CATALONIA -- Desmond Tutu urges Spain to listen to Catalonia - VilaWeb

Desmond Tutu urges Spain to listen to Catalonia - VilaWeb:

Desmond Tutu urges Spain to listen to Catalonia

"It is not a good sign to force people into a union that they do not want," Tutu said in declarations yesterday to Catalan TV3

Nobel Peace Prize winner and Archbishop emeritus for Capetown, Desmond Tutu, was recognized today with the XXVI Catalonia International Prize 2014.
The jury recognized Tutu's "vigorous and constant struggle for social
justice and for bettering the conditions of the oppressed, with
exceptional integrity, courage and ability." Yesterday, in declarations
made to Catalan TV3, Tutu spoke about the right to decide, addressing
himself to Catalans and Spaniards:

“I hope that you in Spain are
sufficiently adult enough to be able to see that we must sit down
together and listen to one another.

“It is not a good sign to force people into a union that they do not
want. It feels like a yoke around their neck like we are seeing now.

“If people are feeling strongly that they want to pull out of a union
then it is far better to listen to them and hear them rather than to
force them into a relationship that they do not want.”

Considered the moral conscience of South Africa, Tutu was
instrumental in the fall of apartheid, has promoted the defense of human
rights around the world, and has been active in campaigns against AIDS,
tuberculosis, poverty, racism, sexism, and homophobia.

The prize will be awarded on June 3 at 7pm at the Palau de la Generalitat, the seat of the Catalan Government.