CATALONIA ---- Spanje verbiedt lezing in Utrecht - NOS Nieuws
Spain bans lecture in Utrecht
A reading of the Catalan author Albert Sánchez Piñol in Utrecht is off. At the last moment The organizer of the event, the Cervantes Institute, the meeting canceled.
It is not clear why the lecture is canceled. A spokesman would only say that the decision at the last minute has been taken by the Spanish Embassy in the Netherlands.
Furthermore, one refers to the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute in Madrid. There, however, is not given at home.
Censorship
The publisher of Sánchez Piñol is furious. "This is a serious matter that tends to censorship," said Juliette van Wersch, publisher of Signature.
"It is unfortunate and a publishing incomprehensible that this author
can not always tell. Spanish and Catalan history in the Netherlands"
Victus
Sánchez Piñol told tonight about his new book Victus.
That novel is about a turning point in Spanish history: the fall of
Barcelona in 1714 This threw Catalans lost their independence.
Van Wersch thinks the cancellation perhaps related to the 300th anniversary of the fall, on 11 September. "That is always accompanied by demonstrations, which were in recent years increasingly grim."
Moreover, the controversial referendum on Catalan independence play a role, but that remains speculation. "They just wanted to say that it is sensitive and that it was not a good time."
Pity
According to the publisher Sánchez Piñol regrets that now gets his book about political overtones. "He just wanted to write a historical novel., He finds this very unfortunate and sad."
The Cervantes Institute was founded to bring worldwide. The Spanish language and culture to the attention It is funded by the Spanish government.
The book by Albert Sánchez Piñol Victus
The book by Albert Sánchez Piñol Victus 