Some will never come home.

Alex Calvo is a Professor of International Relations and International Law, Head of the IR Department, and Postgraduate Research Director, European University (Barcelona Campus). An expert on Asian security and defence issues, he got his LLB from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS, University of London) and is currently doing an MA in Second World War Studies at the University of  Birmingham. He is a former teaching and research fellow at the OSCE Academy in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan).

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European Parliament report for Minorized Languages

The Culture Committee of the European Parliament has approved a report urging the European Commission to promote, from early educational levels, the learning of the minority languages ​​threatened with extinction, among them Catalan, after it has incorporated an amendment presented by MEP Ramon Tremosa.

In addition, the report recognises multilingualism 'as a richness and an expression of the European diversity' and requests funding for the period 2014-2020 to support endangered languages. The report also considers that multilingual societies which are cohesive and manage their linguistic diversity in a democratic and sustainable way, contribute to plurality, are more open and are in better conditions to contribute to the richness that represents linguistic diversity.

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Catalonia: The Non-Case

"Given the euphoria built up around the pro-referendum concert on June 29th at FC Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium, I was surprised at the scepticism shown by a senior official of the European Union".

On June 29th, on the evening the “Concert for Freedom” was held, I ran into a senior European Union official. He has worked there for years, he has been a Brussels envoy to several countries around the world and knows how core EU policy works. Given his position, he also discretely advises on the independence process that has been ongoing for some time in Catalonia. That was why I was surprised by his scepticism, given the euphoria surrounding the concert. I couldn't help myself...

— You know Europe well. How do they see the Catalan Case there?

— It's a Non-Case.

— What do you mean?

— For the European authorities, unfortunately, Catalonia is still a Non-Case. And don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about it, but that's how it is.

— But... the massive demonstration of the 11th of September highlighted in lots of international media. Everyone was talking about it. And people from the Catalan government are visiting Brussels to explain the process...

— Yes, yes, that's all very well, sure. And the human chain set for September 11th will be a great photo opportunity. But in Europe they won't be losing any sleep over it. Nice pictures of a people... but no headache.

— And so... What's needed to make the Non-Case into a Case?

— Conflict.

— You don't think there's conflict? Isn't Spanish PM Rajoy's government draconian attitude towards Catalonia's referendum enough to start with? Or all the Spanish laws being passed encroaching on the Catalan government's powers. The issue of language, for example...

— No. That's not conflict as far as Europe's concerned. What it is, as European leaders say each time they're asked, is that it's an internal matter. It doesn't get past the border.

— So? What would have to happen for it to become a conflict for Europe?

— One of two things: first, Catalan President Mas would have to formally ask Mr. Rajoy to call the referendum. If he refuses, the Catalan government would then ask Europe to enjoin Spain to call it. The ball would have passed the border into Europe's court and will have become a conflict

— And the other?

— Plebiscitary elections with a single-point agenda: a Unilateral Declaration of Independence. If the parties proposing this win, Europe would consider Catalonia a Case. Meanwhile, everything that arises from the Catalan people will be welcome and they will be attentive. But politics rules. The problem is that I'm not sure that all the right steps are being taken in Europe for the day there is conflict...

— What do you think should be done?

— Talks should have started with Germany long ago. Top level talks, I mean. I don't think it's at all clear that, when the time comes, Germany will position itself against the independence of Catalonia. It sounds impossible, doesn't it? For the time being, the Germans will do whatever necessary to stop secession. They know that Spain would sink without Catalonia. But the Germans are too pragmatic. When the time comes...

— Will they take Catalonia's side when the time comes?

— Not if the right steps aren't taken.

Anna Figuera Raich

Journalist. Political analyst for Catalan public TV3 and a lecturer in Political Journalism at Blanquerna College, Ramon Llull University, Barcelona.

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Sanitas refuses emergency admission because medical report was in Catalan

The report ends up being translated into Spanish five hours later.
Health insurer Sanitas refused a woman hospital admission last week. She required immediate medical attention for an infection. The reason for the refusal was that the medical report was written in Catalan.

According to the programme 8 al Dia on local channel 8TV, the incident occurred at the Quirón Hospital in Barcelona, where the physicians ordered admission of the patient at 7.19 pm. Five hours later, Sanitas refused admission adducing linguistic reasons.

The decision was made after the patient had been waiting five hours and the infection had already progressed. Finally, the doctor had to leave his duties in the Emergency Department to translate the report and request the hospital admission in Spanish.

Source: Vilaweb

 

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Why does Catalonia need to hold a Referendum on Self Determination? by Joan Herrera

Why does Catalonia need to hold a Referendum on Self Determination? by Catalonia's Member of Parliament Joan Herrera.

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The Catalan Way makes its way

In just a few days there are already more than 125,000 people registered. This is the number of people who, since the inscription started 12 days ago have booked themselves a place in history for being part of the Catalan Way, the human chain organized by ANC (National Catalan Assembly) on the 11th September. Some paths are not available any more, like the one between Badalona and Vilafranca del Penedès (a stretch of more than 65 Km). However there is still a lot to be done and many people to mobilise in order to ensure the success of the Via Catalana (Catalan Way).

To warm things up ready for 11th September, small human chains are taking place in several villages and cities all over the Catalan geography. The objective is to involve the whole territory and to raise awareness about the action on the Diada (Catalan National Day). 

Furthermore, we must highlight the fact that Mallorca (Balearic Islands) will be part of the Catalan Way. On 10th September at eight o’clock in the evening, Palma will form a human chain that will end up forming a map of the Catalan speaking Countries.

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A Country - Spain - at the Service of a Football Club - Real Madrid

I won't defend anyone who doesn’t follow the rules; if someone is caught breaking a law, they must pay for it. However, FC Barcelona has recently become a constant target for the right wing Spanish press, and mostly Madrid's. In the last few weeks they have been having a grand time at Messi’s expense. So it seems like a good time to air out some of the dirty laundry in Real Madrid’s history.

1. The Spanish government approved a law in 2006 that dramatically reduced the income tax rate for foreigners, from 43% to 24%, during the 5 first years of Spanish residency. The goal was to attract “qualified people,” but the real shocker was that this law was passed just as David Beckham was being signed for Real Madrid, so the club and the player reaped big from this law, so much so that this law is known as the “Beckham Act.”
 
2. The journalist Carles Torras has just published a book, La historia oculta del Real Madrid (The Hidden History of Real Madrid), explaining the whole network of friends and political influences that brought Real Madrid to be known as “the government’s team.”

3. It is surprising that several polemic corruption cases like the “Bernabeu's corner” (a public library project converted into a mall) or the “Sports City” (where the city council paid €22 million for terrains with a theoretical value of €488,000) have been forgotten. Nobody defended the Tax Administration’s interests then the way they do now with Messi. And conversely, FC Barcelona has never enjoyed such kind treatment form the Spanish administration.

4. Suspicions of different treatment for Real Madrid come to mind nowadays with all the gossip surrounding Real Madrid's big star Cristiano Ronaldo’s renewal in 2015, the year in which his contract with Real Madrid is up. The new contract will have to meet the new law modified in 2010 that would increase the tax rate from 24% to 43%. It is unbelievable that Messi is on the spot because of tax fraud but not Cristiano and Real Madrid, all due to preferential treatment by the Spanish administration. A close follow up on this will be necessary.

5. The Spanish national football team won the World Cup in 2010. The bonus for this cup was paid in South Africa (where the World Cup took place), and not in Spain, in order to avoid any interference by the Spanish Tax Administration. This has not been an issue of concern in Spain, compared to the aggressiveness shown against Messi’s finances. We are talking millions of euros here.

Other remarkable cases

6. In 1973 —in contrast with the easygoing treatment to Real Madrid— Barça had to overcome the reluctance of the Foreign Currency Office of the Minister of Economy in order to free up the funds needed to pay Amsterdam’s Ajax for the transfer of Johan Cruyff.

7. Back in 1972, loose interpretation of the legislation allowed Real Madrid and other clubs to hire players from South America with Spanish family links. Meanwhile, FC Barcelona got only denials (the Argentinian player Heredia lost 1 year before he was allowed to come to Barça). 

8. The Di Stefano affair (1955): the famous player was taken away from Barça, who had already signed him up, due to the intervention of high government officials to secure his irregular transfer Real Madrid 

 
9. The case surrounding Jose Plaza, President of the Referees Committee (1965-1989,) who meanwhile was personally in charge of referee nominations for the Spanish league, and who was successful in barring FC Barcelona from winning League Championship. 

10. FC Barcelona had earned a special entry in the Spanish police’s secret files as a “subversive organization” for decades. At one point, FC Barcelona faced a 6 month shutdown of their stadium for booing the Spanish national anthem.

11. It is well known that the President of Catalonia Lluís Companys was put before a firing squad by Franco’s executioners, but it is also true that FC Barcelona’s president was also shot dead by fascist troops during the Spanish Civil War. 

FC Barcelona President Josep Suñol
murdered by Spanish nationalists

Real Madrid has enjoyed full complicity from all kinds of high ranking government officials —from Rubalcaba, Rajoy, Wert nowadays, to Inocencio Arias, Raimundo Saporta, and others in the past— as well as government workers in mid-level positions. It is no coincidence that Real Madrid’s scenario has witnessed the biggest influx of major public works in Europe in the last decade. This is a clear example of misusing the central government’s resources for spurious purposes, crony capitalism. The Cibeles model. A corporate culture rooted in the environment of economic interventionism, the friends and the favors with which Real Madrid benefits on their own behalf using the structures of the state, which is light years away from the Catalan business culture. and which all by itself would justify independence for the Catalans.

In Madrid they have a clear view that they must attack Catalans (not with weapons quite yet) by land, air and sea, and that’s precisely what they do. All is fair against the Catalans. And FC Barcelona is a key piece for Catalonia, they know it. With Messi’s case they can put Catalans in a tight spot: either we disown Messi or we support a criminal. It's a clever tactic they can use because they control the state apparatus against us. Messi’s case coincided with other contentious proceedings in the court of law, and all this was translated in Madrid’s newspapers as a Sicilian-style Catalonia, a huge Corleone family. Madrid wants to spread this false image in order to damage the Catalan cause. If we have to be honest about it, any resemblance to Corleone’s affairs is closer to Madrid and the central government administration.

Àlex Furest, Economist


Spanish

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Catalan Society of Sociolinguistics: "This is a political offensive against the use of Catalan"

The Catalan Society of Sociolinguistics (SOCS), a subsidiary of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans, has issued a statement regarding the "political offensive against the use of Catalan by the authorities of the Kingdom of Spain" urging the international scientific community to request the UNESCO and the Council of Europe " investigate and, where appropriate, formally condemn the policies that clearly seek to harm the Catalan-speaking community." The SOCS sends this statement to international scientific societies and journals so that they help disseminate it.

Declaration in relation to the political offensive against the use of Catalan by the
authorities of the Kingdom of Spain.

The SOCS is a scientific society that brings together scholars in sociolinguistics from
the Catalan-speaking territories. As such, we have felt that it is our duty to inform the
scientific community that the Kingdom of Spain is in breach of several international
treaties that concern the protection and respect of cultural and linguistic diversity as
well as minority language rights, especially in relation to the Catalan language.
This statement is sent for informative purposes to international scientific societies and
journals so that they contribute to disseminate the information and also manifest their
concern to international organizations and bodies devoted to the safeguard of human
rights and cultural heritage.
1. New linguistic persecution in Spain
Several public institutions of the Kingdom of Spain have launched a political offensive
against the Catalan language. The offensive is led by the central government, the
regional governments of Aragon, the Balearic Islands and Valencia, as well as some
municipalities. In all cases, these policies and the various legislative and administrative
initiatives are carried out by the Popular Party, which is one of Spains’ two major
parties in both the central government and in most autonomous regions and local
authorities.
In the Balearic Islands and Valencia, where the Catalan language is compulsory in
education, the regional governments now promote a Catalan-Spanish-English trilingual
model intended to disrupt the use of Catalan as a medium of instruction in many
schools. The Balearic government is exerting pressure on teachers and parents to
increase the use of Spanish in the classroom. It has also recently eliminated the
requirement of proficiency in Catalan to work in the regional administration. The
Valencian regional government pursues the same objective through passive resistance: it
presently dispenses only 25% of the demand by families who demand an education in
Catalan to which they are entitled to by law.
However, the aspect that displays more blatantly the political intention to undermine the
teaching and use of Catalan is the concerted strategy to promote divergent linguistic
varieties. In Valencia, the regional government has for years treated "Valencian" as a
separate language to the point of banning the use of the term "Catalan" in different
contexts and not recognizing university degrees in "Catalan Philology" awarded by
Valencian universities or certificates of knowledge of the Catalan language issued by
other authorities and schools. On 19 June 2013, the parliamentary Popular group in the
Valencian Parliament presented a proposal urging the Real Academia Española to
change the definition of "valenciano" in its dictionary, arguing that it is a language
separate from Catalan. In the Balearic Islands, the regional government has declared the
intention to scrutinize textbooks to include “Balearic” colloquialisms. In Aragon, the
parliament has just passed a language law that proposes a new name for the Catalan
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"Lengua Aragonesa Propia del Área Oriental” ‘Eastern Aragonese Language’. This
initiative has resulted in concerted protests among linguists and scholars from around
the world1.
In 2007, the regional government of Valencia illegally decreed the closure of the
broadcasts of TV3, the most widely watched Catalan television channel, in its territory.
Currently, the Spanish Parliament is processing a state-wide educational reform bill that
aims to marginalize Catalan from the curriculum in the regions where it is currently on
an equal official footing with Spanish (in Catalonia, Valencia and the Balearic Islands)2.
In Valencia and Aragon, right-wing agitation groups have a long tradition of sabotages
to local cultural and political organizations, and assaults and threats to writers and
Catalan activists. In recent years reports of police harassment by citizens who claim
false accusations and threats for speaking Catalan have increased. In none of these cases
policemen have been sanctioned by the Spanish judicial authorities, which extends
amongst the population an impression of having no effective legal protection.
2. The international community on the situation
The international academic community knows that Catalan is the language spoken in
the Pyrenees Orientales in France, in the state of Andorra, in the Principality of
Catalonia, in the Eastern Aragon Strip, in Valencia, in the Balearic Islands and in the
enclaves of Alghero (Italy) and el Carxe (Spain).
The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages commits authorities
(Articles 7.b and 7.1.e) to respect the geographical area of each language and the
relations between the regions in which it is spoken. The Committee of Ministers of the
Council of Europe (20053 and 20084) has recommended Spain to apply a specific legal
framework to protect the Catalan and Aragonese languages spoken in Aragon, using
exactly these names. In the third report of the Expert Committee (24 October 2012), it
called on authorities to maintain the current level of legal protection for Catalan and
Aragonese before the current law was passed. In particular, given that Spain must
deliver its fourth report on the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages to the Council of Europe in July 2013, we ask that the Board and
its Committee of experts carry out a thorough investigation over the policies undertaken
by regional governments regarding the Catalan language. The aforesaid actions also
contravene the spirit of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural
Heritage5.
We believe that the Kingdom of Spain operates in contravention to the spirit of the
fundamental rights to cultural diversity contained in the international legal order. In
particular, the Kingdom of Spain operates contrary to UNESCO's mission to "create the
conditions for dialogue among civilizations, cultures and peoples, based upon respect
for commonly shared values" and "contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of
poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the
sciences, culture, communication and information." At the same time, it ignores the
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C/ Carme 47 08001 Barcelona SOCS@iec.cat
recommendations emanating from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe, mainly from the Oslo Recommendations6 and the Recommendations of The
Hague7.
3. Actions
We believe it is necessary that the international community takes a stance in the face of
the fact that the Spanish authorities flagrantly pursue the weakening of the linguistic
vitality of the Catalan-speaking community through the implementation of policy
measures that impede communication between users and the diffusion of cultural
production and media in Catalan. At the same time, the existence of groups causing
unrest and sabotage in complicity with these policies should be cause for concern.
In view of these developments, we ask scientific bodies and scientific societies of the
world to send their requests to UNESCO and the Council of Europe so that they
investigate and, where appropriate, formally condemn the policies that clearly seek to
harm the Catalan-speaking community.



Notes
1 Manifiesto de la comunidad científica internacional a favor del reconocimiento y dignificación de las
lenguas minoritarias de Aragón. http://www.roldedeestudiosaragoneses.org/manifiesto-de-la-comunidadcientifica-
internacional-a-favor-del-reconocimiento-y-dignificacion-de-las-lenguas-minoritarias-dearagon-
93/
2 See http://www.mecd.gob.es/servicios-al-ciudadano-mecd/participacion-publica/lomce.html
3 See http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/report/EvaluationReports/SpainECRML1_es.pdf
4 See http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/report/EvaluationReports/SpainECRML2_es.pdf, and
also Recomendation 5 of the 3rd Report
(http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/report/EvaluationReports/SpainECRML3_en.pdf, 24
October 2012, ref. ECRML (2012) 5, p. 16.
5 See http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001325/132540e.pdf
6 The Oslo Recommendations regarding the Linguistic Rights of National Minorities,
http://www.osce.org/hcnm/67531
7 The Hague Recommendations regarding the Education Rights of National Minorities,
http://www.osce.org/hcnm/32180 

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One Mountain at a Time

The association Som Països Catalans (We Are the Catalan Countries) organized the initiative Som Cims (literally, We Are Peaks, as in mountain peaks) during the Saint John’s weekend (June 22 to 24), which is a traditional celebration now considered by many to be the national day of all Catalan speaking countries.

Several groups and associations organized hikes in order to climb and visit different peaks in the Catalan Pyrenees (Canigó and Puigmal), in the coastal range (Matagalls, Tagamanent and Turó de l’Home), in País Valencià (Serra de Callosa), and in the islands of Majorca (Galatzó), Menorca (Mont Toro), and Eïvissa (Sa Talaia).

Organizers said this was a special initiative which themselves described as a “popular de-centralized mobilization” aimed to reinforce “national cohesion.” On the whole, as many as 80 peaks were climbed up thanks to the dozens of associations and several hundred of mountaineers, trekkers, and climbers. 

Italian

Spanish

French

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Next July 18th: Catalonia Campaigns For Its Own Swimming Nation

On the eve of the official opening ceremony for the FINA World Championships in Barcelona this Friday, members of the Catalan swimming community – swimmers, officials and clubs – will meet next door to the BCN2013 venues at the Montjuic Olympic Park to vote for independence.

Barcelona and Catalonia are home to many of Spain’s best swimmers, including double Olympic silver medallist Mireia Belmonte and a strong team from Sabadell. The campaigners have grown tired of creating the wealth and opportunity – Barcelona will play host to the FINA showcase for the second time in 10 years this summer – and getting nothing back from a cash-strapped Spain, say organisers of the breakaway movement.

The Catalan Swimming Manifesto, penned by a group under the name Catalan Swimming for Independence Association, will be put to the vote on Thursday evening at the Olympic park in the Catalan capital. It echoes the wider independence movement for Catalonia in Spain. If the vote is won, a request for separate membership of FINA would follow. 

The politics of such a move would be complex to say the least. There are examples in the world where the Olympic movement does not follow the specific political borders of nations, Ireland north and south swimming as one and the able-bodied swimmers of the Faroes forced to swim for Denmark (against the wishes of the faroes and Denmark) while the paralympic swimmers from the Faroes swim in the colours of their own country.

The meeting will be held at the Institut Nacional d’Educació Física de Catalunya building neighbouring the Bernat Picornell pool that hosts the 1992 Olympic Games swimming and will feature men’s and women’s water polo during the world championships next week.



Full article and Manifesto (English version)

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Catalan Wikipedia gets 100% perfect score on quality of 1000 basics-#1 in world!

While Wikipedia started on February 2001, the Catalan edition came out just one month later.Catalan is the 75th most spoken language in the world with 11,5 millions speakers, yet Catalan Wikipedia occupies the 15th place by number of articles. Catalan-speaking territories are situated in Spain, France, and Italy, whose languages make a strong influence to its speakers, specially Spanish – most of Catalan speakers are bilingual, knowing Spanish as well.
The Catalan Wikipedia has more than 400,000 entries, a mere 50% of the Spanish version—but Catalan has about a 2,5 % of speakers compared to Spanish!.




As it is usually the case, the Catalan Wikipedia collaborators are volunteers. There are a few dozen of them organized in Amical Viquipèdia, established on 2007. “The Catalan Wikipedia was the first one other than the English one to publish articles on their own,” says David Parreño from Amical Viquipèdia.

This week (Last update 2013.7.2) Catalan Wikipedia got 100% perfect score on quality of 1000 basics. It means the first one in world!. It can be seen in the next link: List of Wikipedias by sample of articles.

№	Wiki	Language	Weight	Main Article Size	Median Article Size	Absent (0k)	Stubs (< 10k)	Articles (10-30k)	Long Art. (> 30k)	Score	Growth
1	ca	Català	1.1	45,667	36,605	0	0	0	1,000	100.00	+0.94
2	ru	Русский	1.4	61,188	41,287	0	0	0	1,000	100.00	+2.20
3	en	English	1.0	74,207	65,407	1	9	138	852	91.43	+0.34
4	uk	Українська	1.3	36,518	32,407	1	1	386	612	78.37	-0.14
5	fr	Français	1.0	53,487	37,357	3	102	299	596	74.02	+0.15

Catalan Wikipedia hits the 400,000 articles milestone
BBC praises the Catalan version of the Wikipedia

 

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