The EU Comission denounces Spain: No rule of law as it is failing to comply the 61 % of the ECHR rulings

The Kingdom of Spain is failing to comply with the rulings of the ECHR, with 61% still pending, EU Comissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders reminds, and the average time of pending implementation is over three years. Spain is a deficient democracy where human rights don’t really matter.

The European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, in response to a question from Spanish MEPs, recalled that on January 1, 2022, Spain had 23 main judgments of the ECHR pending compliance. "On that date, the percentage of main judgments handed down during the last ten years and pending compliance in Spain was 61%, and the average period during which the judgments had been pending compliance was three years and one month", add.

Reynders recalls in his written response that compliance with the judgments of the Strasbourg Court, in particular with regard to the main judgments, is an important indicator of the functioning of the Rule of Law in a country, and that the report on the Rule of Law drawn up by the Commission has included this year for the first time an overview of the application of ECtHR judgments in each State.

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We're back: Massive political demonstration for Catalonia's Independence attended by 700,000 people

700,000 people gathered in the annual National Day pro-independence rally in Barcelona, according to the the organizing grassroots organization, ANC.  local police. Thus, the march was joined by 300,000 more people than last year, when the organizers estimated that 400,000 had marched in the streets. According to local police, the figure was 150,000, which is also higher than their calculations in 2021.

Every September 11, the attendance in the demonstration has been one of the key facts to know the level of engagement among Catalans over the independence campaign. The rally in 2014 marks the peak number of attendees, with 1.8 million, according to the local police, which stood for almost a quarter of the total population in the country. Yet, these numbers have been declining especially after the referendum and independence push in October 2017, with the pandemic also playing its role.

The rally began in Paral·lel avenue and ended in the Estació de França station, by the Ciutadella Park, where the Catalan parliament is located. The atmosphere was at all times cheerful and peaceful, with chants of independence, against governing parties, and some attendees supporting exiled president Carles Puigdemont. You can see some pictures of the rally here at the Catalan version of VilaWeb.

Independence or elections

When the event ended, ANC’s president Dolors Feliu demanded “independence or elections” to the two parties in cabinet, which are also favoring a split from Spain. During her speech, she said that 5 years after the 2017 independence referendum many people have run out of patience and she hinted at the creation of a new party, while many rally-goers spontaneously chanted “government, step down.”

Yesterday’s rally and Feliu’s ultimatum imply a move forward by the ANC in a delicate political moment, when ERC and Junts are negotiating a way not to derail the government agreement, although Junts is considering the possibility of leaving it. There is still a lot of legislation ahead, although next year there will be local and Spanish parliamentary elections, and a possible economic recession is looming and will shake the foundations of all political institutions.

President Aragonès did not attend the rally “because it is against [pro-independence] parties and not against Spain.” This is a major evidence that campaigners for a split with Spain are divided between those prioritizing talks with Madrid, including Aragonès, and those who say confrontation would be a much more effective way ahead. Indeed, the official manifesto for the protest, organized by grassroots organization ANC, criticizes the handling of the independence campaign by the parties leading it. It is the first time since 2015 that a Catalan president fails to attend the march.

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The United Nations’ (UN) Human Rights Committee: Spain violated political rights of Catalan national minority leaders

 The United Nations’ Human Rights Committee has stated that Spain “violated” the political rights of four formerly jailed Catalan leaders, convicted for their roles in organizing the 2017 referendum on independence.

The opinion was released on Wednesday and refers to the fact that former vice president Oriol Junqueras, together with former ministers Raül Romeva, Josep Rull and Jordi Turull were stripped as MPs before having been convicted in October 2019.

During their pretrial detention, the four former Parliament members brought their case to the Committee, alleging that their suspension from public duties, prior to any conviction, violated their political rights under Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In October 2019, the four of them were convicted of sedition, a crime that does not include the element of violence, as opposed to rebellion, and their suspensions were lifted.

Taking note that the four complainants had urged the public to remain strictly peaceful, the Committee considered that the decision to charge them with the crime of rebellion, which led to their automatic suspension prior to a conviction, was not foreseeable and therefore not based on reasonable and objective grounds provided for by law.

“The Committee took an important step in affirming that the safeguards against the restrictions of political rights must be applied more rigorously if these restrictions occur prior to, rather than after, a conviction for an offence,” said Committee member Hélène Tigroudja. “The decision to suspend elected officials should rely on clear and foreseeable laws which establish reasonable and objective grounds for the restriction of the political rights, and must be applied based on an individualized assessment. Such an approach and safeguards are the best way to ensure respect for institutions and to promote the rule of law in a democratic society,” she added.

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Hundreds of people gather in Folgueroles and burn Spanish flags

The event was called by the Civil Disobedience movement and consisted mainly of fun events (theatre, debates, music with Musicians for Freedom). Catalans for Independence, the Committees for the Defense of the Republic of Osona and Action for Independence have participated in the events. Among them some hooded men have entered the town hall where they have unfurled a banner.

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Thousands rally to live fully in Catalan language in Majorca, València and Barcelona

One hundred people have claimed this Saturday, April 2, in Palma, the "right to live in Catalan." All in the framework of the mobilization organized by 17 entities. This was explained by Carles Cabrera, the Secretary of Linguistic Normalization of the STEI Intersindical, one of the 17 entities that joined the mobilization. In statements to the media, he stated that "this Saturday's rally, organized by Enllaçats per la Llengua, in all Catalan-speaking territories, aims to claim the normality of this language in the Balearic Islands in order to live fully in Catalan."

In Barcelona a crowd of thousands people rallied against the political agreement to reform the Language Policy Act. This is the agreement signed by PSOE, ERC, JxCat and En Comú Podem, which states that Spanish "is used in the terms set by the language projects of each center" and from which JxCat ended up being demarcated. The protest began in Plaça de Sant Jaume and advanced through the center of the Catalan capital to the gates of Parliament, in the Ciutadella park. A police cordon guarding the building was waiting for them there.

First there was a rally, convened by the platform Enllaçats per la Llengua under the slogan ‘Enough’ and demanding to live fully in Catalan. After the reading of the manifesto, the demonstration convened by USTEC, COS, Intersindical, the Federated Associations of Families and Students of Catalonia (aFFaC) and the Student Union of the Catalan Countries (SEPC) . Trade unions (USTEC-STEs, Intersindical, CGT and COS), students (SEPC), families (aFFaC), with the support of organizations (ANC, Omnium) and platforms in defense of the language (CAL, Platform for the Language), have promoted the demonstration this Saturday afternoon in the center of Barcelona in defense of the Catalan school model and against the political agreement signed by ERC, Junts, PSC and Comuns which they consider puts an end to language immersion.

In València, the mobilization had the support of Decidim, ACPV, STEPV, Plataforma per la llengua, Juga en Valencià, COS and Escola Valenciana and was joined by more than a hundred people.

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'Collabo Government' rally held in front of the HQ of the autonomous government

 

The Catalans for Independence formation, created by former members of the ANC leadership, dissatisfied with the mandate of Elisenda Paluzie, gathered a hundred people yesterday in front of the Palau de la Generalitat, in a rally led by the slogan “we will not vote us again ”. During the event, a manifesto was read in which the group declares that they feel cheated by the "15-M scammers", referring to the City Council, and by the "October 1 scammers , referring to the Generalitat (Catalan autonomous government). "We are not in rebellion, but we no longer recognize you, and that is why we will not vote for you again," they said, addressing the current pro-independence deputies. The formation, created in 2021, aims to "bring together pro-independence activists who are not willing to give up the October 1 mandate or wait for future generations to implement it."

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A dozen of ERC party headquarters defaced as Spanish collaborationists and "to betray independence"

The Committee for the Defense of the Republic - Direct Action has claimed that it has painted on the facade of several ERC headquarters, as well as some of Junts and the CUP in various localities, with the inscription "Consulate of Spain" to denounce the which considers the inaction of the parties in resuming the independence process. The CDR-Acció Directa has published on the web how the graffiti was done in various towns, such as Mollerussa, Alcarràs, Terrassa, Balaguer, Barcelona, ​​Rubí, Sant Cugat del Vallès and Vic. "If you continue to manage autonomy, you will face us. If you continue to betray independence, we will continue to point to yours. Today we made official what we all knew: new consulates in the territory ", they pointed out on the network. In a manifesto published a year ago, the CDR-Acció Directa criticized the action of the pro-independence parties, assuring that they were trying to "seek demobilization", and announced that it would take action in protest.

Meanwhile, pro-independence parties in addition to the PSC and the commons are now waiting to see if they will change the language policy law. If last Thursday the PSC, ERC, Junts i comuns convincingly presented an agreement to incorporate Spanish as a language for school use, today this agreement has the brakes on. The widespread rejection of civil society on Thursday evening led to Junts withdrawing from this agreement, while the other three groups called on those of Carles Puigdemont not to deviate from the consensus reached by more than 100 deputies. The amendment to the Language Policy Act was due to begin debating in the plenary next week, the groups said, but it has no date at the moment, although it is likely to be addressed in the plenary session of the April 28th.
for Taboola

This was explained by parliamentary sources after the Bureau and the Board of Spokespersons met this week. They say they have set the agenda for next week's plenary, which will only last two days because there are "few motions", and that this bill will not be addressed to change the rules. These sources have detailed that there is no date at the moment and that the decision not to put it in the next plenary session has been an agreement of the groups. In addition, the CUP has asked to unilaterally set its proposal to amend the LEC for next week’s plenary session, which calls for only Catalan to be recognized in schools, but the groups have rejected it.

On the other hand, ninety personalities have signed a manifesto against the controversial language agreement at school, arguing that “it cannot be approved because it constitutes a threatening setback for the future of the language in an area that is key to normalizing -the". A més, “la incorporació explícita de la vehicularitat del castellà en una llei catalana representaria un pas enrere que el català no es pot permetre en la situació de feblesa actual, accentuada entre la població més jove”, afegeix. Clara Ponsatí, Elisenda Paluzie, Quim Torra and Lluís Llach are some of the personalities who have supported the text released this week. The manifesto ‘Defensem l'escola en català’ explains that “this waiver, apart from being dangerous, would be sterile and gratuitous, and would not serve to respond to the judicial requirements of the TSJC ruling”. "We already know, as we have seen in the Valencian Country, that the courts, based on lawsuits from public and private bodies that have not stopped, would continue to attack the school in Catalan under any pretext," he recalls. Therefore, he insists that "the government cannot give in to the legal challenge that, without any pedagogical criteria, seeks to overthrow a model that promotes social cohesion and has the support of the vast majority of society." "In fact, it gave way when in 2020, in the negotiation of the Celaá Law with the government of Pedro Sánchez, it did not demand that the Spanish government withdraw the appeal that has ended up giving rise to this sentence," he said.

The CDR-AD was born on St. George's Day 2021. In a statement, the new group, called CDR Direct Action, explained that it includes the legacy of all those who have fought for independence, especially the courage of all those retaliated against. , to take a walk on the political stage from the street. "In this context, between the demobilization sought, the Offec of Spain and the so-empty and embarrassing words of Catalan parties we are born the Defense Committee of the Republic - Direct Action," says the statement.
 

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Amnesty International Report 2021/22 denounces that Spanish Human rights violations continue against Catalan national minority

Amnesty International Annual Report 2021/22 continues to denounce that Human rights violations in Spain continue, especially in Catalonia "Investigations into allegations of unlawful use of force by law enforcement officials during the Oct 2017 protests in Catalonia remained open". Catalan pro-independence grassroots leaders"spent almost four years in detention, following an unjust conviction on sedition charges in connection w/ peaceful protests and the 2017 referendum on Catalan independence". President in exile and MEPCarlesPuigdemont was arrested in Sardinia following illegal procedures by the Spanish judiciary, and subsequently released. Spain's GagLaw remains in effect 6 yrs after its implementation, despite promises of change by the current Spanish government. Human rights violations in Spain continue, and the heirs of Francoism keep their impunity in a so-called "democracy".

Link to the report

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The Council of Europe : the Spanish government has not complied with any of the 19 recommendations made to it for to improve the transparency or to prevent corruption

The Council of Europe suspends the Spanish state in the fight against corruption. This is stated in the report prepared by the Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) and published today, in which it can be seen that the Spanish government has not complied with any of the nineteen recommendations made to it for to improve the transparency and functioning of the administration and to prevent its corruption.
GRECO points especially to the police and considers its progress in building an "ethical infrastructure" to be "disappointing". The text notes that the Civil Guard has made "some progress", but does not see any "concrete improvement" in the case of the National Police. On the political front, GRECO regrets that the state has not taken any steps to strengthen transparency in the case of advisers or to establish a strategy to mitigate the risks of corruption in the case of senior officials. In the same vein, he sees no progress in the recommendation to ensure that the Transparency and Good Governance Council has "adequate independence, authority and resources to function effectively."

The report notes that the state has also made no progress in establishing rules on the relationship between senior officials and lobbies, or in recommending the expansion of public information on the assets of senior officials, or in overseeing possible conflicts. of interest.

With regard to gauging, GRECO regrets that the recommendation to amend this "special process" has not been implemented so as not to "obstruct" the proceedings in cases of high-ranking officials accused of corruption.

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Catalan Victory over the Spanish army in the Battle of Montjuïc Honoured

The Colonela(La Coronela) honoured the Catalan Soldier Day, celebrated every year on January 26 in recovering from the Catalan Victory on the Spanish Army in the Battle of Montjuïc, in 1641 and the Mechanical and Patriot Martí Martí and Bardella, buttered Spanish colonial police on January 26, 1979 and ending on January 29, 1979. In the Battle of Montjuïc 6,000 Catalans defeated a 23,000 strong Spanish army at the Barcelona's doors.

La Coronela focused the event on the Baluard de Santa Madrona on the 381st anniversary of the Battle of Montjuïc in which 6,000 Catalans defeated 23,000 Spaniards. But the Pyrenean Regiment, made up of Catalan pro-independence activists during the war from 1936 to 1939, was also honored. Apart from the public force, the councilor of Barcelona de Junts per Catalunya, Jordi Martí, took part in the event.


La Coronela is the name of the armed force of the town of Barcelona, and its objective was to defend the city during the War of the Spanish Occupaton. It was formed, in great part, by craftsmen and organized under the commandment of the Conseller en cap (Head councillor, in Catalan) of the Consell de Cent of Barcelona. It played a crucial role in the defense of the city against the pro Spanis Bourbonic troops (also called Philippists or Botiflers) from 1710 to 1714.

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The Assembly of Representatives of the Council for the Republic constituted with 121 seats

 

The constituent session of the Assembly of Representatives was held this Sunday, November 14, after the elections were held on October 29, 30 and 31. The Plenary Session was held in Canet de Rosselló, in northern Catalonia. The constituent session of the Assembly of Representatives was held this Sunday, November 14, after the elections were held on October 29, 30 and 31. The Plenary Session was held in Canet de Rosselló, in Northern Catalonia.

The Assembly of Representatives has 121 seats: 81 for the candidacies of citizens, distributed in veguerias and districts and 40 seats of elected positions of the Principality with a single constituency.

First, the old table was set up to start the Plenary Session. Once Jordi Domingo, President of the Electoral Syndicate, read the names of the two youngest people in the Plenary Session and the oldest, who chaired the first part. of the session, Blanca Serra.

The Plenary Session voted and approved Decree 2/2001 and subsequently voted the members of the final Board, it was possible to present any of the 121 elected representatives and this was the result:

    President: Ona Curto, councilor of the CUP in Arenys de Mar.
    First Vice President: Maria Costa Baqué, Mayor of the town of Banys d’Arles in northern Catalonia.
    Second Vice President: Jordi Pessarrodona, former ERC councilor in Sant Joan de Vilatorrada and of the Independentistas d’Esquerres.
    First Secretary: Joan Puig, historical militant of ERC and member of the current First of October.
    Second Secretary: Assumpció Lailla, Member of the Democrats.

The Plenary Session concluded with the approval of Decree 3/2021 on the constitution of the Commissions, which provides for a minimum of 7.

Speeches highlighted in order of intervention:

Blanca Serra Puig, President of the Age Board:

"The solution lies with us. We have the answer to the onslaught: active resistance. A resistance that is not questioned, that does not back down and knows how to generate and take advantage of any opportunity to advance on the path to freedom. Let's get ready, let's get up, let's mobilize. Moral of victory! ”

Carles Puigdemont, Acting Chairman of the Board:

“I want to encourage you. We need you so much. So far, we’ve taken the 2017 testimonial. It’s about taking that legacy and pushing it. This is a struggle that comes from afar and will go a long way. On behalf of the Council, I would like to thank you for your honorable support, for the deep pride I feel in being the first representatives of the Assembly of Representatives that has milled into democratic forms, which will no doubt be the ones that democratic society will have to take. L’estat català tindrà una radicalitat democràtica que no serà un calc de la mal anomenada democràcia espanyola”.

Toni Comín, Acting Vice-President of the Board

“The Council is the first institution in the country of voluntary affiliation that brings together more people in the whole of the Catalan Countries. I would also like to congratulate the small technical team of the Council for the success of this constituent session. Those of you who have been elected representatives have the right and the duty to feel protagonists in the process that will allow us to reach the end and make the Republic ”.

Ona Curto, President of the Assembly of Representatives

"The Council must be another tool to achieve independence, we must legitimize it and make it useful, as it is currently the Republican tool that presents more strategy and points of content. It is important that the political movement I represent is there and we occupy this space. We must give a voice to plurality, transversality and feminism so that the Council does not have a single voice ”.

The # AR2021 has also launched today the following website: https://assemblearepresentants.cat/has 121 seats: 81 for the candidacies of citizens, distributed in veguerias and districts and 40 seats of elected positions of the Principality with a single constituency.

First, the old table was set up to start the Plenary Session. Once Jordi Domingo, President of the Electoral Syndicate, read the names of the two youngest people in the Plenary Session and the oldest, who chaired the first part. of the session, Blanca Serra.

The Plenary Session voted and approved Decree 2/2001 and subsequently voted the members of the final Board, it was possible to present any of the 121 elected representatives and this was the result:

President: Ona Curto, councilor of the CUP in Arenys de Mar.
First Vice President: Maria Costa Baqué, Mayor of the town of Banys d’Arles in northern Catalonia.
Second Vice President: Jordi Pessarrodona, former ERC councilor in Sant Joan de Vilatorrada and of the Independentistas d’Esquerres.
First Secretary: Joan Puig, historical militant of ERC and member of the current First of October.
Second Secretary: Assumpció Lailla, Member of the Democrats.

The Plenary Session concluded with the approval of Decree 3/2021 on the constitution of the Commissions, which provides for a minimum of 7.

Speeches highlighted in order of intervention:

Blanca Serra Puig, President of the Age Board:

"The solution lies with us. We have the answer to the onslaught: active resistance. A resistance that is not questioned, that does not back down and knows how to generate and take advantage of any opportunity to advance on the path to freedom. Let's get ready, let's get up, let's mobilize. Moral of victory! ”

Carles Puigdemont, Acting Chairman of the Board:

“I want to encourage you. We need you so much. So far, we’ve taken the 2017 testimonial. It’s about taking that legacy and pushing it. This is a struggle that comes from afar and will go a long way. On behalf of the Council, I would like to thank you for your honorable support, for the deep pride I feel in being the first representatives of the Assembly of Representatives that has milled into democratic forms, which will no doubt be the ones that democratic society will have to take. L’estat català tindrà una radicalitat democràtica que no serà un calc de la mal anomenada democràcia espanyola”.

Toni Comín, Acting Vice-President of the Board

“The Council is the first institution in the country of voluntary affiliation that brings together more people in the whole of the Catalan Countries. I would also like to congratulate the small technical team of the Council for the success of this constituent session. Those of you who have been elected representatives have the right and the duty to feel protagonists in the process that will allow us to reach the end and make the Republic ”.

Ona Curto, President of the Assembly of Representatives

"The Council must be another tool to achieve independence, we must legitimize it and make it useful, as it is currently the Republican tool that presents more strategy and points of content. It is important that the political movement I represent is there and we occupy this space. We must give a voice to plurality, transversality and feminism so that the Council does not have a single voice ”.

The # AR2021 has also launched today the following website: https://assemblearepresentants.cat/

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Wave of attacks against Spanish paraphernalia assumed by the new Catalan resistance group Action for Independence

 

Five attacks in five days. So far iver acts of sabotage have been carried out in a short space of time. Acció per la Independència (Action for Independence) began its offensive on July 18, the date of the beginning of the Spanish Fascist uprising in 1936. The organization sabotaged the crypt of Montserrat Mountain dedicated to the Spanish Francoists and destroyed Franco's symbols by breaking into the crypt of the requetès de Montserrat and the Francoist emblems that were there. Almost simultaneously, the next day, a monolith located in Albons (Baix Empordà) was destroyed in homage to his fallen “For God and Spain”, with the emblem of the 'Brotherhood of Captives for Spain', related to the Phalange Fascist party. In a third action on July 20, a similar monolith was also destroyed in Canet d'Adri (Gironès).

The organization, which was set up on April 23, said that this is the only way to "decide with full freedom the political, social and cultural changes that allow Catalonia to move to an advanced society." The group, which has already advanced that its sabotage campaign continues, has no visible faces and in fact claims to be an anonymous, transversal and unitary organization.

The fourth action of the pro-independence group Acció per la Independència, has been tonight in Santa Maria del Collell (Sant Ferriol, La Garrotxa). The group destroyed a monumental complex dedicated to 48 Falangist prisoners executed in January 1939 on Wednesday morning. The monument, made up of a cross and a monolith, was destroyed. Pro-independence activists have dropped both items, smashed commemorative plaques and even finished it off with a drill. Simultaneously another squad has destroyed a monolith of exaltation of the Spanish Franco regime in Avignon (Bages) also tonight.

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Audios show that the Spanish police tortured Basque citizens to death: "we made them dig holes before killing them"

Evidence of torture to death by the state when it was ruled by the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Party nowadays ruling force) appeared yesterday. Yesterday they were referring to Mikel Zabaltza. The Spanish Luis Alberto Perote, former colonel of the Superior Center of Defense Information (CSID), and Pedro Gómez Nieto, captain of the Civil Guard, in the audio talk about how Felipe González, then president of the PSOE and the government, was informed of the torture. About Zabaltza the death "was during the interrogation. Possibly a cardiac arrest due to the bag on his head. This is my impression. They made a lot of mistakes. They interrogated him and had his relatives in the next room."

About Joxean Lasa and Joxi Zabala, who were kidnapped, tortured and killed by the LAG in 1983, Gómez Nieto, captain of the Civil Guard, relates that they were forced to dig their grave before being executed with a shot to the head Two years later, their bodies were discovered by a hunter in a pit in Busot, although they could not be identified until 1995, as they had been hung with quicklime.

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