CATALONIA ----- Spain wants revenge. But arresting Catalan leaders only gives us strength

CATALONIA

Spain wants revenge. But arresting Catalan leaders only gives us strength

Madrid’s aggressive, unconstitutional attempts to crush Catalonia’s pro-independence spirit will in fact be counterproductive

Jordi Solé, Josep-Maria Terricabras and Ramon Tremosa

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/02/spain-arresting-catalan-leaders-madrid-independence?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copia_al_porta-retalls

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CATALONIA ---- Catalan ‘martyrs’ keep their cool

Jordi Cuixart

Catalan ‘martyrs’ keep their cool

'For a man sentenced to nine years in prison for a political crime, Jordi Cuixart, one of the figureheads of Catalonia’s separatist movement, seems in remarkably good spirits.

When I visited him yesterday in the Lledoners penitentiary centre, about 40 miles from Barcelona, he launched into an animated speech about the benefits of yoga, pottery and meditation for maintaining a positive frame of mind.

“If ever I’m feeling a bit down, I remember how many of the world’s political prisoners are forced to endure much worse conditions than us,” he told me through a telephone on the other side of a glass screen.

“We can’t complain, even if we are here despite being innocent of any crime.” '

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/catalan-martyrs-keep-their-cool-fzqqklmj3

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CATALONIA ----- “Catalonia has no king!”

CATALONIA

Spain’s king deeply ofended many Catalans in 2017 when he took sides, spoke against Catalan democrats and made clear that he agreed with the Spanish police violence exerted over voters. For this and many more reasons, Catalonia has no king.

'Thousands of demonstrators banged on kitchen pots and chanted “Catalonia has no king!” on Monday to protest a visit by the Spanish royal family to the capital of the region that has been hit by weeks of separatist demonstrations.'

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-election-king-protests-idUSKBN1XE1WO

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CATALONIA ------ The misinformation campaign against #Catalonia

The misinformation campaign against #Catalonia 

 'The dissemination of #misinformation surrounding the plight of the Catalan people, propagated by the Spanish press and government, has been relentless and jarring...

In a dystopian fashion, Spanish national media coverage has increasingly become the willing handmaiden of both corporate greed and political power-mongering. While the flagrantly fictive quality of the Spanish press’s reporting has most recently come to light with the coverage of the Catalan movement, the corruption that mars journalism in Spain runs deep.'

https://thepolitic.org/homage-to-orwell-the-misinformation-campaign-against-catalonia/

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CATALONIA ---- PUIGDEMONT,THIRD ATTEMT

“Spanish deep state, which is clocking up failure after failure as long as the exiled leader goes on travelling freely around most of the countries of Europe, being interviewed by leading world publications and having international agencies, such as Bloomberg, constantly refer to him as "the Catalan president in exile." Because Spain's foreign ministry, with Josep Borrell at its head and a budget of hundreds of thousands of euros at the service of Global Spain, has failed to install a convincing narrative of its own in international public opinion. This week, for example, four international publications - US magazine Time, UK newspaper The Times, Russia's Komsomolskaya Pravda and the Swiss daily Blick - have all published Puigdemont interviews or opinion articles.”

https://www.elnacional.cat/en/editorial/jose-antich-puigdemont-third-attempt_435897_102.html

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CATALONIA ---- Spain’s reckoning with its past shows Francoism is far from dead

Spain’s reckoning with its past shows Francoism is far from dead

Reburial of dictator’s remains has raised questions about the legacy of his regime

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/spain-s-reckoning-with-its-past-shows-francoism-is-far-from-dead-1.4061491

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CATALONIA --- THE CATALAN REVOLT

CATALONIA

Spain’s illegitimate use of force and the judiciary; Catalans’ legitimate self-defence

On Monday, 23 September, three weeks before the sentences of twelve Catalan civil and political leaders tried for rebellion, sedition and embezzlement were to be announced, 500 Civil Guard officers raided the homes and premises of nine Catalan pro-independentist activists in Operation Judas. Two were released the same day despite all nine being charged with terrorism offences. The other seven were transported to Civil Guard headquarters in Madrid, Tres Cantos, for questioning.

https://barbaryfigs.com/2019/10/28/the-catalan-revolt/

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CATALONIA --- Jordi Cuixart Interview in the IrishTimes

CATALONIA

Jordi Cuixart

Interview in the IrishTimes : "Prison has lost its effectiveness as a coercive tool, is a platform to denounce the violation of #HumanRights in #Spain"

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/prison-a-necessary-step-for-independence-says-jailed-catalan-leader-1.4066155?mode=amp&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

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CATALONIA --- VIDEO ----- The Spanish political police serves the State's terrorism narrative in Catalonia, and the campaign is working.

CATALONIA

https://www.facebook.com/445044512255119/posts/2513096738783209/

⬛️⬜️  Two videos better understood side by side. 

The Spanish political police serves the State's terrorism narrative in Catalonia, and the campaign is working.

"They are the ones that are violent", "Kill them".

A Spanish hate campaign against all things Catalan.

#StandUpForCatalonia

CATALONIA ----- 'Spain levels with China and Russia censoring content in Microsoft's platform'

CATALONIA

'Spain levels with China and Russia censoring content in Microsoft's platform' 

https://english.vilaweb.cat/noticies/spain-blocks-catalan-protest-platform-in-github/

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CATALONIA ----- Spain takes the fight against independence online

CATALONIA

📎 | Spain's acting government to pass a new decree preventing "digital republic" in Catalonia, says Pedro Sánchez

https://www.catalannews.com/politics/item/spain-takes-the-fight-against-independence-online

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CATALONIA ----- "Blood was literally flying from the hits the boys were getting, to the point of staining the walls", sources from the interviewers who have visited the prisons in recent days say.'

CATALONIA

'Testimony from a number of young women coincides on them being handcuffed behind their backs, on their knees facing a wall in that headquarters during moments of high tension, especially on the Friday when the news arrived one police officer was seriously ill. They also describe "very hard" scenes of their fellow prisoners being hit. "Blood was literally flying from the hits the boys were getting, to the point of staining the walls", sources from the interviewers who have visited the prisons in recent days say.'

https://www.elnacional.cat/en/news/arrested-catalan-protesters-police-blood-flying_436383_102.html

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CATALONIA ----- ME TOO

CATALONIA

' "I took part in the protests in Barcelona on 20th September 2017 and then I voted in the Catalan independence referendum on 1st October 2017, and since the Supreme Court considers that these actions are equivalent to a crime of sedition, I too am guilty." That is, in brief, the essence of the content of the self-incriminating confession that hundreds of people have been presenting this Monday at courts all over Catalonia. A campaign promoted by the pro-independence civil group Òmnium Cultural as a gesture of solidarity with the nine Catalan politicians and social leaders sentenced to 9-13 years of jail. A kind of "me too", Catalan independence style.'

https://www.elnacional.cat/en/politics/catalan-me-too-confess-sedition_435633_102.html

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CATALONIA ----- THE REAL SPAIN

Surely you have heard about the 'this is the real Spain' campaign with which the Spanish government intends cover its already indistinguishable state from a dictatorship. Your marketing campaign trying to make up your regression to fascism is pathetic, but marketing is powerful and it may seem that its abuses, repression and are characteristic of a 'model democracy' (sic). On this website we contrast marketing with facts.

Each of the statements on this website is backed by news published in the media contrasted and that can be consulted at the moment.

Because even if we are living in times where the truth is being diluted, reality remains stubborn and verifiable. Because this is the TRULY REAL Spain, the 21st century one. And the facts prove it. 

https://www.thisistherealrealspain.com/?i=2

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CATALONIA ------ Why Catalonia is not giving up

CATALONIA

Why Catalonia is not giving up

“This claim seems all the more legitimate when we consider the fate of Catalonia’s last ten  presidents, since 1931. Five of them suffered periods of exile, four spells in prison, one execution and almost all fines, suspension or contempt from Madrid. The Catalan cause, therefore, and its rejection by Madrid is nothing new. And Spanish governments of different colours have always responded to it in a similarly repressive fashion. It is on the Catalan side that the changes are more visible. As Spain continues to make all the same old mistakes in handling the Catalan issue -mistakes that many now consider irreparable with the new sentences-  Catalans are spurred on along the road to independence. No one is giving up because Spain is allowing them no other option.”

https://english.vilaweb.cat/noticies/why-catalonia-is-not-giving-up/

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CATALONIA ---- Spain’s ‘trial of the century’ reopens historic wounds

Spain’s ‘trial of the century’ reopens historic wounds

After a long court battle, the remains of General Francisco Franco are set to be exumed. From the archive, read the back story on why Spain’s ‘trial of the century’ has reopened historic wounds:

'When General Franco finally died – peacefully in his sleep – politicians of the left and the right resolved upon a democratic transition rooted in a "pact of forgetting", rather than a reckoning. Collective amnesia and amnesty were applied both to the sins of the dictatorship and to the convergences that shaped the Civil War. "If we don’t talk about our differences, they don’t need to become an issue again," was the rationale.'

https://newint.org/features/2019/02/12/spains-trial-century-reopens-historic-wounds

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CATALONIA ------- Spanish state repression in Catalonia may be shocking – but it’s nothing new

CATALONIA

Spanish state repression in Catalonia may be shocking – but it’s nothing new

"The verdict against the Catalan pro-independence leadership for organising a democratic and peaceful referendum, and the subsequent violence the Spanish police used against peaceful Catalan demonstrations, shows us what we always knew: the Spanish state is not interested in democracy and will use violence to conceal its undemocratic nature."

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/23/spanish-state-repression-catalonia-democracy-basque

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CATALONIA --- THE REPRESION OF CATALONIA NATION

CATALONIA

'Constitutions do not have a secession clause because states want to keep themselves.  Spain is no exception.  Spain refuses the secession of the Catalan nation, of course, but not for constitutional reasons: it is a question of power.  Minority nations must therefore mobilize and politically impose their right to self-determination.

Quebec did not ask Ottawa for the right to hold a referendum.  They mobilized and organized two popular referendums peacefully and democratically.
Some states, such as Canada, have a longer liberal democratic tradition, are more tolerant of their minority nations and allow for independence referendums, which they hope to win by playing the argument of fear of the unknown.  Ottawa did not use its courts in 1980 and 1995, but put its weight in the balance to tilt the vote towards the status quo.

It has been said that the Catalan independence referendum was unconstitutional.  The Spanish Constitution is silent on this issue.  It mentions "the indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation", but this kind of typical clause can not be dealt with solely under the judicial angle.  The relationship between a majority nation, under the control of the powerful central state, and a minority nation is a problem that must be solved politically.  Especially since a constitution is a peace treaty, which freezes power relations at the time of its adoption and embodies the interests and vision of the majority group.
The Spanish Constitution of 1978 was adopted in the context of the end of Franco's fascist regime and an insurrectional threat of Franco's generals.  It emphasizes the unity of the Spanish nation and the primacy of the Castilian national language to appease the reactionary forces.'
'Under Franco, the Catalans were harshly repressed: their language and culture were banned from public space and their government exiled.  The 1978 Constitution gave them back their linguistic, cultural and political rights.  Faced with the threat posed by the Franco forces, this constitution represented a short-term gain for Catalonia, but proved insufficient in the long run.
The autonomy statute of 2006 recognized the Catalan nation and its government, which existed legitimately well before 1978, and gave it greater autonomy.  As it responded to Catalan claims, a small percentage of the population declared themselves independent.  The campaign against this status by the conservative political forces, crowned by its invalidation in 2010 by the Constitutional Court, explains the meteoric rise of Catalan independence movement.

Faced with this crisis, the elites of Madrid have turned a deaf ear to Catalan requests for dialogue or to launch a referendum on independence.  The Catalans were condemned to accept this injustice in silence.
The Catalan referendum of 2017 was therefore a normal political response to this blockage.  At the height of injustice, Madrid responded to peaceful Catalan political action with its judges - who imprisoned Catalan leaders for several years - and its policemen - who club a peaceful people.  Madrid has also dissolved and put under guardianship the regional government of Catalonia, which was democratically elected and committed to the Catalan people to set up a referendum on the independence of the state-region.

The Spanish state violates the right to self-determination of Catalans and locks itself into a rigorous interpretation of its constitution.  Meanwhile, Western states, like Canada, are closing in a complicit silence.'

https://www.ledevoir.com/opinion/libre-opinion/565134/la-repression-de-la-nation-catalane
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CATALONIA ------ Spanish police brutality against Catalan protestors in 10 videos

CATALONIA

Spanish police brutality against Catalan protestors in 10 videos

Footage from police officers beating and shooting against peaceful protestors and journalists

https://english.vilaweb.cat/noticies/spanish-police-brutality-against-catalan-protestors-in-10-videos/
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CATALONIA ---- The Spanish constitutional settlement is in crisis

CATALONIA

The Spanish constitutional settlement is in crisis

⬛⬜ The authoritarian responses of the 🇪🇸 Spanish ruling class should be seen as attempts to paper over what are in fact deep structural cracks in the state's edifice.

#StandUpForCatalonia

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/spanish-constitutional-settlement-crisis-191017122257481.html
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CATALONIA --- Catalonia's independence project struggles to establish clear roadmap

CATALONIA

Catalonia's independence project struggles to establish clear roadmap

Some extreme incidents have overshadowed the movement’s many peaceful demonstrations

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/catalonia-s-independence-project-struggles-to-establish-clear-roadmap-1.4055428?mode=amp
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CATALONIA ----- "The solution to the Catalan crisis is dialogue, democracy and self-determination"

« La solution à la crise catalane passe par le dialogue, la démocratie et l’autodétermination »

"The solution to the Catalan crisis is dialogue, democracy and self-determination"

https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2019/10/17/la-solution-a-la-crise-catalane-passe-par-le-dialogue-la-democratie-et-l-autodetermination_6015793_3232.html
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CATALONIA ---- 'Catalonia has created a new kind of online activism. Everyone should pay attention'

CATALONIA

'Catalonia has created a new kind of online activism. Everyone should pay attention'

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/barcelonia-riots-catalonia-protests-news

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CATALONIA ----- INTERVIEW | Democratic Tsunami: "Spain, sit down and talk"

CATALONIA

INTERVIEW | Democratic Tsunami: "Spain, sit down and talk"

https://www.elnacional.cat/en/politics/interview-democratic-tsunami-spain-talk_432482_102.html

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CATALONIA ----- Catalonia's independence project struggles to establish clear roadmap

CATALONIA

Catalonia's independence project struggles to establish clear roadmap

Some extreme incidents have overshadowed the movement’s many peaceful demonstrations

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/catalonia-s-independence-project-struggles-to-establish-clear-roadmap-1.4055428?mode=amp
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CATALONIA --- The jailing of Catalan nationalists: Spanish government builds a police state

The jailing of Catalan nationalists: Spanish government builds a police state

The jailing of Catalan nationalists: Spanish government builds a police state

" By blaming protesters rather than Spanish police for the crackdown in Catalonia, the Supreme Court ruling hands the state a weapon to eviscerate fundamental democratic rights. If its grotesque and reactionary argument were to become accepted, police would need only break a nightstick over the head of a striker on a picket line, or a student occupying a university, to declare them guilty of violent rebellion against the state and hand them long prison sentences. Constitutionally protected rights to strike and to protest would be a dead letter."

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/10/17/pers-o17.html
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CATALONIA ------ Spanish nationalism loses the plot

Spanish nationalism loses the plot

“There is a deep residual nationalism at the heart of the Spanish state which has its roots in the Franco period, and has never been adequately purged after the dictatorship.”

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/spanish-nationalism-loses-plot/
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CATALONIA ---- Police infiltrates caused violence around the Government Delegation in Barcelona

CARLOS ENRIQUE BAYO

Police infiltrates caused violence around the Government Delegation in Barcelona

'Público' has obtained videos, photographs and testimonials that show that at least three hooded foreigners of the CDR demonstrators demolished the long fence that separated independentists and minors from Pau Claris with Valencia, and then commented among them: "It is already,  We have already thrown the fence and now it is going to lie "/" Now we can speak Castilian, there is no problem anymore "/" And uncover, I uncovered. "  After his intervention some incidents occurred and the riot police ended up firing gum and foam balls to the congregated ones, who only sent empty cans

https://m.publico.es/politica/2119997/infiltrados-policiales-provocaron-violencia-en-torno-a-la-delegacion-del-gobierno-en-barcelona
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CATALONIA ------ Sentenced to nine years in prison for sedition, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez make joint call to reject violence as pro-independence protests desdend into turmoil

CATALONIA

📎 | Sentenced to nine years in prison for sedition, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez make joint call to reject violence as pro-independence protests desdend into turmoil

http://www.catalannews.com/catalan-trial/item/activists-call-for-peaceful-protests-on-two-year-incarceration-anniversary
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CATALONIA ----- The EU's spineless leaders, always vocal about Brexit, have gone strangely silent on Catalonia

The EU's spineless leaders, always vocal about Brexit, have gone strangely silent on Catalonia

DOUGLAS CARSWELL

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/10/15/eus-spineless-leaders-always-vocal-brexit-have-gone-strangely/
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CATALONIA ------ British Deputies present a motion in Parliament asking the government to ask the European institutions to suspend Spain

BREAKING!  British Deputies present a motion in Parliament asking the government to ask the European institutions to suspend Spain as a member state of the EU via Article 7 to break with the EU values ​​of freedom, justice and human rights in the face of independence.  https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/53369/spain-and-article-7-of-the-treaty-on-european-union-procedure

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CATALONIA ------- 'Numerous attacks on journalists by police reported at Barcelona airport'

CATALONIA

'Numerous attacks on journalists by police reported at Barcelona airport'

'The International Press Institute (IPI), a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists for press freedom, today called on authorities in Spain and Catalonia to ensure an end to police attacks on journalists covering protests following a Spanish Supreme Court ruling jailing leaders of the Catalan independence movement.According to local media reports, at least three journalists were injured by police at the Barcelona airport yesterday, including Elise Gazengel of France24 and Pol Pareja of the Spanish news website Eldiario.es. Both journalists said they were wearing vests and armbandsissued by journalist associations identifying them as members of the press. Pareja reported in a tweet that police had manhandled several journalists and blocked them from approaching the events for reporting purposes.'

https://ipi.media/ipi-urges-spain-to-protect-journalist-safety-amid-catalonia-protests/
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CATALONIA -- 'Catalan activist not allowed to talk to his lawyer after 3 weeks in jail

CATALONIA

'Catalan activist not allowed to talk to his lawyer after 3 weeks in jail

Two of them are only allowed to exit the cell for three hours a day

One of the Catalan political prisoners arrested on September 23, Ferran Jolis, has not yet been able to talk to his lawyer after three weeks in Spain’s Soto del Real prison. The appointment of the lawyer is not yet “effective” and this prevents him from talking in person with the detainee. VilaWeb has confirmed the news with the Alerta Solidaria lawyers group, who also denounced the situation via Twitter'

'According to Alerta Solidaria, Jolis is in a cell without artificial light and has little food left when he enters the dining room. Alerta Solidaria has also denounced that, apart from the generic restrictions implied by the inclusion in the controverted FIES Regime, the seven Catalan political prisoners can only send two letters every week and two of them are only allowed to exit the cell for three hours a day. ‘This means that the person is alone in the cell the rest of the day, even during meals’, they say. ‘Restricting the right to privacy, the right of socialisation, the right to communicate, etc. is a flagrant violation of the rights that any person has’.'

https://english.vilaweb.cat/noticies/catalan-activist-not-allowed-to-talk-to-his-lawyer-after-3-weeks-in-jail/
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CATALONIA ----- ON FIRE

CATALONIA

#SpainIsAFascistState

Follow the latest developments here.

https://english.vilaweb.cat/noticies/massive-protests-in-catalonia-against-referendum-trial-verdict/

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CATALONIA ------- Europe, now it's up to you: Full statement from Catalonia’s Foreign Minister

CATALONIA

Europe, now it's up to you: Full statement from Catalonia’s Foreign Minister

By Alfred Bosch, Minister for Foreign Action of the Government of Catalonia

https://www.thenational.scot/news/17966674.europe-now-full-statement-catalonias-foreign-minister/?ref=fbshr
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CATALONIA ----- ON FIRE

#SpainIsAFascistState

Protests grow across Catalonia shortly after the jailed leaders' verdict. Public servants and students, among others, are blocking Barcelona's main avenues, including Diagonal, Gran Via and Via Laietana

catalannews.com/catalan-trial/item/on-the-spot-protests-kick-off-in-catalonia-after-jailed-leaders-verdict

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CATALONIA ------ SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

9 Catalan pro-independence leaders convicted to prison over 2017 referendum case charged with sedition and misuse of public funds with prison sentences ranging from 9 to 13 years

http://www.catalannews.com/catalan-trial/item/9-pro-independence-leaders-convicted-to-9-to-13-years-in-jail-for-sedition
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CATALONIA ---- VIDEO --- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

#SpainIsAFascistState

<<<<< CATALONIA >>>>

<<<< REFERENDUM 1st OCTOBER 2017  >>>

>>> SPANISH POLICE BRUTALITY >><

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10215623424713370&id=1073700825

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CATALONIA ------- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

CATALONIA

#SpainIsAFascistState

""In this wave of cases involving political dissidence, this rising tide of political trials, the Spanish judiciary refuses to play by the rules laid down in this country supposedly subject to the Rule of Law, enjoying as they do the very immunity not afforded to elected representatives from Catalonia.

For the Kingdom of Spain, it is still a matter of State and anything goes." "

By Milford Edge

https://barbaryfigs.com/2019/10/13/defenceless-catalan-political-prisoners-await-their-fate/
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SPAIN ON RED ALERT

SPAIN ON RED ALERT

https://www.majorcadailybulletin.com/comment/opinion/2019/10/12/58693/spain-red-alert.html
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CATALONIA ---- Government calls for firing of Guardia Civil chief over 'insults' to Catalan police

CATALONIA

Government calls for firing of Guardia Civil chief over 'insults' to Catalan police

“In his address, Garrido congratulated his officers for their actions during the October 1, 2017 referendum, in which over a thousand civilian voters required medical attention following heavy-handed tactics used by Guardia Civil riot police sent to stop the vote.
The chief also pledged that "we will do it again," mimicking the words of activist leader, Jordi Cuixart, who has spent two years in preventive custody over the 2017 independence bid, and is now awaiting the verdict of his trial that could see him jailed for 17 years.
Also on Thursday, the unionist People's Party candidate for the November general election, Cayetana Álvarez de Toledo, warned Mossos commanders of "consequences" if they are too lenient with the expected protests of the upcoming verdict.”

http://www.catalannews.com/society-science/item/government-calls-for-firing-of-guardia-civil-chief-over-insults-to-catalan-police

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CATALONIA ------ Catalan indy trial: ‘Serious irregularities’ reported by probe

CATALONIA

Catalan indy trial: ‘Serious irregularities’ reported by probe

A TEAM of international observers has said they found “serious irregularities” in the trial of Catalan independence leaders and said it “does not offer the necessary guarantees to describe it as just”.

The International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EuroMed Rights) yesterday published their report on the Spanish Supreme Court trial, claiming that police witnesses relied on “stereotyped testimonials”.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/17958236.catalan-indy-trial-serious-irregularities-reported-probe/?ref=fbshr
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CATALONIA ---- Madrid - Trial of Catalan separatists: FIDH and Euromed Rights denounce irregularities

Madrid - Trial of Catalan separatists: FIDH and Euromed Rights denounce irregularities

https://www.fidh.org/fr/regions/europe-asie-centrale/espagne/madrid-proces-des-independantistes-catalans-la-fidh-et-euromed-droits?fbclid=IwAR2hpGDfhEtYIJPa_3UpO7PYB3l2-fhLVGMrz4aFfUums54er5uiB3Q5Ls4

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CATALONIA ------ Hate Crimes in Spain not as they Seem

CATALONIA

Hate Crimes in Spain not as they Seem

Problems have long dogged the fledgling democracy. In the mid-1980s, the then Socialist government organised death squads against those suspected of links to Basque terrorist organisation ETA. A few bureaucrats and a senior minister even spent a few months behind bars for their role in the scandal.

https://cassandravoices.com/global/hate-crimes-in-spain-not-as-they-seem/
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CATALONIA ----- We are with you Catalunya’ – the revolt in Spain is bigger than flags and language

CATALONIA

We are with you Catalunya’ – the revolt in Spain is bigger than flags and language

Paul Mason

Two million Catalans braved the threat of a police boot in the face to demand independence. As with Scotland and Greece, this was a modern, cosmopolitan form of nationalism

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/02/catalans-independence-revolt-spain-independence-flags?CMP=share_btn_fb
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CATALONIA ----- Flawed Transition: why the Spanish state is repressing the Catalan independence movement

CATALONIA

Flawed Transition: why the Spanish state is repressing the Catalan independence movement

Writte by Chris Bambery

Chris Bambery explains that Spanish repression of the Catalan independence movement, and the impending trial of its leaders, is rooted in the concessions made to right-wing nationalism in aftermath of Franco’s dictatorship

https://www.counterfire.org/articles/history/20589-flawed-transition-why-the-spanish-state-is-repressing-the-catalan-independence-movement
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CATALONIA ----- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

CATALONIA

📎 | Catalan parliament speaker responds to Spanish government asking courts to warn him over certain debates in chamber

"We won't censor the free expression of MPs," says Roger Torrent.

📝 | Learn more here: catalannews.com/politics/item/spanish-government-asks-high-court-to-issue-warning-to-catalan-parliament-speaker
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CATALONIA --- JORDI CUIXART

Letter to Human Rights Defenders at risk in the 2019 #DublinPlatform read by Elena Jiménez Botías, Òmnium Cultural: 715 nights in prison have only strengthened my commitment to #humanrights

https://www.omnium.cat/en/jordi-cuixarts-letter-to-human-rights-defenders-in-the-2019-dublin-platform/

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CATALONIA ---- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

CATALONIA

◼️◻️ Detailed article by Barbary figs on the intentionally dubbed #OperaciónJudas against the nine Catalan pro-independence activists allegedly accused of terrorism, and the filtrations and misinformation campaign by the Spanish media.

"When terrorism charges are ultimately dropped, as they normally are, the lesser sentences, while still excessive, seem more lenient. Terrorism charges, which carry some of the most serious penalties in the Spanish penal code, serve many purposes, not least to strike fear into the accused and their social circles, who will be made to suffer for up to six years until their cases are eventually resolved."

http://barbaryfigs.com/2019/10/01/operation-judas-plan-z-e-n-for-catalonia/
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CATALONIA ----- Jailed activist leader addresses Dublin meeting of human rights defenders

CATALONIA

Jailed activist leader addresses Dublin meeting of human rights defenders

In a letter from prison, Jordi Cuixart accuses Spanish authorities of using judiciary and criminal law to "undermine basic human rights"

http://www.catalannews.com/politics/item/jailed-activist-leader-addresses-dublin-meeting-of-human-rights-defenders
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CATALONIA ----- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

These people do not do journalism, they make false propaganda against Catalonia for the Spanish state.

https://noticiasdecatalunya.com/estos-son-los-periodistas-que-junto-a-la-guardia-civil-estan-intentando-crear-un-falso-relato-de-violencia-en-catalunya/
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CATALONIA ------ News of the Catalan non-violent independence movement reach India, home one of our role models.

◼️◻️ News of the Catalan non-violent independence movement reach India, home one of our role models.

Ramin Jahanbegloo | رامين جهانبگلو: "This is the essence of the Gandhian moment of #Catalonia. It is based on moral courage and respect for the otherness of others rather than passive submission to the thermodynamics of power."

O.P. Jindal Global University Indianexpress

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/gandhi-jayanti-2019-mahatma-gandhi-spain-6046000/lite/?__twitter_impression=true

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CATALONIA ----- THE PATRIOT ACT,APPLY TO CATALONIA

THE PATRIOT ACT,APPLY TO CATALONIA

https://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm
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CATALONIA ------ The seed of liberty

CATALONIA

The seed of liberty

Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sànchez

Lledoners. Monday, 30 September 2019

'The 1st October 2017 made it clear how unstoppable the will of the public is when we act in a coordinated manner in defence of a shared objective. We wanted to vote and we voted. The Spanish state, with all its capacity for coercion and police violence, could not prevent more than 2,300,000 women and men from voting in some 6,000 ballot boxes spread around nearly 2,000 polling stations open around the whole country.'

https://www.elnacional.cat/en/opinion/jordi-cuixart-sanchez-seed-liberty_425411_102_amp.html

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CATALONIA ------- Let me tell you about #CDRs in Catalonia

CATALONIA

Let me tell you about #CDRs in Catalonia

Let me tell you about #CDRs (Committees of the Defense of the Republic). They were born just before the October 1st, 2017 Catalan independence referendum.
The Catalan government, with the mandate of the majority of the Parliament democratically-elected in the highest turnout elections in Catalonia’s history, had promised its people a referendum on independence…

https://medium.com/@lizcastro/let-me-tell-you-about-cdrs-in-catalonia-82434e02bf01
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CATALONIA ------ SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

https://m.facebook.com/catalannews/videos/2690021881010309/

📽️ | Spain’s acting president Pedro Sánchez claims that he could suspend Catalonia’s political autonomy "without a problem" despite having an acting government in place that is facing a general election on November 10.

📝 | Learn more here: http://www.catalannews.com/politics/item/spain-could-suspend-catalonia-s-self-rule-without-a-problem-despite-having-an-acting-government
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CATALONIA ----- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

CATALONIA

https://www.facebook.com/154770088018275/posts/1310611069100832/

Spain could suspend Catalonia’s self-rule ‘without a problem’ despite having an acting government

President Sánchez hints at applying Article 155 as exiled independence leader Puigdemont accuses him of electoralism

http://www.catalannews.com/politics/item/spain-could-suspend-catalonia-s-self-rule-without-a-problem-despite-having-an-acting-government
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SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

https://www.facebook.com/160083027508160/posts/1225965847586534/

Catalonia protesters: 'It feels like we're all being tried'

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-49884288/catalonia-protesters-it-feels-like-we-re-all-being-tried
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CATALONIA ------- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

https://www.facebook.com/160083027508160/posts/1225954394254346/

Spain criminalizes the Catalan pro-independence movement on the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the 1-O referendum.

A few days ahead of the sentences against the nine Catalan and political leaders in pre-trial detention since autumn 2017, Spanish authorities launch an operation to criminalize independentism and demobilise Catalan protesters.

On September the 23rd, nine Catalan activists were arrested by the Spanish police, accused of terrorism and rebellion without clear evidence. On September the 26th, seven of the accused were sent to pre-trial detention without bail. The operation has been called for by Spain’s National Court (Audiencia Nacional) in Madrid, direct heir of the Francoist Public Order Court.

These nine activists, whose crimes are to defend the right to self-determination of the Catalan people and who have not committed any crime, but who instead are accused of allegedly wanting to commit sabotage. Except for two cases, the home entrances and searches of the accused were performed without the presence of their legal representatives. Moreover, both the legal representatives of the accused and the local Members of the Bar Association (Col·legi d’Advocats) were kept in the dark for 48 h about the actual crimes the accused were charged for.
Two of the accused’s lawyers were forcefully replaced by state-appointed legal aid lawyer and in unsettling circumstances, their clients were interrogated uninterruptedly for 7 and 8 hours respectively during the early hours of September 24th-25th, without the statutory minimum period of rest. Details on the proceedings have been leaked to Spanish media outlets with the intention to create a negative initial image of the detainees, to which their lawyers still did not have access. The presumption of innocence has not been respected either. These circumstances are a blatant violation of the rights to defence of the detainees.

This is another attempt to intimidate and criminalize the Catalan pro-independence movement on the eve of the 2nd anniversary of the 1st of October 2017 referendum, which strategically coincides with the upcoming release of the sentences of the nine Catalan social and political leaders in prison. The court will most likely ask the highest penalty- up to 25 years of jail and 25 years of public representation ban- for calling for peaceful protests and exercising their prerogatives of calling for a referendum for the independence of Catalonia, (in October 2017) following the democratic will of the Catalan people, which provides steps towards achieving a Catalan state.

As with many other cases with the Spanish anti-terrorism law, there does not appear to be any true indications that violent actions were being planned, and Spain is again using criminal law to coerce the Catalan minority into not voicing their political opinions or exercising their right to protest.

In April 2018, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression urged the Spanish authorities to refrain from pursuing criminal charges of rebellion against political figures and protesters belonging to the Catalan minority involved in the independence referendum. In early 2019, the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues stated, that "non-violent political dissent by minorities should not give rise to criminal charges” and joined "the concerns" of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression.
Against those warnings, in June this year, in its findings related to the trials of the Catalan independence leaders, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions  stated “that the purpose of the criminal charge and the resulting trial is to coerce them on account of the political opinions they have expressed”, and called on the Spanish government for their immediate release.

The improper use of the anti-terrorism law and other high crimes has a chilling effect on public participation. Spain is again using criminal law to coerce the Catalan minority into not voicing their political opinions. Consequently, many Catalans are increasingly afraid to engage in public life.

The deterioration of the situation concerning civil and political rights in one EU member state is an issue that erodes the whole legitimacy of the European integration project, as it directly goes against one of its main foundations: the respect for democracy and fundamental rights. Therefore, it sets a dangerous precedent for all European Citizens.
The situation in Spain and EU institutions inaction also attacks the credibility of the European Union as a democratic project, and therefore its capacity to project influence overseas.

CATALONIA ----- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

The EU defending human rights? Is that a joke? You have political prisoners, exiles and repression in Catalonia and you're doing anything to help. Even the United Nations body has asked for the immediate release of the Catalan political prisoners and the EC still remains silent. Shame on you!

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-spain-un-catalonia/spain-told-by-u-n-body-to-free-jailed-catalan-separatists-idUKKCN1SZ1Z1
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CATALONIA ----- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

Catalan separatists claim national authorities are trying to manufacture "a violent narrative" in the movement. Tensions are high ahead of a ruling against 12 leaders of a failed secession bid.

https://m.dw.com/en/catalonia-12000-people-protest-arrest-of-alleged-terrorists/a-50628199

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CATALONIA ------ LLUÍS LLACH, SPOKESMAN FOR THE COORDINATOR OF TERRITORIAL ALLIANCES FOR THE CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATE

CATALONIA

LLUÍS LLACH, SPOKESMAN FOR THE COORDINATOR OF TERRITORIAL ALLIANCES FOR THE CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATE

"We are heading towards article 155, and that's because Pedro Sánchez needs it"

ARRESTS:

"During the Franco regime, the workers were tortured. Now, just because having a bit of bleach at home because they are clean people, CDR members are set to jail. It's the same old fight."
"(Pedro Sánchez) can not govern with Podemos; he will do with Ciudadanos, which is the option preferred by Ibex 35 (Spanish Stock Exchange index)".

http://www.elpuntavui.cat/politica/article/17-policy/1672517-anem-cap-al-155-i-hi-anem-perque-pedro-sanchez-el-necessita.html
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CATALONIA -------- SPAIN AGAINST THE CATALONIA NATION

⬛️⬜️  The lawfare against the Catalan pro-independence movement continues. Today Spanish press quoting court proceedings are accusing President Carles Puigdemont i Casamajó ‘s sister -Anna- as a liaison to an alleged Catalan “terrorist group”.

"I have never had, nor I will ever have any kind of relation with violence of any kind, nor with the people who perpetrate it". On the day in which she is accused of meting the "terrotist group", Anna was assisting his father after a medical operation which had taken place a day earlier.

The judge is also accusing the terrorists and Anna of establishing a liaison between Presidents Torra and Puigdemont which is awkward as they regularly meet in Brussels.

The proceedings are supposed to take place under secrecy but have been constantly being leaked to the press.

On the same day, Spanish oposition leader Pablo Casado demanded the illegalization of the Catalan pro-independence partie and that the "National Security Law" is applied today.

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/09/30/inenglish/1569828413_796180.html
https://www.tellerreport.com/news/2019-09-30---pablo-casado-demands-that-the-national-security-law-be-applied-%22today%22-to-close-the--catalan-cni--.rJ83R4kdB.html
On the same day, Spanish oposition leader Pablo Casado demanded the illegalization of the Catalan pro-independence parties and that the "National Security Law" is applied today.

CATALONIA ----- State Repression and Police Intimidation in Catalonia

State Repression and Police Intimidation in Catalonia

" It is not surprising that they were forced into a plea bargain.  The Audiencia Nacional has a dubious reputation in Spain for it highly politicised judgments. This is the court responsible for initiating the prosecution of the Catalan political prisoners before their cases were passed to the Supreme Court for trial.  In the sense that it is designed to represent the political establishment, the court inherited the mantle of Franco’s notorious Public Order Tribunal. The court explicitly deals with issues of conflict deemed to be ‘political’.  The Audiencia Nacional has been condemned frequently in the European Court of Human Rights for a string of wrongful imprisonment cases and miscarriages of justice. It has, for example, convicted a group of activists who burned pictures of the Spanish king; and notoriously it was responsible for the false conviction of eleven Pakistani men who spent six years in prison for terrorism before they were finally released.  "

https://bellacaledonia.org.uk/2019/09/25/state-repression-and-police-intimidation-in-catalonia/
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CATALONIA ---- Madrid launches “anti-terror” crackdown in Catalonia

CATALONIA

Madrid launches “anti-terror” crackdown in Catalonia

" The whole “anti-terror” operation reeks of a police provocation aimed at demobilising growing opposition to attacks on democratic rights and justifying police repression. The statements of the Civil Guards and the Public Prosecutor’s Office provide no evidence that they have seized explosives."

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/09/26/madr-s26.html
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CATALONIA ------ The state puts the squeeze on

CATALONIA

The state puts the squeeze on

“... setting up of the false narrative the Spanish state is trying to put together about the situation in Catalonia. Without convincing evidence, without criminal records for the suspects, without any violent action carried out, however small it may be, without explosive devices in their power, it's very hard to accept, just like that, the police's version of events. It rather looks, as on other occasions, like things are being exaggerated with an obvious political objective: to intimidate the independence movement ahead of the Supreme Court verdicts on the political prisoners which will be released within two weeks.”

https://www.elnacional.cat/en/editorial/jose-antich-spanish-state-puts-squeeze_424439_102.html?utm_source=Newsletter+ENGLISH&utm_campaign=df12ab1008-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_05_23_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_a9bc005625-df12ab1008-315714613
-----------

CATALONIA ------- While ETA no Longer Exists, Spain finds ways to Further Criminalize the Pro-sovereignty Movements in Catalonia

While ETA no Longer Exists, Spain finds ways to Further Criminalize the Pro-sovereignty Movements in Catalonia

⬛️⬜️7 Catalan pro independence activists have been sent for pre trial detention by Spanish🇪🇸 judiciary, accused of terrorism for planning peaceful protests.

When the right to freedom of assembly is criminalized it means there is no democracy.

https://intpolicydigest.org/2019/09/26/while-eta-no-longer-exists-spain-finds-ways-to-further-criminalize-the-pro-sovereignty-movements-in-catalonia/
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CATALONIA ----- Catalonia human rights abuses ‘should concern everyone’

CATALONIA

Catalonia human rights abuses ‘should concern everyone’

Imagine if Scottish ministers were hold in prison for Indyref. Do not let the same happen to Scotland, make a move!

https://www.thenational.scot/news/17930649.catalonia-human-rights-abuses-should-concern-everyone/
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CATALONIA ----- State terrorism and create fear in the population

CATALONIA -----

Ramon Terricabras

https://www.facebook.com/100002354537422/posts/2585058041582655/

State terrorism and create fear in the population

We are currently in this situation;  repression, unfounded accusations, arrests, imprisonment ... all with manipulations and false evidence created by the GC.  with the approval of the Office of the Prosecutor and support of a press handed over to the power of the State.  We do not defend terrorists, who are not, but independentists, a very honest and democratic cause!

https://diario16.com/terrorism-of-state-and-crear-miedo-en-la-poblacion/
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CATALONIA

More detained, more cautious and more repressed over entire Catalonia.  We have existed for some time, in spite of everything.  In front of the attacks on our culture we have put more illustration;  before violence, civil disobedience;  Faced with massive and continuous waves of newcomers, we have put integration and tolerance, etc.

Those who from Catalonia, with a colonizing attitude, rejoice and still ask for more state repression, have no authority to speak to us as Catalans.  Not everyone who lives in Catalonia is Catalan, to be Catalan, we must love and respect our culture and not annoy our language, we must feel Catalan for free choice, regardless of its origin,  enough to be registered.  Have they come to Catalonia to live as Catalans, or to prevent Catalans living as such in their homes? ...

Those who prefer to be subjects of a carpetovetónico and distant power, do not love freedom, prefer to snatch the progress of any nation that wants to succeed beyond the empire.  They are insensitive to repression over their neighbors and tell us about a coexistence problem ...

Catalonia has suffered many exiles, expulsion of Jews during the time of the Catholic kings, brotherhoods during Charles I, critics with Philip II, the Reapers' War, 30 years of Succession, 1936-39, Francoism, among other circumstances.  Our culture and our language have suffered many bans since the time of printing, despite being the first to use it, or perhaps for this, burning books, etc.  Much political repression.  And massive colonization of people looking for a better way to make a living, or serve as squirrels to occupy the jobs of Catalans in struggle to achieve wage improvements, etc.

The State does not know how to fight against a society that claims its rights from Non-Violence and civil disobedience.  Little knows our irreducible people.  Too bad they prefer to repress to talk and agree.
  We will live like Catalans in Catalonia.  Donec Perficiam!

EU CORRUPTION

From share ownership in fossil fuels & finance to overly close relationships with business, some EU Commissioner candidates are casting shadows of corruption and conflicts of interest.

Meanwhile, concerns grow among MEPs regarding inability to scrutinise the interests of the Commissioners-designate.

Our look into the new European Commission: https://corporateeurope.org/en/2019/09/new-commission-shadows-corruption-and-conflicts-interest
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CATALONIA ----- Catalan exports went up 8% in July

CATALONIA

Catalan exports went up 8% in July

Foreign sales from Catalonia accounted for 27% in Spain as a whole

http://www.catalannews.com/business/item/catalan-exports-went-up-8-in-july

________

CATALONIA

"I have written on other occasions that, whatever the Catalan independence movement might think, the actions of Spain’s PSOE government would sooner or later result in a confrontation. PM Pedro Sánchez has decided to starve the PP of any electoral oxygen and pick up where his predecessor, former PP leader Mariano Rajoy, left off. And he has wasted no time in getting down to work. Monday’s arrests and the unfortunate political and media circus which ensued are a reflection of the Socialist Party’s strategic turnaround. On Monday it became abundantly clear that this will not be a typical election campaign and that anything could happen."

https://thecatalanvoice.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-day-in-life-of-spains-pseudo.html?m=1
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CATALONIA ----- 'Catalans Tried Dialogue with Spain for 30 years: Time to Move On'

CATALONIA

'Catalans Tried Dialogue with Spain for 30 years: Time to Move On'

'Carles Puigdemont, who was thrust into the media spotlight two years ago amid a Catalonia independence referendum, insisted that those events were preceded by 30 years of Catalans exhausting all other options while attempting to engage in a realistic dialogue with Madrid.'

https://thecatalanvoice.blogspot.com/2019/09/catalans-tried-dialogue-with-spain-for.html
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CATALONIA ------- Spanish Diplomatic Behaviour in the Wake of Catalan Nationalism

Spanish Diplomatic Behaviour in the Wake of Catalan Nationalism

Spain and Catalonia have been living in a climate of open conflict since the suspension of the Estatut d’Autonomia de Catalunya (the Catalan Statute of Autonomy) in 2010 and with increasing intensity since the unofficial consultation for independence in 2014 and finally with the referendum of October 1, 2017 in which Spain sent thousands of police to Catalonia to promote acts of violence and brutality against voters, while sending to jail several political personalities who are widely considered political prisoners.

http://intpolicydigest.org/2019/08/08/spanish-diplomatic-behaviour-in-the-wake-of-catalan-nationalism/
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CATALONIA. -----. 'The Catalonia Trial: Justice or Vengeance?'

'The Catalonia Trial: Justice or Vengeance?'

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2019/06/catalonia-trial-justice-vengeance-190619145151807.html
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CATALONIA. -----. 'The Catalonia Trial: Justice or Vengeance?'

'The Catalonia Trial: Justice or Vengeance?'

https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2019/06/catalonia-trial-justice-vengeance-190619145151807.html
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CATALONIA ----- With new repression, Catalan exiles propose "democratically overflowing the state"

CATALONIA

With new repression, Catalan exiles propose "democratically overflowing the state"

https://www.elnacional.cat/en/politics/repression-catalan-exiles-democratically-overflowing_423443_102.html
_______

CATALONIA

CATALONIA

"I have written on other occasions that, whatever the Catalan independence movement might think, the actions of Spain’s PSOE government would sooner or later result in a confrontation. PM Pedro Sánchez has decided to starve the PP of any electoral oxygen and pick up where his predecessor, former PP leader Mariano Rajoy, left off. And he has wasted no time in getting down to work. Monday’s arrests and the unfortunate political and media circus which ensued are a reflection of the Socialist Party’s strategic turnaround. On Monday it became abundantly clear that this will not be a typical election campaign and that anything could happen."

https://thecatalanvoice.blogspot.com/2019/09/a-day-in-life-of-spains-pseudo.html?m=1
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CATALONIA --- Catalan prisoner Raül Romeva suspended from seat in Spanish Senate

Catalan prisoner Raül Romeva suspended from seat in Spanish Senate

 

CATALONIA

 

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, overseen by the United Nations Human Rights Council, has released an opinion on the pretrial detention of Catalan leaders Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart
concluding it to have been arbitrary and calling on the Spanish
government to "adopt the necessary measures to remedy the situation
[...] without delay". They go on to suggest that "the appropriate remedy
would be to immediately release" the three.

The report finds that their imprisonment without bail violates
international rules, including parts of the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights. Besides being released, the group says the three should be
"conceded the right [to] compensation" and that the government should
"carry out an exhaustive and independent investigation [...] and adopt
the appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of
their rights".

CATALONIA -- UN Working Group calls for immediate release of three Catalan prisoners

UN Working Group calls for immediate release of three Catalan prisoners

 

 CATALONIA

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, overseen by the United Nations Human Rights Council, has released an opinion on the pretrial detention of Catalan leaders Oriol Junqueras, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart
concluding it to have been arbitrary and calling on the Spanish
government to "adopt the necessary measures to remedy the situation
[...] without delay". They go on to suggest that "the appropriate remedy
would be to immediately release" the three.

The report finds that their imprisonment without bail violates
international rules, including parts of the Universal Declaration on
Human Rights. Besides being released, the group says the three should be
"conceded the right [to] compensation" and that the government should
"carry out an exhaustive and independent investigation [...] and adopt
the appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of
their rights".

 

CATALONIA -- Puigdemont and Comín stopped by European Parliament from getting credentials as MEPs-elect

Puigdemont and Comín stopped by European Parliament from getting credentials as MEPs-elect

 

 

The European Parliament has this afternoon prevented former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and former minister Toni Comín from collecting their credentials as MEPs after Sunday's election.

On Twitter, Puigdemont wrote: "The European Parliament's secretary
general has given instructions that neither Toni Comín, Oriol Junqueras
nor myself can go through any formalities as MEPs. No legal reason. Pure
discrimination. All the other MEPs-elect have been able to do the
processes they've blocked us from. Disgraceful!".

 

CATALONIA -- Així va fer l’Estat la guerra econòmica contra Catalunya

Així va fer l’Estat la guerra econòmica contra Catalunya

 

 

CATALONIA

That is how the Spanish State made the economic war against Catalonia.

La Zarzuela and La Moncloa joined forces to force changes of
headquarters of banks, large companies and multinationals to spread
panic among the population. Catalan managers explain what happened.

https://emprenem.ara.cat/…/Aixi-guerra-economica-contra-Cat…

______

Thus the State made the economic war against Catalonia

The Zarzuela and the Moncloa were united to force changes of
headquarters of banks, large companies and multinationals and spread
panic. Catalan managers explain what happened 

 

 "The
king is the head of the State, symbol of his unity and permanence,
arbitrates and moderates the regular functioning of the institutions,
assumes the highest representation of the Spanish state." Thus article 56 of the Constitution begins, the first of those referring to the Crown.
Only from a generous interpretation of the article can the frantic
activity presented to the monarch be understood during the days after
the referendum on October 1, 2017.

Felip VI intervened personally in the most convulsive week that has
experienced the Catalan economy in recent years, according to several
sources have confirmed in the ARA.
The head of state, President Mariano Rajoy and the head of his
government worked those days with a common goal, calling on businessmen
and managers to force a flight of companies that served as economic
punishment against a sovereignist process that arrived at its height
when the images of the 1-O police repression went round the world.

The decision of the State was forceful. It began with a massive withdrawal of the accounts that the public administrations and companies had in Catalan banks .
It was then when intense activity of the highest representatives of the
State began, in some cases, and of people calling on their behalf, in
others. Objective: to force CaixaBank and Banco Sabadell to take over the headquarters of Catalonia.

Voices of the first business level explain to the ARA that they are called by Philip VI and Josep Oliu.
Other sources indicate that Isidre Fainé, president of La Caixa, the
first shareholder of CaixaBank, held a meeting that week attended by
Felip de Borbon and a very select group of great entrepreneurs of the
Ibex.

The first objective of this state operation was to force the change of headquarters of the two Catalan banks.
With the leakage of deposits already unleashed (one third of which, the
direct responsibility of the State, as the ARA advanced yesterday) and
the actions in free fall, the two entities reached the same conclusion:
do not enter they could oppose
Between CaixaBank and Sabadell there were coordinated movements (on
Wednesday, October 4, they informed the decision Carles Puigdemont,
Oriol Junqueras and the presidents of the ANC and Òmnium), but the
synchronization could not be full: Sabadell He could change the
headquarters with a simple board meeting - which he did the next day,
day 5- thanks to a legal change introduced to the last shareholder
meeting. The emergency protocol was known to the bank, but it was not until that week that Oliu was convinced of taking the step. Financial sources argue that the president of the bank was "the person to whom he decided most." During those days, a person remembers having seen him in the bank with his eyes dangled. They also indicate that the person who expressed more doubts about the change of office was the secretary, Miquel Roca. However, the transfer took place in a few hours. But for CaixaBank it was more difficult.
The old savings bank necessarily needed to convene a general assembly
of shareholders that endorsed the transfer of the headquarters and this
demanded a time that it did not have. And the alternative was to appeal to the Spanish government.
CaixaBank sources have denied the existence of the meeting between
Fainé and the king as the entity urges the approval of the decree by the
Moncloa.

+ information

The power against the process: history of a state communique

THE RELATION BETWEEN Fainé and Rajoy was already broken before 1-O, to
the point that the Spanish president did not catch the phone in those
days. Thus, the Catalan financier called at that time the Economy Minister, Luis de Guindos. The
now vice-president of the ECB moved the matter to Rajoy, who, before
giving a green light, agreed to it with the PSOE and Citizens . CaixaBank negotiated the details of the decree law with Guindos and Jorge Moragas, Chief of Staff of Rajoy. On Thursday 5th, while Sabadell closed the decision, CaixaBank continued to wait for the decree.

The first Catalan entity was faced with an added problem that week when the state establishment put its bow: Monday half a thousand workers cut off the Diagonal in protest against police violence. And, according to different sources, the images of the protest multiplied the pressures against the great Catalan bank.

Far from being unanimous, CaixaBank's decision generated internal discrepancies. Among those who opposed the decision to take over the headquarters of Catalonia was the president of the entity, Jordi Gual, according to the NRA. "It was a hot meeting, intense, to make a decision that did not make an illusion to any employee," point sources consulted. Finally, it was decided to move the seat outside of Catalonia for the first time in its centenary history. And despite the discrepancy of Gual, the weight of La Caixa, the first shareholder, was imposed and the change was a fact.

Banco Sabadell and CaixaBank had already taken the step and the orchestrated move for Moncloa began to take control. There was a key actor missing: the rest of the imposing business group of La Caixa. The multiple sources consulted for this newspaper disagree in their version of what happened.
A very widespread version of Catalan business is that the departure of
all the companies of La Caixa was the price that Guindos and Moragas
imposed to promote the decree that allowed the bank to move.
And that, therefore, CaixaBank followed (the following days, with more
media coverage) La Caixa, Gas Natural, Criteria, Aigües de Barcelona,
​​Abertis and Cellnex with little opposition to the advice. Only Saba stayed, which is not listed on the stock exchange.

But there is another version. "It was not a counterpart: La Caixa has a very sensitive skin and do not require explicit requests;
Fainé decides to leave everyone because he wants to, because he is
convinced that, with Together for Yes and the CUP, Catalonia will become
independent and everything will go into disaster, "said these voices. "A Fainé convince him that there will be DUI, although weeks before they told him not; he decides it prudently and because he was well in Madrid ", points another voice.
With a change of his seat, he secured more legal stability, he took the
opportunity to pressure the independentist parties and joined the
State.

Why should CaixaBank be conquered with Madrid?
Because there was a perception that if the sovereignty process had come
so far it was because La Caixa and the big businessmen had not avoided
it.
"There is a summit of power, which is 2,000 people, no more, who find
it normal to send newspapers, companies and citizens," explains a
prominent director of the Ibex 35.
"These 2,000 are begun by the king, who always intervenes below the
table and is the first one who believes that the Process has arrived so
far because La Caixa and El Sabadell have not done what they were
playing," he says.

The pressures of the state's leadership in Catalan banks are commonplace, and a good example is how to remotely remote the bank statement prior to the September 27, 2015 elections .
This nucleus of the Madrid power has longed for an explicit position of
Fainé and Oliu against independence and, in his opinion, this has not
been given.
Catalan business sources remember that in circles of Madrid, "figures
like Joan Rosell [President of the CEOE] and Joaquim Gay de Montellà
[president of Labor Promotion] are seen almost as independentists." This label, which does not even remotely link to reality, is also dragged by the two financial entities. "If you did not change yours it seemed you were a pro-independence party," says a manager.

To add dramatism to the situation, the Catalan banks faced those days with a new threat. It is what in the surroundings of the bank of the star is known as the " A" for them! financial
The week of October 2 was launched a very strong commercial capturing
campaign of the large accounts that had left Sabadell and CaixaBank. With an outstanding protagonist: Banco Santander.

Different financial sources point out that the bank of Ana Botín,
unlike BBVA, was led to attract these new clients to squeeze the climate
of fear of a possible cataclysm in Catalonia.
The zeal and the hyperactivity with which the red bank carried out this
operation even caused formal complaints from the Catalan banks. Whoever received these criticisms was Chief Executive Officer, José Antonio Álvarez, who blamed the blame and pointed out his sub-government as responsible for the " A for them! financial
The circumstance is that Alvarez has been replaced ten days ago by his
position as CEO of the first Spanish bank for the problems experienced
by the entity in Spain.
This newspaper was able to know that the dismissal was received at the
noble offices of CaixaBank and Sabadell with a little dissimilar joy.

The balance of damages eight days after 1-O was imposing.
On the 9th, all Ibex-35 Catalan companies had not announced that they
moved their headquarters outside of Catalonia (Sabadell, those of the La
Caixa group and also Colonial). The psychological impact was enormous, partly also due to the mix of enthusiasm and catastrophism with which the majority of media based in Madrid addressed the issue . And only Grifols, with 95% of the business outside of Spain, decided to keep headquarters in Catalonia.

To explain what was being triggered, there are those who talk about domino effect. Maybe it would be more accurate to refer to a snowball.
But despite the fact that he was already starting to roll and have
considerable dimensions, the invisible hand that pushed the ball into it
wanted more.

WOULD ANOTHER effect. And this happened to the multinationals.
Specifically, for one: Seat, a Catalan economy flag, of German capital
and the first company in Catalonia in number of workers, with more than
13,000 employees. Matías Carnero, chair of the business committee
, explains that after knowing the banks, Luca de Meo summoned a crisis
committee in which he made clear his criterion: "Seat should be kept
neutral."

In those days, different ministries, as well as the Generalitat, pressured Seat to find out if he would keep the headquarters.
"Everyone said the same thing: let us do cars!" The crisis committee
met every day, studied possible scenarios -including an increase in
police repression-, and the staff was told that everything would
continue the same if there was no legal change. But on day 12 things changed.
During the ceremony of the Day of Hispanicity in Madrid, an emissary
from the House of the King transmitted to "a director of Seat" the
preoccupation of the Crown. "The next day we learned that the questions that the House of the King had already moved to De Meo," recalls Carnero.

Although no one has explained until now who played the role of
transmission strap, several sources remember that among the guests to
the October 12 celebration was the expolitician and businessman Josep
Piqué, a member of the board of directors of Seat Whatever it was, De Meo also resisted the pressure of the monarchy and Seat remained headquartered in Catalonia.
That month was settled with nerves and with a change in the agenda: the
world presentation of Seat Tarraco, the first model of the brand with a
Catalan name, had to be postponed.

The last remaining hunting trophy was the rest of multinational companies based in Catalonia. "Here the king played a role, because the multinationals do not reach the ministers," says a connoisseur of the facts.
There is coincidence in the perception that Philip VI was personally
involved in making calls to foreign companies to move their headquarters
outside of Catalonia.

Consulted by this newspaper, the House of the King does not deny the accusations. "What the king does on his private agenda does not explain it," says a spokesman. Regarding the calls, of course: "You always do things about them". He adds: "Your mission does not start and it ends in the events and hearings where there are photos."

The king's public agenda also gives clues: in 2014 he made 14 acts in
the first half of October, in 2015 he maintained the figure, in 2016 he
had 6 official acts and last year only 2: the polemic speech of the day 3
and the parade of October 12.

As a manager reflects, the king's pressure on multinationals was not very successful. "Most of them decided to stay in Catalonia, for respect for their people, their workers," he explains. In his opinion, and just as the facts would eventually prove, "the pressures slipped on them." Different voices show that surely Brexit helped her.
Nobody knew that the United Kingdom's post in the European Union had
been voted in June 2016 and 16 months later there had not been any
traumatic break-and the conflict has not yet been solved. This made the supposed economic apocalypse that was about to take place in Catalonia. And this motivated that the contingency plans of many multinational companies still kept in the drawer.

+ information

Shot of trains between executives

The refusal of the multinationals was firm, despite some internal
pressure, with Spanish directors who threatened to resign if the
headquarters of Catalonia were not removed.
There are different versions about the sophistication of the arguments
used by supporters of moving theirs, especially in non-financial
companies.
One of the most used was allusions to the law of transitory Catalan,
which allegedly opened the door to a double taxation, the prohibition of
transferring their business and the nationalization of certain sectors,
in addition to the power of the Government to dismiss presidents of
financial institutions. Legal sources consulted by the ARA find that this polemic law did not address all these aspects.

Often these pressures were made by ministers or members of the lower-ranking government. People who received calls agreed to point out that it was "suggestions" and unexplained messages. There were also less delicate calls. Customers of Catalan companies who, when they called the provider, invited him to change their home. There is an eloquent case: a manager from El Corte Inglés spoke with a Catalan provider.
When receiving a negative response to the question of whether they had
taken over the headquarters of Catalonia, he said: "You will know."

The question arises alone. What did directors and companies from the private world instant other market players to leave Catalonia? An undeniable ideological component must be included in the answer. Entrepreneurs and executives also have political ideas and, in this case, with the skin tension, they said theirs. "They wanted to sell that, if there was independence, it would be a lot, the Monegres," says a veteran of the Ibex. "And the exit of social headquarters is symbolic, but it has a strong political burden," he adds.
"I wanted to get it all down", says another senior manager, who adds a
pessimistic diagnosis: "It was an economic war, a war that began with
the expense of Gas Natural in Endesa and even before". This voice remembers the role of traditionally as innocuous institutions as the College of Registrars.
Usually unactive, those days sent a daily note updating the marker of
companies that had moved their headquarters outside of Catalonia. "They were carrying the helmet," he says.
This voice does not call for another reflection of the future: "As
things stand, it would be better for us to focus on unregulated
businesses, such as technology and fashion, in Catalonia."

Among the dozens of voices who have participated in this report (and
that have done so with the condition of keeping anonymity) there are
also criticisms of the role of the Generalitat.
They regret that the government did not fight the comments on the
transitional law, they criticized that it acted with "slowness", that it
was "disoriented" and left very few arguments with the directors who
claimed to be based in Catalonia. And especially to face such coordinated and massive action as the one launched by the State.
The shared vision is that the Generalitat did not respond to
entrepreneurs and, in fact, the Economy Department organized a meeting
with multinationals to convey them peace of mind, but it did not occur.

The current Minister of Enterprise and then the General Director,
Àngels Chacón, says that if they could not stop the departure of their
offices it was partly by the decree law that the Spanish government
approved at the request of CaixaBank, and that they received "all kind
of companies ". "We spent a month and a half as if we were in the UCI, with marathon schedules," he says. Managers regret, however, that the Generalitat did not have a proactive attitude to help companies.

The sources consulted to elaborate this story explain that there was
much more reason to remove the headquarters of Catalonia than reasons
(based or not) to protect the business. For example, for a manager, it is fiscalally more advantageous to tax in Madrid than in Catalonia, where IRPF is higher.
The argument also mentioned the conviction that companies based in
Madrid receive less fiscal inspections than those in Catalonia. "Some took the opportunity to move the headquarters and thus end up paying less taxes," says the president of an Ibex company.
And another key factor was the follow-up: everyone did it and change
their place was fast, had a small cost and protected you against the
risks that the State warned (exit from the euro, tariffs, economic
collapse ... ).

The balance of everything is shocking.
Between 3,449 and 4,422 companies, according to the source that is
consulted, have moved the headquarters of Catalonia from October 2017.
It was a real stampede. And as in every stampede, in this case there was a first person who started to run and, also, someone who forced this reaction.

 

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