CATALONIA -- President Obama, would you allow Catalonia to determine its future?

President Obama, would you allow Catalonia to determine its future?

 President Obama, would you allow Catalonia to determine its future?

 

 

 

 Catalonia is an autonomous community that is self-governed within the
framework of the Spanish State, in accordance with the 1978 Constitution
and the Statute of Autonomy approved in 2006. Catalonia, whose
President is Artur Mas, is made up of four cities: Barcelona, Tarragona,
Lleida and Girona.


Catalonia has over seven and a half million inhabitants; since the turn
of the 21st century, its population has increased by roughly one
million, which situates Catalonia, with a growth rate of 3.4 per
thousand, above the Spanish and European averages. The number of foreign
citizens living in Catalonia also totals approximately one million.


The Catalan Parliament is one of the oldest in Europe: its origins go
back to 1283, when King Pere II (Peter II the Great) was deprived of
absolute power and subsequently required the authorization of the
clergy, the nobility and town representatives to pass laws. The Corts
Catalanes, which were made up of three estates (military, ecclesiastical
and royal), are considered to have been a veritable medieval
parliament.


The history of Catalonia began shortly before the year 900, when Guifré
el Pelós (Wilfred the Hairy) broke ties with the Frankish kings and thus
gave rise to the House of Barcelona.


In 2014, we will be commemorating a defeat. Following the death of
Charles II, who died heirless in 1700, Philip V, of the Bourbon dynasty,
occupied the Spanish throne. In 1701 he swore to uphold the Catalan
Constitutions, but the existence of another pretender to the throne,
Charles of Austria, led to the War of Succession. Catalonia sided with
the Austrian pretender, but, in 1714, Barcelona was defeated and the
cities that had not supported the Bourbons were subjected to harsh
reprisals.


In 2014, 300 years after the defeat, we intend to carry out a referendum
to gauge the opinion of the Catalans and whether a majority of us would
be for or against independence, for or against becoming an independent
state that would no longer be part of Spain. Beyond the peaceful
demonstrations of millions of Catalans who took to the streets to
exteriorize their support for the referendum, the will of Catalonia is
to ask and ascertain just what its people think.


President Artur Mas has informed Spanish President Mariano Rajoy that
the will of the majority of Catalonia’s political parties is to lead
such a process, but, to date, the reply has repeatedly been a
categorical no. Rajoy has publicly stated that, while he is the
President of Spain, the Catalans will not be allowed to hold such a
referendum. His position is, for the moment, one of complete
intransigence.


The Catalan President, conscious of the support of the majority of the
political parties and also of a great majority of Catalan citizens,
finally determined to set a date to carry out the consultation, November
9th 2014. Although the objective is to hold the referendum with the
consensus of the Spanish government and on the basis of dialogue, in the
event that no agreement should be reached, the consultation would
ultimately be carried out by calling plebiscitary elections.


Not far from Catalonia, on September 18th 2014, there will be a
referendum on whether Scotland should become independent of the United
Kingdom. In this case, David Cameron, the U.K. Prime Minister, has
allowed the consultation to go ahead and let the people decide their
future on the basis of their votes.


President Obama, I do realize that Catalonia is a distant reality for
you and does not lie within the realm of your responsibility, but I
would like to ask you whether you would allow the Catalan people to
carry out this consultation vote. It is important for us to know what
the international community’s view is regarding whether or not citizens,
and in this specific case, the Catalans, in a 21st century context,
should have the right to determine their future on the basis of a
referendum. And as President of one of the world’s greatest countries,
we would highly value your opinion.


I am attaching my e-mail address below in case you would like to express
your thoughts on the matter, and if so, your opinion would be duly
published in this medium.


Thank you very much in advance for your attention.


josepmvalles.periodista@gmail.com