Simon Harris's Blog, page 3

Looking Back on Referendum Day: A Personal View of October 1st 2017

On the morning of the referendum, I decided that I would try and film some of the events from a personal point of view. Here’s a short account of what happened.

By the way, the reason why I’m doing this is to start collating material for a book I’m planning to write on the events that have taken place in Catalonia over the past few months. Obviously, what you’ll read below will require a lot of editing but it’s a reasonably accurate account of my day and includes comments and snippets that will come in very useful as I try to make sense of what happened here in October 2017.

Video 1: Why I’m up at this ungodly hour

On the morning of the referendum, I got up at the ungodly hour of 4.15 am and immediately recorded a video. There’s dedication for you.

My wife was still in bed but we had planned to get to our local polling station, just 5 minutes away at L’Escola de la Concepció, some time around 5 o’clock because we had heard that police would be coming to try and close them down from any time between 5 and 6 in the morning. We had arranged to meet friends at the school around 5 am to stop this happening.

We had heard that the police had been told that if there are more than twenty people blocking their entrance to the polling station then they shouldn’t do anything that could cause any violence or a disturbance of the peace. I was expecting lots of people to be there but as this was the first report of the day, I couldn’t possibly predict what was going to happen. So my plan was to make short videos throughout the day without very much editing in order to give a true account of what was about to happen.

The atmosphere felt quite tense due to the obvious Spanish crackdown. This wasn’t just a question of police presence but the Spanish authorities had also closed down the air space over Barcelona to unauthorised planes. This basically meant the media, who would be able to capture scenes that might compromise the authorities from above, or potentially any planes hired by activist groups that would be able to publicise their message to the world by flying over Barcelona.

All the websites relating to the referendum had been shut down by Spanish authorities and the previous day the Spanish government had told Google to remove the 1-O Referendum app from its Play Store because they didn’t want it to be used for counting votes.

I close this video by talking about the American journalist and vlogger, Tim Poole, who was in Barcelona and had been in touch. However, he’d come across as a little arrogant in his attitude and I felt as he thought he was doing me a favour rather than vice versa. He would contact me on a couple of occasions throughout the day and we finally met and did an interview the following day.

Anyway, after recording this video, I uploaded it to YouTube and then went to wake up my wife, who isn’t at all used to getting up so early.

Video 2: Crowds outside the Escola de la Concepció at 5 am

We arrived at our local polling station, L’Escola de la Concepció on Carrer Bruc in La Dreta de l’Eixample, which is a relatively middle-class part of central Barcelona, at a little after 5 am and the alleyway it’s located on was absolutely packed with perhaps three or four hundred people.

Apparently, the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, had already been there and as they had received orders not to do anything that might disturb the peace, the fact that so many people were there meant that they had asked who was in charge, everyone had said they were and they had turned round and gone away.

I had expected to find people at the polling station but not this many. The extent of the commitment and popular support for the referendum was undeniable. The turnout at l’Escola de la Concepció was representative of middle-class professionals but, as other videos were to show, this was replicated in working-class neighbourhoods in Barcelona and other major cities as well as in towns and villages throughout Catalonia.

At the time, I didn’t know what the tactics of the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard would be so I wondered how it would possible for them to close down all the polling stations and stop people from voting. The general sensation was that voting would be able to go ahead.

Video 3: Catalans stay firm and festive despite the pouring rain

Around half past six, the rain started pouring down but nobody moved. Umbrellas came out and a massive tarpaulin came from somewhere. The more soaked the people got, the more resilient the mood became. The crowd started shouting “Votarem! Votarem!” (We will vote! We will vote!).

I was amazed by the people’s stoicism, which according to Wikipedia is “According to its teachings, as social beings, the path to happiness for humans is found in accepting this moment as it presents itself, by not allowing ourselves to be controlled by our desire for pleasure or our fear of pain, by using our minds to understand the world around us and to do our part in nature’s plan, and by working together and treating others in a fair and just manner.”

I joked with my friends that perhaps the Catalans aren’t God’s chosen people because he has allowed it rain on us. Furthermore, assuming the vote goes well, when the Republic is declared tomorrow everyone will have a stinking cold.

As I walked through the crowd I saw people of all different ages. Suddenly for apparently no reason they broke out into cheering and applause. I wondered if the police had arrived. It was obvious that if they did arrive they wouldn’t stand much of a chance against this massive crowd.

The reason why the police would come if they did was because they wanted to close the polling stations so the people wouldn’t be able to vote but it was clear that even if it continued raining all day, people weren’t planning on going anywhere. There would be people at the polling station all day so it would be impossible for the Mossos at least to come later on and take the ballot boxes away.

As the rain poured on the resilient Catalans, I felt extremely confident that the vote would take place and the Republic would be declared the following day.

Video 4: Voting tables constituted as police cordon off street access

At around 7.30 am, it was already light and the rain had stopped. The people who had occupied the polling station over the weekend began calling out the names of the people who would man each table. These are known as Meses Electorals, literally voting tables, and are made up of a president and two members, who control the ballot box and check the names and documentation of the voters.

As each member entered the polling station, a cheer went up from the crowd. My optimistic comment was “The dawn is breaking on the advent of the Catalan Republic.” The applause was continuous and it was clear that everyone believed that the vote would go ahead.

It’s important to remember that the Generalitat had done everything it could to run the referendum as normally as possible despite the obstruction from the Spanish Government. This meant that the official census was used and the voting tables were constituted just as they would be in normal referendums and elections.

The Generalitat also had a Plan B for voters who found their polling station closed by police. They were using a computer system that had access to the global census. One of the jobs of the people on the voting tables would be to mark off on the computer system when someone had voted. This meant that, if the worst came to the worst, anyone would be able to vote at any polling station so it would be extremely difficult to stop the vote from going ahead.

News came through that some polling stations had been shut down in L’Hospitalet but given the existence of the global census, the people would be able to vote somewhere else.

After I left the polling station to go home and upload the video to YouTube, I walked up Carrer Bruc and came across the local traffic police, the Guardia Urbana, putting roadblocks to stop access to the polling station. I don’t think there was anything suspect about this but the street was beginning to fill up with people.

When we had arrived in the early morning there had been a couple of hundred people in the alleyway outside L’Escola de la Concepció. By 8 o’clock people were spilling out onto Carrer Bruc and the crowd must have numbered 500 or so. If you stop and think about it, it’s incredible that so many people are prepared to be out on the street in a quiet residential neighbourhood.

I walked back up Carrer Bruc and the Guardia Urbana were cordoning off the street completely.

Video 5: Polling station about to open

In the next video, I accidentally left a section of the previous one in the editing programme so the new footage starts at around 2 minutes.

I arrived back at L’Escola de la Concepció about a quarter of an hour before the polling station opened at 9 am. I had read in the newspaper that around 60% of the population were expected to turn out with 80% of those voting in favour of independence.

The crowds were incredible and the queue stretched all along Carrer Mallorca well past the Mercat de la Concepció almost to the corner of Carrer Girona. People of all ages, left-leaning, right-leaning.

One of the things that struck me was that I much prefer reporting from right next to where I live, not just for convenience but because not only is it a great place to live but because I know these people and so can report honestly. It means you really get a feeling for what’s happening on the ground because I know the area well.

Even the passage way that runs down from Carrer Mallorca to Carrer Aragó between the school and the market was full of people. I did a whole circuit of the block and there must have been at least a couple of thousand people in the queue waiting for the polling station to open.

The majority of the people queuing to vote were pro-independence so the idea that support for the referendum was minority was completely ridiculous. Crowds like this on polling days before the polls are even open are completely unknown in the United Kingdom or the United States so the desire, need even, that the Catalan people have to vote came across very clearly.

L’Escola de la Concepció is just one tiny polling station. I got back to the alley outside the school doors. The lights were on inside and it appeared an announcement was about to be made. They were still trying to find the people cited to man the polling station. The atmosphere was very confident and relaxed.

Video 6: Voting setbacks as peaceful Catalans await violent attack from Spanish police

I filmed the next video at around 11 o’clock and quite a lot had happened since the previous update. By that time, various schools had been, for want of a better word, attacked by the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard. I’d been following what was happening on Twitter and had already seen lots of pictures of bloodied people who had been beaten by the police.

The Institut Balmes just a few hundred metres away on Carrer Pau Claris had been one of the first polling stations to come under attack. People had arrived at L’Escola de la Concepció with rumours that the police were on their way.

Young people, who definitely looked like left-wing activists, had been going round giving advice to the mild-mannered locals about how best to resist an attempt to close down the polling station by the Spanish police. The idea was passive resistance with older and weaker people standing behind lines of younger fitter community members.

By this time, there were even more people at the polling station and every now and again the crowd would burst into applause when voters came out obviously having been able to cast their ballot. This was because there had been a lot of problems at the polling station because there had been cyber attacks on various polling stations and Internet had been taken down, which meant that the voting table members hadn’t had access to the global census and weren’t able to mark off the people who’d voted.

There had been some lovely scenes earlier on because the first people who had been given the chance to vote were the elderly and the crowd had made a passageway and clapped as they left. One of the reasons I love the Catalans is that they have a great deal of respect for their elders. In the independence movement, the young feel a great deal of respect for those who lived through the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s Dictatorship and the fact that these people, who had lived through so much, had finally been able to vote was a motive for celebration.

My wife had gone home to sit down because we had been both been at the polling station since 5 am. She said she’d be back at 2 pm and I promised to hold the fort in case the police arrived.

It felt as if L’Escola de la Concepció would be difficult to take out. With the main entrance set back on the alley that could easily be packed with people, the police would have to approach either via the passageway, which ran between the school and the market, or down Carrer Bruc, which was full of people. I imagine most of the people there had made similar calculations in their heads and had a good idea of how they would position themselves should the police attack ever come.

A chant went up of “Els carrers seràn sempre nostres”, which translates as “The streets will always be ours” and is a reference to Franco’s minister and founder of the Partido Popular, Manuel Fraga, who once claimed “The streets are mine!”

I wandered around looking at the wide-range of people who were standing in the street. Students, young professionals, couples with children, middle-aged men and women on the point of retirement, even some of the very elderly had stayed around to make sure their vote was safe. These people weren’t revolutionaries. They were just Catalans. They were tired of being ruled by Spain, a Spain that felt no particular love for them. They just wanted to be allowed to vote and to take control of their future.

Being allowed to have a referendum didn’t seem a lot to ask. Just being allowed to vote without having websites closed down, apps blocked on GooglePlay, the airspace over Barcelona restricted and to add insult to injury, without being attack by the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard.

Voting was taking place but due to the cyber attacks, much more slowly than had been expected. It was clear that we would have to be at the polling station all day. The orders that the police had received were to stop the referendum going ahead by hook or by crook.

First thing in the morning, this meant stopping the voting from beginning. At L’Escola de la Concepció it had started albeit slowly. The next thing they would do would be to come and taking the ballot boxes away at some point during the day. Then late at night there would have to be people at the polling station because while the count was going on, the ballot boxes would also have to be protected.

A little after 11, I went for breakfast at a bar just across Carrer Aragó from where I was on Carrer Bruc so I could keep my eye on what was happening should the police arrive. It had not only been a nice way of disconnecting from the vigil but it also gave me a chance to watch the television coverage and see what had gone on throughout the day.

The images of violence perpetrated by the Spanish National Police and the Guardia Civil were utterly and completely incredible. The photos of bloodied faces I’d seen on Twitter paled in comparison to video footage of masked helmeted armoured Spanish police attacking peaceful civilian voters with batons. The voters held their open palms in the air and the police just charged. They didn’t just use truncheons, boots and fists but even shot at voters with rubber bullets.

These people didn’t deserve this level of violence. They weren’t protesters or demonstrators. They were voters. They were exactly the same kind of people as the gentle civil people who stood around me at L’Escola de la Concepció. A part of me was tempted to go to one of the nearby polling stations that had been attacked to see the results of the violence with my own eyes but I was stopped by a much stronger sensation that it was my duty to stay at La Concepció.

After all, I lived here and these people were my friends and neighbours. Abandoning them in search of voyeuristic cheap thrills seemed like a woeful way of letting them down. I hoped L’Escola de la Concepció wasn’t attacked attacked but it was my duty to stay in case it was.

The computer systems and Internet at La Concepció were being attacked regularly and there were problems with the app so voting was going ahead in fits and starts. The important thing was that it was going ahead, though.

In the light of the police violence, the importance of the app and access to the global census was clear. Wherever you were in Catalonia, if your polling station got closed down, you would be able to vote somewhere else, anywhere else.

The people at La Concepció were still queuing, still waiting, fully aware that the polling station could be attacked at any time. The important thing was to cast the vote and have it registered on the global census. Patience was needed. Patience was required. After so many centuries of Spanish domination, one thing the Catalans have plenty of is patience.

I didn’t fully understand the tactics of the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard. There were only 8,000 of them or so. Surely, they didn’t have enough manpower to close down all of the more than 2,000 polling stations across Catalonia. As the day progressed, they would eventually get tired.

There was wave after wave of Catalan people willing to vote and prepared to wait however long it took. The fact that you could vote at any polling station even though your assigned one had been taken out seemed unbeatable. This was blockchain democracy using technology to beat repression.

We were confident that the vote would take place and be successful and that the images of violence would be shown around the world. The Catalans were going to morally win and at the very worst I believed Spain would be under massive political pressure from the international community to allow a binding referendum.

I was underestimating the Spanish authorities. Their tactics would become clear in the days following the referendum. I was also putting too much faith in the international response. Catalans had too many precedents that the world would turn a blind eye to Spanish repression.

Video 7: Finally inside polling station and 3,000 people have voted so far

I finally got inside the Escola de la Concepció polling station when my wife went to vote a little after 4 pm. A roar went up when it was announced that 3,000 votes had already been successfully cast. I was filming inside the polling station and the atmosphere was buoyant and euphoric. The police still hadn’t been to close the voting down but people were defiantly expecting them.

The two rooms were packed with people. The voting tables were efficiently manned with the president in the middle standing behind the large plastic ballot box. On either side of him, one member of the table checked the voters’ names and ID documents off on a printed list while on the other side the other member entered the information into the referendum app using a mobile phone.

On each of the voting tables, I noticed a tray of food, which I later learnt had been provided free by Poll Bó, the roast chicken, salads and tapas shop just round the corner on Carrer València. This was good business. The whole community was involved in and backing the referendum so Poll Bó was very sensibly supporting its client base.

The inside of L’Escola de la Concepció was very familiar to me because it is where I vote in municipal elections, as a registered resident of Barcelona, and European elections, as an EU citizen. As I’m not a Spanish citizen, I’m not allowed to vote in Spanish General Elections or autonomous elections to the Parliament of Catalonia nor in the referendum because it is based on the census for national and regional elections.

An extra reason for supporting Catalan independence is that with Brexit on the horizon quite soon I won’t be entitled to vote in any elections except Barcelona city council ones. As I’ve been out of the UK for more than 14 years, I wasn’t even allowed to vote in the Brexit referendum so I’m pretty disenfranchised. Obviously, this would all change if Catalonia became independent and I became a Catalan citizen.

Back at the polling station, the only concern was that the police would come later and take the ballot boxes. Despite the technological advances implied by the app, this was a referendum just like any other and the voting slips had to be counted manually in order for the results to be valid. This meant that everyone needed to stay outside until well after the polling station had closed. People would finally be going home in the early hours of the morning.

These were just nice people trying to exercise their democratic rights.

Video 8: It’s 6.30 pm and people have been here since 5 am. That’s commitment!

My last video report of the day was at 6.30 pm. I’d been at the Escola de la Concepció since 5 o’clock in the morning and Carrer Bruc was still full of people. The police still hadn’t turned up but local residents were there protecting the democratic process and the right to vote. The simple fact of the people being there in actual fact meant that the police were less likely to come. Instead of being able to walk in and take the ballot boxes away.

I didn’t really know what the police’s tactic was. Having watched all the videos on Twitter and Facebook, it was clear that there weren’t that many Spanish National Police and Civil Guard and the Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, were prepared to do their job but wouldn’t be violent against people in order to enforce the law.

The violence was definitely coming from the Spanish police. Every now and again a fleet of police wagons would drive past the bottom of Carrer Bruc along Carrer Aragó and we’d all shout at them but they always seemed to be going somewhere else.

It was 6.30 and they could come out any time either before or after the polling station closed. I was certain that enough people would stay around for as long as necessary. We really hoped nothing unpleasant happened.

The people of La Concepció behaviour throughout the day had been a testament to democracy. It might sound corny but these people wanted to vote. You tell them it was illegal as often as you liked. You could tell them it was unconstitutional as often as you liked. That’s all irrelevant because everyone was there, everyone was staying put insisting that the vote take place.

I doubted whether the result of the vote would be conclusive basically because the referendum was taking place under abnormal circumstances, which that it was very unlikely that anyone would treat the result definitively. However, the following day, results would come in and political decisions would be taken. I believed there would be a democratic mandate for a unilateral declaration of independence. For it to be effective, it would require the support of the international community.

The behaviour of the Spanish government and Spanish police had been a violation perhaps not human rights but certainly democratic rights as well as UN and international laws. The Catalans had a case to take to international and without doubt the behaviour of the police meant they were winning the media battle.

The people of La Concepció were an inspiring example of force and resilience. I left the school hoping that the police didn’t and that the votes could be counted.

Pro-Indy Parties Fail to Form Single Election List as Catalonia Goes on General Strike

It’s been a few days since I gave a report on what’s happening here in Catalonia basically because I’m working pretty hard on trying to tell the story of what happened here in October. The central story comprises the events of October, starting with the referendum on October 1st and ending with exile of Puigdemont and the imprisonment of the rest of the Catalan Government on the 1st and 3rd of this month. Everything that happens between now and the elections on December 21st is the epilogue to an amazing adventure.

Today a General Strike is planned across Catalonia and last night the deadline was reached for presenting coalitions for the elections and the pro-independence parties haven’t managed to reach an agreement and stand together on a single list. The two issues are intimately connected but let’s deal with the General Strike and the state of the independence movement as a popular grassroots street movement first.

General Strike

Obviously, I’m writing this on the morning of the strike so I may well be proven wrong but I’m doubtful whether the General Strike is going to be a great success. The ANC and Òmnium have also got a mass rally planned for Saturday, which they want to be a repetition of La Diada, the National Day of Catalonia on September 11th. Both events are an attempt to keep the independence movement’s enthusiasm alive and are also designed to mark the start of the election campaign but are likely to fail for a number of reasons.

I’m sure quite a lot of people will be outside the government buildings in Plaça de Sant Jaume and Plaça de la Universitat will be full of students this lunchtime but the mood is very different from the General Strike that was held on Tuesday October 3rd, just two days after the referendum. To begin with, this strike doesn’t have the backing of the major unions, UGT and Comisions Obreres, so it will be observed by fewer people but even those who do take the day off are less likely to take to the streets however angry they are about the incarceration of the majority of the Catalan government.

The mood for the strike on October 3rd was completely different. In theory, people were demonstrating against the police violence on referendum day but people were flushed by the success of the referendum not only in terms of the turnout here but also because of the effect it had had on the international media. They were consequently quite optimistic about the chances of a declaration of independence being made and of the fledgling republic succeeding.

It’s much more difficult to feel optimistic in the current situation, particularly as now everyone knows that the pro-independence parties won’t be standing as a united front so there’s bound to be a lot of political infighting and backbiting. ERC, probably with the aid of the CUP and the Comuns, will try and lay the blame for the failure at PDeCat’s door while PDeCat will claim that at least they tried and that the legitimate government is in exile in Brussels.

The Revolution of Smiles is Over

The rally on Saturday will be a disappointment for similar reasons. I’m sure a few hundred thousand people will attend but the turnout will be in no way comparable to the million people, who came out onto the streets of Barcelona on September 11th as the campaign for the referendum kicked off. In both cases, the rallies are more likely to be demonstrations than celebrations and I suspect they will be dominated by more radical left-wing elements, which means there is more chance of violence.

The fact that the independence movement might well be turning sour can be seen by the growth of the Comitès per la Defensa de la República of which there are now over 200. These embryonic militia groups have a reasonably broad-based support at the moment but have emerged out of the CUP so will end up being controlled by the far left if they aren’t already.

I fully understand that people want to defend Catalonia and fight against the repressive Spanish state but the moment to do this was when there was something tangible to defend just after the Republic had been declared. If Carles Puigdemont had called on the Catalan people to defend government buildings and key institutions on the night the Declaration of Independence had been made, hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, including probably me and my wife, would have been out on the streets.

This was the power of the so-called Revolution of Smiles. It really was a broad-based grassroots movement without any particular political affiliation. It was motivated by a love of Catalonia and people, perhaps naively, believed they could win peacefully. If they had succeeded, the future of politics would have been changed forever.

Tough radical groups like the CDRs are completely different even though they might be justified. They will eventually be controlled by far left and criminal elements and could develop into armed terrorist groups. This is the antithesis of political Catalanism and although Terra Lliure never developed into a Catalan ETA in the eighties, there’s every reason to think that this one might.

Historical Precedents

In fact, the violence of the left divided Catalanism on at least two occasions in the 20th century. After a period of strikes and left-wing violence in the second decade of the 20th century, the Catalan middle-classes gave their tacit support to Miguel Primo de Rivera. He managed to quash the left but at the same time became Spain’s first dictator of the 20th century and ended up abolishing Catalonia’s semi-autonomous government known as the Mancomunitat.

Similarly, the Catalan middle-classes had been so terrorised by elements of the left at the end of the Second Spanish Republic that they ended up supporting the Nationalists. Many either went underground or were forced to flee to escape anarcho-syndicalist violence at the start of the Civil War and were able to return and resume relatively normal lives when Franco came to power. To paraphrase Catalan writer, Josep Pla, the problem with the Catalan conservatives of the Lliga Regionalista is that they sold their soul to the devil.

This conservative element in Catalanism, which prefers security to freedom, is still very present in PDeCat. I’m not sure whether Santi Vila is the new Francesc Cambó but a similar figure will appear in the coming months.

The Election Campaign Begins

This is the reason why I like people like Carles Puigdemont and the more pro-independence elements of PDeCat, such as Jordi Turull, Joaquim Forn, Josep Rull or Lluís Corominas. They are motivated by a strong sense of Catalan identity but realise that the purpose of independence is not to have a revolution but rather to create a prosperous sovereign country with a high level of freedom for all.

In fact, it was listening to Artur Mas’s view of an independent Catalonia, that first turned me away from my long-held socialist views towards a more libertarian form of classical liberalism. I came to the conclusion that even if an independent Catalonia began its existence with left-wing parties in power, in the big government with its inefficient bureaucracy and unwieldy welfare system would be impractical in such a small country.

The bigger the state, the easier it is to hide corruption and inefficiency. What’s more, despite the independence movement being left-dominated, more socially conservative unionists would also be voters in an independent Catalonia and once the issue of nationalism was removed, Catalan politics would shift to centre-right.

Unfortunately then, as the election campaign begins, ERC look like the party who are likely to win the most seats. Having spent most of the last year doing a radio show with a very committed ERC activist, who serves on various committes, I have very little faith in them. Their obsession always seemed more concerned with forming alliances with other left-wing groups, such as the CUP and the Comuns, than with Catalan independence.

If they become the majority party in the upcoming elections, I fear that they will try to form a left-wing government with the CUP and the Comuns rather than a pro-independence government with PDeCat. This will suit the Partido Popular very nicely because there will be a noisy opposition in Catalonia playing at being revolutionaries without really challenging the status quo.

I sincerely hope I’m wrong but without a single list, I fear the moent for Catalan independence has passed for this generation at least.

Catalonia, open letter to Juncker and Tusk: the silence of the EU is unjustifiable

This declaration was first published on OpenDemocracy as far as I know, I publish here because it raises interesting points.

Facing repressive escalation in Catalonia, 185 politicians, intellectuals, academics and MEPs have signed an open letter to European Commission President Juncker and European Council President Tusk to  urge the European Union to intervene for the salvation of fundamental freedoms.

Dear President Juncker, dear President Tusk:

We are scholars, politicians, public intellectuals and members of the European Parliament writing to you with the following concern:

The European Union has proclaimed the Rule of Law principle and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms to be binding on its Member States (Articles 2 and 6 of the Lisbon Treaty). The EU’s leadership has been a staunch protector of these fundamental norms, most recently in countering the Polish government’s attempts to undermine the independence of judges as well as the Hungarian government’s actions to limit civil society and media freedoms.

However, we are deeply concerned that the EU’s governing bodies are condoning the systematic violation of the Rule of Law in Spain, in particular regarding the Spanish central authorities’ approach to the 1 October referendum on Catalan independence. We do not take political sides on the substance of the dispute on territorial sovereignty and we are cognizant of procedural deficiencies in the organization of the referendum. Our concern is with the Rule of Law as practised by an EU Member State.

The Spanish government has justified its actions on grounds of upholding or restoring the constitutional order. The Union has declared that this is an internal matter for Spain. Issues of national sovereignty are indeed a matter of domestic politics in liberal democracies. However, the manner in which the Spanish authorities have been handling the claims to independence expressed by a significant part of the population of Catalonia constitutes a violation of the Rule of Law, namely:

1/ The Spanish Constitutional Tribunal banned the referendum on Catalan independence scheduled for 1 October, as well as the Catalan Parliament session scheduled for 9 October, on grounds that these planned actions violate Article 2 of the Spanish Constitution stipulating the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation, thus rendering secession illegal. However, in enforcing in this way Article 2, the Tribunal has violated Constitutional provisions on freedom of peaceful assembly and of speech – the two principles which are embodied by referendums and parliamentary deliberations irrespective of their subject matter. Without interfering in Spanish constitutional disputes or in Spain’s penal code, we note that it is a travesty of justice to enforce one constitutional provision by violating fundamental rights. Thus, the Tribunal’s judgments and the Spanish government’s actions for which these judgments provided a legal basis violate both the spirit and letter of the Rule of Law.

2/ In the days preceding the referendum, the Spanish authorities undertook a series of repressive actions against civil servants, MPS, mayors, media, companies and citizens. The shutdown of Internet and other telecom networks during and after the referendum campaign had severe consequences on exercising freedom of expression.

3/ On referendum day, the Spanish police engaged in excessive force and violence against peaceful voters and demonstrators – according to Human Rights Watch. Such disproportionate use of force is an undisputable abuse of power in the process of law enforcement.

4/ The arrest and imprisonment on 16 October of the activists Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez (Presidents, respectively, of the Catalan National Assembly and Omnium Cultural) on charges of sedition is a miscarriage of justice. The facts resulting in this incrimination cannot possibly be qualified as sedition, but rather as the free exercise of the right to peaceful public manifestation, codified in article 21 of the Spanish Constitution. The Spanish government, in its efforts to safeguard the sovereignty of the state and indivisibility of the nation, has violated basic rights and freedoms guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as by Articles 2 and 6 of the basic law of the EU (the Lisbon Treaty). The violation of basic rights and freedoms protected by international and EU law cannot be an internal affair of any government. The silence of the EU and its rejection of inventive mediation is unjustifiable.

The actions of the Spanish government cannot be justified as protecting the Rule of Law, even if based on specific legal provisions. In contrast to rule-by-law (rule by means of norms enacted through a correct legal procedure or issued by a public authority), Rule of Law implies also the safeguarding of fundamental rights and freedoms – norms which render the law binding not simply because it is procedurally correct but enshrines justice. It is the Rule of Law, thus understood, that provides legitimacy to public authority in liberal democracies.

We therefore call on the Commission to examine the situation in Spain under the Rule of Law framework, as it has done previously for other Member States.

The EU leadership has reiterated that violence cannot be an instrument in politics, yet it has implicitly condoned the actions of the Spanish police and has deemed the actions of the Spanish government to be in line with the Rule of Law. Such a reductionist, maimed version of the Rule of Law should not become Europe’s new political common sense. It is dangerous and risks causing long-term damage to the Union. We therefore call on the European Council and Commission to do all that is necessary to restore the Rule of Law principle to its status as a foundation of liberal democracy in Europe by countering any form of abuse of power committed by Member States. Without this, and without a serious effort of political mediation, the EU risks losing its citizens’ trust and commitment.

When this declaration appears, the crisis will have developed further. We follow closely the situation with the interests of democracy in Catalonia, Spain and Europe in mind, as they cannot be separated, and we insist all the more on the importance for the EU to monitor the respect of fundamental freedoms by all parties.

Signatories (in personal capacity):

Albena Azmanova, University of Kent

Barbara Spinelli, writer, Member of European Parliament

Etienne Balibar, université Paris Nanterre and Kingston University London

Cristina Lafont, Northwestern University, USA (Spanish citizen)

David Gow, editor, Social Europe

Kalypso Nicolaidis, Oxford University, Director of the Center for International Studies

Mark Davis, University of Leeds, Founding Director of the Bauman Institute

Ash Amin, Cambridge University

Yanis Varoufakis, DiEM25 co-founder

Rosemary Bechler, editor, open Democracy

Gustavo Zagrebelsky professor of constitutional law, University Turin

Antonio Negri, Philosopher, Euronomade platform Ulrike Guérot, Danube University Krems, Austria & Founder of the European Democracy Lab, Berlin

Costas Douzinas, Birkbeck, University of London

Judith Butler, University of California, Berkeley and European Graduate School, Switzerland

Philip Pettit, University Center for Human Values, Princeton University (Irish citizen)

Jón Baldvin Hannibalsson, former minister for foreign affairs and external trade of Iceland

Anastasia Nesvetailova, Director, City Political Economy Research Centre, City University of London

Craig Calhoun, President, Berggruen Institute; Centennial Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)

Jane Mansbridge, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Arjun Appadurai, Institute for European Ethnology, Humboldt University, Berlin

Thor Gylfason, Professor of Economics at the University of Iceland and Research Fellow at CESifo, Munich/former member Iceland Constitutional Council 2011

Judith Revel, Université Paris Nanterre

Robert Menasse, writer, Austria

Nancy Fraser, The New School for Social Research, New York (International Research Chair in Social Justice, Collège d’études mondiales, Paris, 2011-2016)

Roberta De Monticelli, University San Raffaele, Milan

Sophie Wahnich, directrice de recherche CNRS, Paris

Christoph Menke, University of Potsdam, Germany

Robin Celikates, University of Amsterdam

Eric Fassin, Université Paris-8 Vincennes – Saint-Denis

Alexis Cukier, Université Paris Nanterre

Diogo Sardinha, university Paris/Lisbon

Dario Castiglione, University of Exeter Hamit Bozarslan, EHESS, Paris

Frieder Otto Wolf, Freie Universität Berlin

Gerard Delanty, University of Sussex

Boaventura de Sousa Santos, Coimbra University and University of Wisconsin-Madison

Sandro Mezzadra, Università di Bologna

Camille Louis, University of Paris 8 and Paris D

Philippe Aigrain, writer and publisher

Yann Moulier Boutang and Frederic Brun, Multitudes journal

Anne Querrien and Yves Citton, Multitudes journal

Susan Buck-Morss, CUNY Graduate Center and Cornell University

Seyla Benhabib, Yale University; Catedra Ferrater Mora Distinguished Professor in Girona (2005)

Bruce Robbins, Columbia University

Michèle Riot-Sarcey, université Paris-VIII-Saint-Denis

Zeynep Gambetti, Bogazici University, Istanbul (French citizen)

Andrea den Boer, University of Kent, Editor-in-Chief, Global Society: Journal of Interdisciplinary International Relations

Moni Ovadia, writer and theatre performer

Guillaume Sibertin-Blanc, Université Paris 8 Saint-Denis

Peter Osborne, Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy, Kingston University, London

Ilaria Possenti, University of Verona

Nicola Lampitelli, University of Tours, France

Yutaka Arai, University of Kent

Enzo Rossi, University of Amsterdam, Co-editor, European Journal of Political Theory

Petko Azmanov, journalist, Bulgaria Etienne Tassin, Université Paris Diderot

Lynne Segal, Birkbeck College, University of London

Danny Dorling, University of Oxford

Maggie Mellon, social policy consultant, former executive member Women for Independence

Vanessa Glynn, Former UK diplomat at UKRep To EU

Alex Orr, exec mbr, Scottish National Party/European Movement in Scotland

Bob Tait, philosopher, ex-chair Langstane Housing Association, Aberdeen

Isobel Murray, Aberdeen University Grahame Smith, general secretary, Scottish Trades Union Congress Pritam Singh, Oxford Brookes University John Weeks, SOAS, University of London

Jordi Angusto, economist at Fundació Catalunya-Europa

Leslie Huckfield, ex-Labour MP, Glasgow Caledonian University

Ugo Marani, University of Naples Federico II and President of RESeT

Gustav Horn, Scientific Director of the Macroeconomic Policy Institute of the Hans Böckler Stiftung

Chris Silver, journalist/author

James Mitchell, Edinburgh University

Harry Marsh, retired charity CEO

Desmond Cohen, former Dean, School of Social Sciences at Sussex University

Yan Islam, Griffith Asia Institute David Whyte, University of Liverpool

Katy Wright, University of Leeds

Adam Formby, University of Leeds

Nick Piper, University of Leeds

Matilde Massó Lago, The University of A Coruña and University of Leeds

Jim Phillips, University of Glasgow

Rizwaan Sabir, Liverpool John Moores University

Pablo Ciocchini, University of Liverpool

Feyzi Ismail, SOAS, University of London

Kirsteen Paton, University of Liverpool

Stefanie Khoury, University of Liverpool

Xavier Rubio-Campillo, University of Edinburgh

Joe Sim, Liverpool John Moores University

Hannah Wilkinson, University of Keele

Gareth Dale, Brunel University

Robbie Turner, University of St Andrews

Will Jackson, Liverpool John Moores University

Louise Kowalska, ILTUS Ruskin University

Alexia Grosjean, Honorary member, School of History University of St Andrews

Paul McFadden, York University

Phil Scraton, Queen’s University Belfast

Oscar Berglund, University of Bristol

Michael Lavalette, Liverpool Hope University

Owen Worth, University of Limerick

Ronnie Lippens, Keele University

Andrew Watterson, Stirling University

Steve Tombs, The Open University

Emily Luise Hart, University of Liverpool

David Scott, The Open University

Bill Bowring, Birkbeck College, University of London

Sofa Gradin,King’s College London

Michael Harrison, University of South Wales

Ana Manzano-Santaella, University of Leeds

Noëlle McAfee, Emory University

Peter J. Verovšek, University of Sheffield 

Peter Dews, University of Essex

Martin Matuštík, Arizona State University

Camil Ungureanu, Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona 

Dafydd Huw Rees , Cardiff University

Patrick Le Hyaric, Member of the European Parliament (GUE-NGL)

Hans-Peter Krüger, University of Potsdam 

Loren Goldman, University of Pennsylvania

Federica Gregoratto, University of St.Gallen

Rurion Soares Melo, Universidade de São Paulo

Pieter Duvenage, Cardiff University and editor, Journal for Contemporary History

Chad Kautzer, Lehigh University

Peter A. Kraus, University of Augsburg

David Ingram, Loyola University  of Chicago

Alain-G. Gagnon, Université du Québec à Montréal

Peter Bußjäger, Institut für Föderalismus, Innsbruck

Nelly Maes, Former Member of the European Parliament, former President of European Free Alliance

Helmut Scholz, Member of the European Parliament (GUE/NGL)

Michel Seymour, Université de Montréal

Simon Toubeau, University of Nottingham

Georg Kremnitz, Universität Wien

Keith Gerard Breen, Queen’s University Belfast

Alan Price, Swansea University

Fernando Ramallo, Universidade de Vigo

Nicolas Levrat, University of Geneva, Director of the International Law Department

Jordi Matas, Professor of Political Science, University of Barcelona

Simon Toubeau, University of Nottingham

María do Carme García Negro, University of Santiago de Compostela

Francisco Rodríguez, writer

Carme Fernández Pérez-Sanjulián, University of Coruña

Patrice Poujade, Université de Perpignan

Colin H Williams, Cardiff and Cambridge  University

Nicolas Berjoan, Université de Perpignan

Joan Peitavi, Université de Perpignan

Alà Baylac-Ferrer, Université de Perpignan

Guglielmo Cevolin, University of Udine, Italy

Robert Louvin, Professor of Comparative Law, University of Calabria

Günther Dauwen, Secretary General of the Centre Maurits Coppieters

Bart Maddens, Catholic University of Leuven

Alan Sandry, Swansea University

Justo Serrano Zamora, Bavarian School of Public Policy

Ivo Vajgl, Member of the European Parliament (Alde)

Alberto Aziz Nassif, Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Antropología Social, México

Sandrina Antunes, University of Minho, Portugal

Pablo Beramendi, Duke University

Nico Krisch, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva

Miguel Urbán Crespo, Member of the European Parliament (GUE/NGL)

Thierry Dominic,  Université de Bordeaux

Yasha Maccanico, University of Bristol and Statewatch

Puigdemont stays in Brussels as the Spanish judiciary threatens to incarcerate Catalan politicians

You may have noticed that I’m making fewer posts this week. That’s not because I’ve given up on the Catalan issue but rather because fewer significant events are taking place and I prefer to make a report when something actually happens. Furthermore, I’m currently going through all the material I’ve created over the last couple of months, organising the blog posts and writing up some of the video footage because I think there’s enough content there to provide the skeleton for another book.

Shitstorm or Anti-Climax

If you remember my last article was published on Monday morning and was called “The calm before another Catalan political shitstorm or just a massive anti-climax?” and judging from what’s happened over the last few days, I think it’s been a combination of the two. Obviously, at the time of writing, I didn’t know about Puigdemont and the other consellers’ escape to Brussels and still held out some hope that the Catalan Government would offer some kind of opposition to Article 155. The fact that they didn’t do so did feel like a massive anti-climax.

As a supporter of Catalan independence, I felt deceived and let down by the pro-independence leadership because either they knew that any attempt to declare independence was bound to fail and deliberately misled hundreds of thousands of people who sincerely believed that Catalonia could actually succeed as an independent republic. Alternatively, they disingenuously believed their own rhetoric, which seriously calls into question their competence and intelligence as politicians.

However, the Catalan independence process is amazingly resilient and, as a chronicler of what’s happening here in Catalonia, I’m fascinated to see where this next twist will take us. I get the feeling that it’s probably going to be into a new Catalan political shitstorm. So let’s go back over the events of the last few days.

Exile in Brussels

Some time on Monday morning, news came that Puigdemont and the consellers had fled to Brussels and at that point it became clear, even to the most optimistic of us, that the Declaration of Independence had been little more than a chimera. It wasn’t until the press conference given at lunchtime the following day, though, that it became clear that perhaps there was some kind of method in the madness.

The core message of the press conference was that the pro-independence parties would be contesting the elections in Catalonia on December 21st and that Puigdemont was in Brussels because he feared that, with a charge of rebellion hanging over him, he would be arrested if he returned to Spain and wouldn’t receive a fair trial. From an international point of view, the story of the flight into France and the fact that press conference was given in Brussels kept the story of the Catalan conflict in the headlines and on the front pages.

The leader in exile narrative is even more important from a Catalan point of view, though, because it allows Puigdemont’s supporters to turn him into a national hero and so keep hopes of independence alive. Puigdemont is now one of a long line of the presidents of the Generalitat, many of whom have been exiled, imprisoned or even executed.

Francesc Macià was exiled during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship prior to becoming president of the Generalitat following its restoration in 1932. Lluís Companys was imprisoned for declaring independence in 1934 and forced into exile at the end of the Spanish Civil War before being captured by the Gestapo in France and extradited back to Barcelona, where he was executed by firing squad in 1940. Josep Irla and Josep Tarradellas were the two presidents of the Generalitat in exile during Franco’s dictatorship. Even the memory of Jordi Pujol has recovered somewhat when we are reminded that he was falsely imprisoned by the Franco Regime for what became known as the Events of the Palau in 1960.

Rightful President

This means that as far as the support base is concerned, Carles Puigdemont is the rightful president of the Generalitat and the undisputed leader of the independence process. This is very important because it successfully parries any challenge to his authority that may come from Oriol Junqueras and Esquerra Republicana or from within the ranks of his own party, PDECat.

Santi Vila, the Conseller who resigned last Thursday, the day before the vote on the Declaration of Independence in the Catalan Parliament, is making a play to become the PDECat candidate for President of the Generalitat in the elections. As the the acceptable face of Catalanism, he’s definitely to the liking of the Spanish Government and the Unionist parties here in Catalonia.

He’s also got support within his own party, where there’s a considerable group that was never fully committed to independence and would be happy if Vila took PDECat back to the autonomous community politics of old. However, with Puigdemont now in the line of the great Catalan presidents, his authority is almost impossible to question and it looks increasingly likely that he’ll try to stand in the elections.

Spanish Provocation

Yesterday’s main development were the subpoenas issued to 20 members of the Catalan Government to appear in court in Madrid today charged with rebellion, sedition and misappropriation of public funds. Tactically, this is about the worst thing the Spanish authorities could possibly do because, now they have control of Catalonia via Article 155, rather than letting things settle, court proceedings against Catalan politicians will just stoke up resentment in the pro-independence camp.

The imprisonment without bail of Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets, when people were still feeling optimistic about the possibilities of independence, so the rallies were good-humoured and peaceful. If something similar happens to some or all of the politicians who are in court today then the reaction will be just as strong. This time, though, without the hope of independence and convinced that they are under the repressive Article 155, the reaction of the demonstrators is unlikely to be so good-humoured and could well turn nasty.

I can’t help but think that that is precisely what the Spanish authorities. Any disturbance of the peace would be a perfect excuse for the police to get the truncheons out again and vent their hatred against the Catalans. As I’ve said before, the Partido Popular isn’t remotely interested in the unity of Spain but uses attacks against Catalonia as a cheap way of winning votes.

Democracy on Trial

This is why Carles Puigdemont was very wise to decide not to obey the court order and will attempt to make his declaration from Brussels. Had he made an appearance in court in Madrid today, he would have been gleefully imprisoned without bail. The Spanish authorities are keen to make a scapegoat out of him and it’s reasonably certain that he would have been found guilty of all charges. Being found guilty of rebellion, even though he has never exhorted any violence, would mean a prison sentence of 30 years.

Puigdemont is much more useful in Brussels. It remains to be seen what the Spanish authorities next move will be. They may allow him to declare or they may send out an international arrest warrant and try and get him extradited so he may have to flee again. I have no idea.

Julian Asange sent out a tweet yesterday comparing his own situation with that of Carles Puigdemont. The two cases are completely different, though. Assange was (probably falsely) accused of something that has nothing to do with the work he does whereas Puigdemont is accused of acting as a consequence of an electoral programme. This actually does mean that democratic freedoms and processes are on trial.

Once again, the Catalan crisis is opening up political questions that go far beyond the simple dispute of territorial sovereignty between Catalonia and Spain and, to be perfectly honest, I don’t think it would be unfair to describe it as another political shitstorm at the very least.

The calm before another Catalan political shitstorm or just a massive anti-climax?

If we are to believe the press, the Generalitat has been completely taken over and the Spanish government of occupation is now in power in the Generalitat. Soraya Sáenz de Santamaria is the new Viceroy of Catalonia and Cristobal Montoro and Luis de Guindos now run the Catalan Treasury.

The Mossos d’Esquadra are completely obedient to the Spanish State and the Catalan pro-independence parties, including the CUP, have accepted that they will be standing in the elections on December 21st and are already preparing their election campaigns.

To add insult to injury, there was a massive pro-Spanish Unity rally in Barcelona yesterday, which just goes to show that the majority of Catalans are opposed to independence anyway.

Seems Unlikely

If all this is true, the pro-independence movement, which has been so active and enthusiastic for the last seven years, is in for a massive let down. The independent Republic of Catalonia, which was declared at 4.26 pm on Friday October 27th, will have lasted only a few minutes longer than the 8 seconds it lasted when it was declared on the evening of Tuesday October 10th.

I personally have no idea what is going to happen or what their strategy might be but it seems highly unlikely that the Catalan leaders are just going to roll over and play dead. I can’t believe that they brought us this far without having some kind of Plan B.

Based on the precedent of the last month, I imagine we’re headed if not for another political shitstorm then for at least another bout of brinkmanship.

Pro-Independence Leadership

Over the weekend, both Carles Puigdemont, in a statement from Girona, and Oriol Junqueras in an article in El PuntAvui, said in an admittedly non-specific way that the fight continues. They both stressed that the Catalans should proceed peacefully and democratically, which could of course be an indication that they were gearing up for autonomous elections, but I find this difficult to believe.

Apparently, the so-called “Chiefs of Staff” of the independence movement met in Vilaur in the Alt Empordà on Saturday and I doubt whether they spent their time writing the election manifesto.

Something else that doesn’t quite fit has been the complete silence from the CUP. I think you know that I’m no fan of the far left but surely this weekend would have been a perfect opportunity to rally the more extremist elements within the independence movement and take to the streets.

Had they done so, to certain sectors at least, they could have portrayed themselves as the true defenders of the independent Republic of Catalonia. The fact that they didn’t do so makes me think that something is being hatched.

Unionist Rally

Similarly, I don’t understand the purpose of yesterday’s unionist demonstration in Barcelona. Surely, if the Generalitat is under Spanish control and the independence process is to all intents and purposes a dead duck, there was no need for such a show of strength.

I get the feeling that the pro-Spain parties and leaders are not quite as confident as they’d like us to think they are. Unless of course, the purpose was to rub the independence movement’s noses in it and then unleash the unionists’ less civilised elements on Barcelona in an orgy of vandalism and violence.

Apart from anything else, what yesterday’s demonstration revealed to me is that a new round of Catalan elections will solve absolutely nothing. In my report from the demonstration yesterday, I was particularly impressed by the numbers and by the obvious sincerity and strength of feeling expressed by the participants.

However, there were only 300,000 people present, which although a massive number, falls far short of the 450,000 people present at the demonstration in support of the Jordis the previous Saturday or the millions that have come out for the last six Diadas.

Are Elections the Solution?

The only solution to the impasse remains an agreed and binding referendum. If the elections go ahead and the pro-independence parties don’t stand, the problem will go underground to fester and could well turn nasty. If they do stand and are able to rally pro-independence support, despite the level of electoral exhaustion, it could well become another proxy referendum and result in an even bigger pro-independence majority, which would take the whole process back to square one.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here because the independence leaders are aware of all this as are most of their supporters, and for that matter so is a large part of the opposition, if they are honest with themselves. So I can only conclude that something important is going to happen today or early this week but that what that something might be, I don’t have the slightest idea.

Of course, I might be completely wrong and everything might turn out to be a damo squib. Somehow, though, I just can’t see the majority of people buckling down and becoming loyal subjects of Viceroy Soraya.

 

 

With a little luck and patience the independent Republic of Catalonia could succeed

Well, Catalonia did it and declared independence from Spain at 4.26 pm yesterday afternoon. The declaration was the culmination of three hours or so of debate and a vote, which resulted in 70 votes in favour, 10 votes against and two blank votes. The figures were so clear because the 52 members of Ciudadanos, Partido Popular and PSC all left Parliament in protest prior to the vote taking place.

Two Different Realities

There were celebrations across Catalonia, amongst independence supporters at least, but a few hours later Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced the application of Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution and that he was removing the Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and all his ministers from office and calling autonomous elections in Catalonia for December 21st.

So Catalonia and Spain seem to be living under two completely different versions of reality. As I’ve often said my purpose here is to describe what’s happening from a Catalan point of view. As my wife often points out, I don’t experience this emotionally in the same way as she does. I believe that Catalonia has the right to be a sovereign state if it wants to and given how badly its been treated by Spain over the centuries, it could probably do a better job of governing itself. However, I am not unaware of the potential dangers from Islam, the left and globalists that an unstable situation, such as a unilateral declaration of independence, leaves Catalonia open to.

The current sensation I have is a bit like on the cartoons where Roadrunner or Wile E. Coyote runs out over a cliff edge and finds himself in mid air. If he keeps on running he might reach the other side of the canyon or alternatively fall to his death in the valley below. Once again my wife wasn’t too impressed by the metaphor but for me at least, it captures the win-lose nature of the situation as well as its almost comic surrealism.

Given that I see things from a Catalan point of view, my main question is that I don’t know how the Spanish government can impose Article 155 on the Catalans if they choose to resist it. Donald Tusk has said that the EU wouldn’t be recognising Catalonia but also warned Mariano Rajoy against the use of force.

Role of the Police

It seems to me that the first indications of the immediate chances of success or failure are going to depend on the position the Mossos d’Esquadra take. I just can’t see them positioning themselves either against the Catalan government or against the people, especially if the demonstrations and rallies remain peaceful, which I’m pretty certain they will.

The only violent outbursts so far have been associated with the Spanish-speaking unionist demonstrations. A few people were beaten up on the unionist rally a few weeks ago and there was a big fight outside Café Zurich on Spain National Day on October 12th. Last night a unionist march, which began in Sarrià, ended up outside the Catalunya Radio and apparently there was some violence and breakages as the demonstrators complained at the journalists and presenters for their biased anti-Spanish reporting.

None of the incidents have been particularly serious but they contrast starkly with the complete absence of violence on the pro-independence side, obviously apart from when voters were attacked by Spanish National Police and Civil Guard on referendum day. So although the Mossos have officially been taken over by the Spanish government, it’s hard to see them acting proactively against Catalan demonstrators who are protecting government offices or stopping Catalan politicians from getting arrested.

Once again, the strong arm tactics are most likely to be perpetrated by National Police and Civil Guard and given their behaviour on referendum day and warnings from Donald Tusk and others, they need to be very careful that they don’t overstep the mark. So if the pro-independence activists are well-organised and the police aren’t able to use force, I don’t understand how the immediate functioning of the Catalan government can be stopped.

Economic and Financial Restrictions

The next option seems to be to starve Catalonia out both financially and economically. Perhaps it is because I’ve never had to live through real hardship but the idea of this happening in Western Europe at the beginning of the 21st century seems highly unlikely to me. This kind of breakdown might be possible but it would have to be due to a much larger crisis such as a financial collapse or the break up of the EU.

The Catalan economy might be adversely effected for a while and Spain might even restrict the flow of goods into the country but in the unlikely event that this happened, the various ports and airports in Catalonia will continue to remain open as will the land border with France. Furthermore, although a lot has been made of companies moving their head offices to Spain, at the time of writing they’re all still trading here as are the majority of companies that haven’t moved, many of which are international companies.

Apparently, the Spanish government is going to cut off finances to the Catalan administration, which it’s been doing to a greater or lesser extent for some time. At the moment, the Generalitat is able to pay bills and salaries for this month at least and I can’t help but suspect that they have some kind of credit arrangement organised.

The Catalans are not stupid and being a mercantile nation are unlikely to be willing to allow their economy to fall apart. Given the strategic position and potential prosperity of an independent Catalonia, I’m sure there are many foreign actors, who while not willing to do so publicly, will be more than happy to gamble largescale loans in return for a future piece of the pie. Israel, Russia and China all immediately spring to mind.

Finally, I know for a fact that the Generalitat has been preparing their Treasury and Social Security system for some time. In fact, the government has made statements telling Catalans not to worry about taxes. Any changeovers will be made automatically and whatever happens the Spanish government won’t hold individuals responsible for paying their taxes to Catalonia rather than Spain.

So it looks likely to me that the Catalan government should be financially self-sufficient reasonably soon. Similarly, after a few teething problems, it seems likely that Catalan economy should be able to recover and prosper in a relatively short space of time.

International Recognition

At this point in time, all countries and international organisations that have made any kind of statement have said that they only recognise the sovereignty of Spain. Even our Catalan-speaking neighbour, Andorra, has refused to recognise Catalonia. However, slowly this will begin to change.

There’s obviously a lot of public support internationally and this is now being reflected at a parliamentary level. I’ve heard it rumoured the motions have been tabled in a number of Scandinavian countries to debate Catalonia, the opposition in Slovenia have expressed their support and I saw a tweet early from Argentinian MP Juan Carlos Gordiano saying he was presenting a bill in Parliament today. If we add to this the various groups and parties behind secessionist movements around the world, including Scotland, Northern Ireland, Flanders, Northern Italy, Quebec and even California, Catalonia is likely to receive a great deal of support.

Similarly, the fact that there are so many international companies doing business here means that there’ll be lobbies in various countries if not pushing for formal recognition, at least with a vested interested in making trade more fluid and encouraging informal diplomatic agreements.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that Catalonia doesn’t need to be part of the EU in order to continue using the Euro. Furthermore, for the time being at least, all Catalan citizens are also Spanish citizens and have Spanish passports, which means they can travel without any problems. In fact, the Spanish Constitution states that it is impossible for a Spaniard to lose his Spanish citizenship so Catalans are also EU citizens and this can only change if Catalonia is formally recognised by either Spain or the EU.

Overly Optimistic?

As I said earlier, I present a very Catalan perspective on things, which may be overly optimistic. I think it’s important not to underestimate the Spanish authorities because I’m sure they will do everything they can to bring Catalonia back under control.

If anything happens, I imagine it will be over the next couple of days. I expect to see resignations of people in positions of responsibility in order to avoid potential legal action. I also wouldn’t be surprised to see a number of arrests being made and some short sharp police actions against key Generalitat departments and offices.

It really is a question of getting through the first few days because once that happens and people see the world hasn’t ended, the Republic of Catalonia will slowly become a reality and Roadrunner will have made it to the other side of the canyon.

What happened in Catalonia yesterday? From UDI to Elections and back to UDI again!

Yesterday was possibly one of the most emotional days I can remember. It started with me recording a video in which I argued that, given the difficulties of applying Article 155 and the fact that the Partido Popular seem to want Catalan blood, a Declaration of Independence seems to be the only option open to the Catalan Parliament on the plenary session which begin and finishes today (Friday).

Unexpected News

I went home, edited the video and began the rendering process. I then went down to the bar opposite the flat to read the newspaper and as I walked in I was singing DUI DUI to the tune of Louie Louie by The Kingsmen so I was feeling quite confident. (DUI is the acronym for Declaració Unilateral d’Independència or UDI)

About ten minutes later, my friend Oscar came in and said “Well, it seems like he doesn’t want to go to prison then” and explained that Carles Puigdemont had just announced that he would be calling snap elections, purportedly to avoid the effects of Article 155, but Oscar’s theory was that Puigdemont had had a last minute attack of nerves at the prospect of 30 years in prison.

Feeling slightly deflated, we chatted about the pros and cons as both of us looked through our Twitter updates. I wasn’t convinced that this was the final word on the subject, preferring to wait for Puigdemont’s official announcement which was scheduled for 1.30 pm at the Palau de la Generalitat.

Delayed Statement

After doing some shopping, I got back home in time for the Partido Popular press conference in which they said that despite the likelihood of elections in Catalonia, they would proceed with the application of Article 155 anyway because “legality” had to be restored in Catalonia.

A little after 1.30, I saw a tweet from journalist Sara Prim, who was at the Palau de la Generalitat, saying that Puigdemont’s statement had been postponed. I translated the tweet into English and Sara confirmed its veracity.

It was clear that the calling of elections was dependent on the withdrawal of Article 155 and the suspension of Puigdemont’s statement was due to the fact that Article 155 hadn’t been withdrawn. I remained glued to the television as the statement was postponed again on various occasions.

Finally, at 5 o’clock, Puigdemont made his appearance at the Palau de la Generalitat and said that as Article 155 hadn’t been withdrawn, there were no guarantees that Catalonia’s autonomy was secure so the decision on whether to call elections or not would be left to a the plenary session of parliament, which would now start at 6 o’clock.

Parliamentary Session

I didn’t watch the whole session but I watched the opening speeches by Lluís Corominas of Junts pel Sí and Anna Gabriel of the CUP for the pro-independence bloc and Ines Arrimadas of Ciudadanos for the unionists and then caught snatches of the other speeches before tuning back in at around 9 pm to listen to Lluís Corominas’ conclusions, which were particularly forcefully expressed.

The upshot is that in the plenary session that continues today (Friday) Parliament will vote on whatever resolutions are put forward but the most important ones are likely to be firstly, a complete rejection of the application of Article 155, and a vote on whether make the declaration of independence official.

It’s worth pointing out that Puigdemont didn’t intervene in yesterday’s parliamentary session and if independence is declared it will be done so as an official parliamentary statement thereby removing any individual responsibility from Carles Puigdemont.

Furthermore, there may be a few renegade votes in Junts pel Sí as, for example, Conseller for Business Santi Vila resigned yesterday in disagreement with the declaration of independence. However, given the speech given by Albano Dante Fachin of Catalunya Sí Que Es Pot last night, it seems equally likely that some members of the leftist fence sitters will come out onto the pro-independence side.

Declaration on Monday?

This means that even if independence isn’t declared, it will certainly be voted on today. I’m guessing that it will only become official on Monday once published in the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat de Catalunya, which is the Generalitat’s official records, thereby leaving time for more political positioning over the weekend.

Anyway, that’s what happened in Catalonia yesterday. This morning, I’ll go down to the Parliament of Catalonia just to check out the atmosphere but I’ll probably come back home earlyish in order to follow today’s proceedings here and in the Senate on television.

Article 155 and the Declaration of Independence: It’s finally make or break time for Catalonia!

Both the Spanish and Catalan governments have been preparing for the big showdown that’s going to take place between today and tomorrow in the Senate in Madrid and in the Parliament of Catalonia respectively.

Puigdemont and the Senate

The main question throughout the week has been whether or not Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, would go to the Senate to make a case against the application of Article 155. He wanted to attend on Wednesday but the Senate told him he had to make his appearance at 5 o’clock this afternoon (Thursday) when the plenary session of the Catalan Parliament would be in full swing.

At times, it has seemed possible that he might attend the first part of the plenary this morning and then make a lightning visit to Madrid but, given the importance of today’s session, it’s become increasingly obvious that this was impractical so finally, yesterday he announced he wouldn’t be attending.

The reaction from the Spanish government has been predictably butthurt. They made it virtually impossible for him to attend and are now claiming that they’ve been stood up and that the Catalan president obviously isn’t interested in dialogue.

Divisions Over Article 155

The other subject of debate has revolved around various aspects of Article 155. The Partido Popular seem dead set on applying it come what may and said that even in the unlikely event that Carles Puigdemont called early Autonomous Elections, they would apply it anyway.

This attitude is the very reason why we’re in the situation we’re in. Mariano Rajoy and his government’s main objective is not the unity of Spain but rather the humiliation of Catalonia. They know that this is what their support base wants and taking a hardline approach against Catalonia is the vote winner that keeps them in power. Any sign of weakening and the even more bellicose Ciudadanos would gobble up their support so they can’t soften their approach even if they wanted to.

Most of the criticism they’re getting in Spain is coming from the left-wing Podemos party, who would like to see either an agreed and binding referendum for Catalonia or changes made to the Constitution that would allow Spain to become truly federal.

A combination of Rajoy’s intransigence and Podemos’ clear opposition to Article 155 has put pressure on PSOE, who had signed an agreement with the Partido Popular about its application and also want some rather more lukewarm changes made to the Spanish Constitution. However, the fact that Rajoy is clearly after the Catalans’ blood and members of their affiliate in Catalonia, PSC, are complaining about the application of 155 means that their support, especially if it is applied in a draconian fashion, is far from certain.

This doesn’t affect whether Article 155 will come into effect or not because the Partido Popular have an absolute majority in the Senate. However, it will affect the Partido Popular’s ability to govern in the future because even adding their 132 seats in Congress to the 32 seats of Ciudadanos giving them 164 seats, they are still far short of the absolute majority of 176.

This will make a strict application of Article 155 almost impossible. If PSOE, Podemos and the Basque and Catalan parties decide to form a united opposition, they might even be capable of bringing Rajoy’s government down.

Application of Article 155

There are also practical difficulties in the application of Article 155 here in Catalonia. Just to remind you, the proposed measures involve the removal of the Catalan president and all his ministers from office and then the Spanish government plans to take control of the Catalan Treasury, the Mossos d’Esquadra police force, the complete information technology system and the public media, principally TV3 and Catalunya Radio.

The removal of the Catalan government from office will simply fuel the Catalan victim narrative, especially if they are subsequently arrested and tried, which given the Partido Popular’s talent for diplomacy seems likely. The imprisonment of Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart has already made international news headlines. Just imagine the fuss if this happened to members of a democratically elected government.

Policing Problem

Whatever happens, the simple removal of the Catalan government from power will bring hundreds of thousands of people out onto the streets. This could very likely create problems of public disorder, particularly if the Mossos d’Esquadra have been taken over and are consequently perceived as aiding and abetting the Spanish invaders.

Furthermore, there are divisions amongst the Catalan police themselves about where their loyalties lie. Most of the official unions have expressed their disatisfaction at the application of Article 155, although I think they have said that they are prepared to follow orders. Meanwhile, the pro-independence group Mossos per la Independència have said that the unions only speak for their members, suggesting that acts of disobedience from officers are perfectly possible.

At the same time, the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard lodged in the ships in the port of Barcelona have been complaining about their living conditions. If the Mossos are really undecided about whether to support Article 155, a demotivated National Police and Civil Guard hardly seem well-equipped to police angry crowds in Barcelona, who already hate them after the brutal behaviour on referendum day.

Civil Servants and the Media

Similarly, the behaviour of the civil servants in the Treasury and Information Technology departments is unpredictable, especially given the broad support for independence among public employees. The civil servants don’t have to openly rebel to make life impossible for their Spanish task masters but by just consistently doing their work badly, the administration will soon become unworkable.

The situation will be even worse in the public media, who have already made statements of opposition to Article 155 and contacted colleagues in the media around the world to argue their case. Unless the Spanish government decides to replace the whole workforce with Spanish speakers, it’s not difficult to imagine journalists writing exaggeratedly fascistic articles or presenting the news using a tone of voice or facial expression that transmits exactly the opposite to the intended message. I’m actually quite looking forward to this.

Unknown Territory

Bearing in mind all of the above, Article 155 is going to be extremely difficult to implement and I’m sure the Catalan government are fully aware of this. That’s why I think the Declaration of Independence will be officially made some time on Friday.

At that point, we really will move into unknown territory. The Spanish government will probably use a combination of force, financial restrictions and international diplomacy to quash it but given the alternative is humiliation and subjugations, the Catalans are really left with no choice.

 

 

Article 155 Won’t Stop a Declaration of Independence. The Catalan People Won’t Let It!

The process that will eventually lead to the independence of Catalonia from Spain is moving slowly but inexorably forward. It’s almost like watching a train crash in slow motion.

Article 155

Yesterday, Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy invoked the long-awaited Article 155, claiming on the one hand that he wasn’t suspending the Generalitat while on the other announcing that he would be replacing the Catalan President and all his ministers and running the Catalan administration from the corresponding ministries in Madrid. Central government will also be taking over control of the Catalan Treasury, the Catalan police, the computer systems and all the public media companies with an aim to call elections at some point within the next six months, a responsibility according the the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, which is the sole right of the President of the Generalitat. If this isn’t a complete take over of the Catalan government, I don’t know what is.

Rajoy made his announcement just before lunchtime on Saturday fully aware that a demonstration was planned for 5 pm on Saturday afternoon in the centre of Barcelona in support of the Jordis, the two independence leaders, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart, who were imprisoned without bail by the Audiencia Nacional in Madrid last Monday. He surely must have been aware that timing is extremely important and his announcement of the effective cessation of the Catalan government would be another complaint added to an already long list of grievances aired by people attending the rally.

The Role of the Catalan Police

Another less commented on piece of news from Saturday morning was that the Chief of the Catalan police, Josep Lluís Trapero, had returned all the awards he had received from the Spanish police throughout his career. This struck me as particularly significant.

Trapero was accused of sedition in the same hearing as the Jordis but the Audience Nacional judge, Carmen Lamela, decided that preventative prison was not necessary and subject to handing over his passport and checking in at a Barcelona courtroom every 15 days, allowed him to go home. However, the Spanish public prosecutor seems to have it in for him and it is likely that he will be called to make another court appearance in Madrid this week. My wife, who is a lawyer herself, says that if he goes, it’s extremely unlikely he’ll be allowed to return to Barcelona.

Add this to the fact that Article 155 will effectively put the the Mossos d’Esquadra under the control of the Spanish National Police and the relationship between the two forces, which was already tense following Spanish police violence on October 1st, looks set to worsen. I’ve said this before but accusing the Catalan police of disloyalty and going after their chief at a time when you expect them to obediently follow your orders hardly seems like a sensible tactic.

For this reason, I wouldn’t be surprised that, should a Declaration of Independence be formally made at some point over the next ten days, Trapero doesn’t come out and officially pledge the loyalty of his force to the Generalitat. He’s likely to end up in jail anyway and what’s the difference between 15 years for sedition and 30 years for rebellion?

The Rally in Barcelona

As always, the rally in central Barcelona was an excellent example of peaceful good-humoured civic behaviour from the Catalans. Official police figures stated that 450,000 people attended, which as we live in the centre of town and are getting good at judging the size of demonstrations based on how much spillover into our neighbourhood there is, seems at least 200,000 too low to me.

Whatever the real figure, the independence movements capacity for mobilisation is extraordinary. Over a million people attended the Catalan national day in Barcelona on September 11th, 2.3 million people voted in the referendum on October 1st, 700,000 came out in Barcelona for the General Strike on October 3rd and 250,000 went on the candlelit vigil in Barcelona in support of the Jordis on October 17th. It’s also worth bearing in mind that every time there’sa rally in Barcelona there are similar smaller rallies in towns and villages all across Catalonia so the number of people mobilised is impossible to calculate.

What was interesting about this rally was that although it was purportedly in support of the Jordis, a large part of the Catalan political class attended, including President Puigdemont, which gave it an official feel. To me at least, it gave the impression that the complicity between politicians and people is pretty unbreakable and the pro-independence bloc is bracing itself for the final battle.

A Historic Moment

Apart from the shouts of “Freedom” and “Independence”, the booing of the Spanish police helicopters and the singing of the Catalan National Anthem “Els Segadors”, a particularly powerful moments was when Maria del Mar Bonet, a singer-songwriter who came to fame singing protest songs under Franco’s dictatorship, sang her classic “Que Volen Aquesta Gent?” (What do these people want?). It was like being back in the Sixties. It’s clear that the Catalan independence movement is making history.

The camera panned out and President Puigdemont, who has been in favour of Catalan independence all his life, was smiling and mouthing the words. More importantly, though, was when the camera focused on Xavier Domènech, one of the leaders of the left-wing Comuns group, who although in favour of a referendum have never supported independence. Domènech was crying, not uncontrollably but he was obviously deeply affected by the moment.

The Catalan independence movement clearly has right on its side and Domènech and the Comuns claim to stand with the people. If there was ever a time to show what you stand for, it’s now. It would be very good news if the Comuns were to start voting with the rest of the pro-independence bloc rather than abstaining.

Carles Puigdemont’s Statement

At nine o’clock yesterday evening, Carles Puigdemont made an official statement from the Palau de la Generalitat. We had heard a lot of it before: the insistence on dialogue and democracy, objections to the use of police violence and the judicialisation of a political process. A special mention was given to the Jordis and there was even a section in English in which he asked support from Europe.

However, the key moment was when he announced that the Bureau of Catalan Parliament would be meeting on Monday to draw up the agenda for a plenary session in parliament some time this week. The idea is to debate and vote on the consequences of the referendum on October 1st so it seems highly likely that some kind of official declaration of independence will be made.

It’s important to note that it will almost certainly take place before Friday, which is when the Spanish Senate will be debating the measures proposed by Mariano Rajoy under Article 155. Once Senate has approved the measures, the powers of the Generalitat and the Catalan police will be suspended also immediately, severely restricting the Catalan government’s ability to act.

So it looks likely that independence will be declared later this week, perhaps Wednesday or Thursday, and the Catalan independence process really will move into unknown territory. What’s very clear, though, is the Catalan people aren’t ready to put the brakes on this so Puigdemont and his government can be confident in counting on their complete support for a declaration of independence.

 

 

Catalan Foreign Minister Raül Romeva on why it’s “Not easy to find solutions within the constitutional framework while Spain constantly infringes Constitution”

This Twitter thread by Catalan Foreign Minister Raül Romeva shows very clearly how inconsistent the Spanish government is in applying its own laws. Typical of authoritarian regimes it insists on the Catalan authorities follow a set of arbitrary norms which it claims are unchangeable laws, while seemingly unable to follow the law or the Constitution itself. It’s not difficult to see why the Catalans want out.

Not easy to find “solutions within the constitutional framework” while Spain constantly infringes constitution to violate rights & freedoms