Catalan Speak

From the BBC:
"Catalonia president signs independence referendum decree"

The president of the Spanish region of Catalonia has signed a decree calling for a referendum on independence. Artur Mas wants Catalonia to hold a Scottish-style vote on 9 November, but does not have the backing of the central government in Madrid. Spain quickly denounced the move, calling the plan unconstitutional. Catalonia, which includes Barcelona, is one of Spain's richest and most highly industrialised regions, and also one of the most independent-minded. On 19 September Catalonian lawmakers voted by a margin of 106 to 28 in favour of authorising the referendum, known locally as a "consultation".  Two hours after Mr Mas signed the decree, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz made Madrid's position clear: "This referendum will not be held because it is unconstitutional," she said. The prime minister is expected to take action at a special cabinet meeting early next week, and is likely to take the dispute to the country's Constitutional Court. However, Mr Mas says he can use local laws to hold the vote. The question now will be on how far the Spanish government is prepared to go in order to stop a referendum, our correspondent adds.

The referendum's two questions

"Do you want Catalonia to be a state?

"If so, do you want Catalonia to be an independent state?"


Soon after the decree was signed, the Catalan hash tag EstemConvocats9N ("We called it for 9 November") became the highest trending topic on Spanish Twitter. Until recently, few Catalans had wanted full independence, but Spain's painful economic crisis has seen a surge in support for separation, correspondents say. There is resentment over the proportion of Catalan taxes used to support poorer regions. The pro-independence movement in Catalonia believes that the region can go ahead with the independence vote after the decree is signed. Earlier this month hundreds of thousands of Catalans formed a "V" for "vote" along two of Barcelona's main roads calling for their right to vote.


^ I have many relatives in Catalonia and the majority of them want independence. I also have many relatives in Quebec and many want independence as well. Spain is playing the big-brother bully here. They should follow Canada's and the UK's example and allow for the independence vote to happen. If they don't then the government in Madrid will push more and more Catalans (and probably other minorities in Spain) further from a united Spain. Spain hasn't done a very good job in recent years. Under Franco, Catalans and other non-Spanish groups were openly discriminated against. Their language, culture and traditions were banned and many were imprisoned and/or killed. When Franco died and Spain became a democracy in 1975 the Spanish Government did everything it could to hide the crimes and "forget" the past 30+ year dictatorship. That was the wrong move. Had Spain then (or now) openly worked to confront it's past mistakes then maybe the Catalans wouldn't feel forced to govern themselves. Many fear a return of a central-Madrid doing everything they can to ban and discriminate anything non-Spanish. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29390774