Noam Chomsky and Dario Fo join international petition supporting Catalonia’s right to self-determination | News from Catalonia - VilaWeb
On Saturday, one day after the Spanish government announced that it
would challenge the independence consultation vote of 9 November before
the Constitutional Court, ten famous personalities signed
a petition by main Catalan pro-indy civil society organisation (Ara és
l’Hora) asking to allow the Catalan independence vote. Now fifteen more
international figures have joined the petition. Among the signatories:
Noam Chomsky, American linguist (MIT); Ignacio Ramonet, journalist and
former Director of Le Monde Diplomatique; Johan Cruyff, former Dutch
footballer; and Andrea Camilleri, Italian theatre director and writer.
The manifesto was published online (www.letcatalansvote.org) and in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Catalan. It was published after the Spanish Government decided to appeal against the alternative citizen participation process that the Catalan Executive is organising to replace the original consultation vote, which was banned by Spanish authorities a month ago. The manifesto has been coordinated by Eduard Vallory, President of Catalonia’s UNESCO Centre.
This is the manifesto’s original text:
“Let Catalans Vote
A majority of Catalans have repeatedly expressed in
different ways the wish to exercise their democratic right to vote on
their political future.
This strong demand to vote is the result of
longstanding dissension between the governments of Catalonia and Spain
over the degree of cultural, political, and financial autonomy that
Catalans should enjoy, despite several attempts to reach an acceptable
solution.
As the precedents in Quebec and Scotland show, the
best way to solve legitimate internal disputes is to employ the tools of
democracy. To prevent the Catalans from voting seems to contradict the
principles that inspire democratic societies.
Accordingly, we call on the Spanish government and
institutions and their Catalan counterparts to work together to allow
the citizens of Catalonia to vote on their political future and then
negotiate in good faith based on the result.
The complete list of signatories:
Desmond Tutu, South African archbishop and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Argentinean pacifist and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
Dario Fo, Italian dramatist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature
Ken Loach, English film maker
Noam Chomsky, American linguist (MIT)
Saskia Sassen, Dutch sociologist (Columbia)
Richard Sennett, American thinker (NYU)
Harold Bloom, American literary critic (Yale)
Paul Preston, English historian and Hispanist (LSE)
António Lobo Antunes, Portuguese writer
Ignacio Ramonet, journalist and former Director of Le Monde Diplomatique
Johan Cruyff, former Dutch footballer
Ronald Kasrils, South African writer, former anti-apartheid activist and minister
Wuer Kaixi, Chinese dissident, a leader of the student protests in Tiananmen
Hu Jia, winner of the European Parliament Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought
Tariq Ali, Pakistani writer and activist
Ambler Moss, former US ambassador
Andrea Camilleri, Italian theatre director and writer
Colm Tóibín, Irish writer
Bill Shipsey, founder of Art for Amnesty International
Peter Sís, American writer and illustrator, winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award
Bořek Šípek, Czech architect
Saúl Hernández, Mexican rock star
Pēteris Vasks, Latvian new age composer
Mārtiņš Brauns, Latvian composer, author of the anthem of the Baltic Way
