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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