Update on Catalan Issue #CorreL'estiu #Pepetimarieta

By popular demand, the "monthly update on the Catalan Issue" for non-Catalan readers returns... what's new? Very little actually. First, re-read the last few posts on Catalonia I've written. OK, done that? 

Well, the 9 November referendum is still on the cards according to the Catalan govt and about 80% of the populace. Mr Rajoy and the main two political parties in Spain insist it isn't.

Catalonia is in the process of passing a Catalan law which will provide a framework for the referendum to be legal. Spain insists it's illegal according to their constitution.

Catalonia is already manufacturing the ballot boxes (out of eco-friendly card). Spanish "experts" say the police would be sent out to remove them. The Catalans have their own police force, though. What would happen?

Maybe Catalonia will do a clever swap, changing the (illegal?) referendum for a (legal) snap election with a coalition of parties proposing a Unilateral Declaration of Independence? External big-wigs like the EU and the US government don't like this route apparently - they want a negotiated settlement.

Meanwhile, the civil society pro-indy organizations are setting up another "over-one-million-people" activity in Barcelona on 11 September.

Watch this space....

UPDATE: I'm among the motley crew on the beach in this photo.

Meanwhile, a bit of summer fun....

Non too subtle metaphor of the day

Tenim un conill a casa. Hem apres que si li dones una gavia ampla i comoda, i li poses menjar i aigua fresca, ja pots deixar la porta oberta - el conill mira lo que hi ha per fora i torna a entrar sense cap problema.

Crec que si li tanquessem en una gavia mal-feta sense donar-li res a canvi, només insults i cops de pal, l'historia seria diferent i el conill aquest només estaria somniant el dia que pugues trencar la gavia per a escapar.

....

We have a pet rabbit now. We have learnt that as long as you have a large comfortable clean hutch, with plenty of food and water, you can leave the door open - the rabbit will have a little sniff outside but is happy to live in its hutch.

If, on the other hand, we stuffed it in a hutch unsuitable for its requirements and instead of fulfilling its needs, we just offered it insults or beat it with a stick, we'd be in a completely different relationship and there'd be no way of keeping that rabbit for long.

La Via Catalana - Pepet i Marieta #ElProcésCatalà

Pos, si, torna el moment de fer un petit "actualització" del procés català - directament en anglès :)

...

Afraid so, it's that time of month again, time for an update on the never-ending Catalan Independence Show. I will not go into the reasons for and against independence, or details of how the situation has evolved over the last few years as all this is to be found in previous posts. No, today's is just a brief note on where we are today - obviously Catalans would like to be in the same situation as the Scots, i.e., with the central government (UK / Spain) allowing a legally-binding referendum on their future. However, it's not the case. The Spanish govt, and chief opposition party, have made clear that the Spanish Constitution will not allow a referendum or independence.

However, over 80% of Catalans believe they should hold a referendum. Plus there is a similiar percentage of Catalan parliamentary support  for this. Sooooo, the Catalan President asked Spanish PM Rajoy about this before the summer and got a clear NO for an answer. Now, they are going to ask again. This time, even more formally. The idea is that the Catalan Parliament passes a proposal for the referendum question and its date, and takes this proposal to Madrid for the Spanish Parliament to decide on. Presumably the Spanish Parliament will say NO, and Catalonia will decide to hold a referendum anyway. After this point, nobody knows what will happen ...
Will the EU step in, to avoid unrest and political instability in such a key area of Europe? Will Spain order the imprisonment of the Catalan President for organizing an "illegal" referendum? What will the people do if their President ends up in jail? Will Spain use force, even military force, to physically prevent the referendum taking place?

If the referendum cannot be held at all, will the Catalan Parliament make an unilateral Declaration of Independence? Then what?

However, let's not get ahead of ourselves. To reach this point, first, as I said, the Catalans want to make a final effort at getting Spain's OK, and to this end, they want to present a referendum proposal to Madrid before the end of 2013. The problem is that this idea is one they have been telling us all year, and now we're about to enter December and they haven't finished arguing yet. The beauty of proportional representation voting systems means there are 4 or 5 different Catalan parties who want to work together on this, but each has a different idea on how to do it. Each party has their own idea on the question and timing, and possible future steps to take. To try to present a unified front to Madrid, the Catalan President is trying to take on everybody's ideas but they are getting nowhere. Will they get their act together? How can they lead us into independence with all the possible risks this involves if they can't even choose a referendum question? Watch this space ....

... but to finish on a positive note, here's the video of the 1.6 million people 400 km human chain for independence held on 11th September. 1.6 million people who DO know what they want!