CATALONIA -- Declaration of sovereignty and of the right to decide of the Catalan nation - VilaWeb

Declaration of sovereignty and of the right to decide of the Catalan nation - VilaWeb

Preamble

The people of Catalonia, during the course of their
history, have democratically demonstrated their collective desire to
govern themselves, with the objective to advance their development,
their well being, and provide equal opportunity to all citizens, while
reinforcing their culture and collective identity.

Self-government for Catalonia is founded on the
historic rights of the Catalan people, in their ancient institutions,
and in Catalan legal tradition. Catalan parliamentarism has its roots in
the Middle Ages in the assemblies of Peace and Truce and the Count’s
Court.

In the 14th century the Diputació General, or as it
was commonly known the Generalitat, was created, and went on acquiring
great levels of autonomy until it became, in the 16th and 17th
centuries, the government of the Principality of Catalonia. With the
fall of Barcelona in 1714, during the War of Spanish Succession, Philip V
with the Decree of the Nova Planta abolished Catalan rights and the
institutions of self-government.

This historic experience has been shared with several
other territories, a fact that has linked them a common linguistic,
cultural, social and economic background, with the intent to reinforce
and promote their mutual recognition.

Throughout the 20th century the desire for
self-government has been a constant for Catalans. The establishment of
the Catalan Mancomunitat in 1914 was a first step in the recovery of
self-government, but was abolished under the dictatorship of Primo de
Rivera. In 1931, with the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, a
Catalan government was established with the name the Generalitat of
Catalonia and endowed with a Statute of Autonomy.

The Generalitat was again abolished in 1939 by General
Franco, who established a dictatorship that lasted until 1975. The
dictatorship was actively resisted by the Catalan public and the
Government of Catalonia. One of the milestones in the fight for liberty
was the establishment in 1971 of the Assembly of Catalonia, before the
reestablishment of the Generalitat, a provisional basis, until the
return of its president from exile in 1977. During the transition to
democracy, and within the context of the new system of autonomous
regions as defined by the 1978 Spanish Constitution, Catalans approved
through a 1979 referendum the Catalan Statute of Autonomy, and in 1980
the first elections for the Parliament of Catalonia were held.

During the last few years, with the strengthening of
democracy, a majority of Catalan political and social forces have pushed
for a transformation of judicial and political structures. The most
recent effort, was the process to reform the Catalan Statute of Autonomy
initiated by Parliament In 2005. The difficulties and obstacles raised
by the institutions of the Spanish State, specially the Supreme Court’s
sentence 31/2010, was a radical negation of the democratic evolution of
the collective will of the Catalan public, and created the basis for a
regression in self-government, which today clearly expresses itself in
various aspects including political, jurisdictional, financial, social,
cultural and linguistic.

The Catalan public has, using various means, expressed
its collective will to overcome the obstacles placed by the Spanish
State. The massive demonstrations on the 10th of July, 2010, under the
slogan 'We Are a Nation', and on 11th of September, 2012, under the
slogan 'Catalonia, a New European State', are expressions against the
rejections of the Catalan public’s decisions. 

With the date 27th of September, 2012, and in
accordance with Resolution 742/IX, the Parliament of Catalonia
establishes the need for the people of Catalonia to freely and
democratically determine their collective future by means of a
referendum. This will was was clearly and decisively expressed by the
results of the last elections for the Parliament of Catalonia held on
the 25th November, 2012.

To carry out this process, the Parliament of
Catalonia, sitting in the first session of the Xth Legislature, and in
accordance with the will of the citizens of Catalonia that was
democratically expressed during the last elections, sets down the
following:

Declaration of sovereignty and of the right to decide of the Catalan nation

In accordance with the democratically expressed will
of the majority of the Catalan public, the Parliament of Catalonia
initiates a process to bring to promote the right of the citizens of
Catalonia to collectively decide their political future, in accordance
with the following principles:

-Sovereignty. The Catalan public has, by reason of democratic legitimacy, political and legal sovereignty.

-Democratic Legitimacy. The process of exercising the
right to decide will be scrupulously democratic, especially by
guaranteeing a variety of options and which will all be respected, and,
through deliberation and dialog within Catalan society. The objective
will be that the resulting pronouncement be the expression of the
majority of the popular will, which will be the fundamental guarantor of
the right to decide.

-Transparency. All the necessary tools will be enabled
so that the whole of the population and all of Catalan society have all
of the information and knowledge regarding the right to decide process,
and to promote their participation in the process.

-Dialogue. Catalonia will engage in dialogue and
negotiations with the Spanish State, European institutions and with
international organizations.

-Social Cohesion. The social and territorial cohesion
of Catalonia will be guaranteed, and so will the desire, as expressed on
numerous occasions by Catalan society, to maintain a unified nation.

-Europeanism. The founding principles of the European
Union will be defended and promoted, especially the fundamental rights
of its citizens, democracy, the commitment to the welfare state,
solidarity with the different nations of Europe, and to economic, social
and cultural progress.

-Legality. All existing legal frameworks will be utilised to strengthen democracy and to exercise the right to decide.

-The principal role of Parliament. The Parliament of
Catalonia, as the institution that represents the people of Catalonia,
has a leading role in this process and, therefore, it will be necessary
to decide and specify the mechanisms and the dynamics of the process
which will guarantee this principle.

-Participation. The Parliament of Catalonia and the
Government of the Generalitat must be active participants at the local
level, in the maximum number of political forces, in economic and social
elements, in the cultural and civic organisations of our country, and
to specify the mechanisms that will guaranty this principle.

The Parliament of Catalonia encourages all citizens to
take an active role in the democratic process for the right to decide
of the Catalan people.

House of Parliament, 23 January, 2013