Reason 24: ONLY WAY TO BAN BULLFIGHTS AND GUARANTEE ITS PROHIBITION SHALL STAY

The Dutch press (and the press of most countries) often say that Catalonia already has a high degree of autonomy. This is a lie that must come from Madrid.
The Scots, the Greenlanders, the Quebecans... they have got real autonomy. Any time they wish to they can organize a referendum on the independence of their countries. The UK, Canada or Denmark don't ban their democratic rights as Spain is doing with Catalonia.

They are allowed to have their international sports federations and their athletes are allowed to participate under their national identities.
In Catalonia, we have nothing of this.

Now once again Spain shows that no law made in Catalonia is safe from the Spanish inquisition. Spain is planning to revoke the abolition of bullfights in Catalonia.
In 1991 they didn't seem to care when The Canary Islands banned bullfights. They tolerated the Canary Islands, but they do not tolerate Catalonia doing it.

Now again it is clearer and clearer: Catalonia does not have real autonomy, Spain revokes any law made in Catalonia if they don't like it and the abolition of bullfights in Catalonia won't be safe unless Catalonia becomes an independent country within the EU.

http://www.abc.es/20100728/cultura-toros/propondra-para-anular-prohibicion-201007281301.html

Reason 23: THE ONLY WAY TO SURVIVE (POST-ESTATUT FASE)

THANKS TO THE SPANISH INTOLERANCE WE HAVE FINALLY ONLY TWO CLEAR OPTIONS, WE EITHER ACCEPT TO BECOME SWALLOWED BY SPAIN OR WE CHOOSE FOR INDEPENDENCE

The story of the actual Catalan constitutional law (Estatut) is long. It all started in 2004. The former Catalan government felt the need to create a new constitutional law of Catalonia (Estatut), in which Catalans would describe how they want their country to be and what they want for their country.
The essential problem here is that Spain sees Catalonia as a mere region, not as a country. They will say just like any other region, in reality they see it a region to endlessly punish. Spain does not want Catalonia to be any different, neither to have any differences. They want to decide in what way Catalonia is being treated different, and they do not want us to decide, they decide.

The result has been 5 years of negotiations. The Estatut was first approved by the Catalan Parliament. The Spanish government did not agree with it and changed some things. Then there came a referendum. The Catalan citizens voted yes to this changed Estatut.
Right after that the PP (Spanish right wing party) and the figure of the defender of the people (read defender of the Castillian people, as he never has defended any Catalan people) brought the Estatut to court as they thought that it was against the Spanish constitution.

Now the Spanish Constitution Court has begun to show the results of the verdict:
1. Catalonia is not allowed to call itself a nation,
2. The Catalan language is not allowed to have any kind of preference in Catalonia,
3. Catalonia is not allowed to have an entity to control independently the laws created by the Catalan Parliament, they are always subject to Spanish supervision.
4. Catalonia loses the competence on the Catalan banks, only the Spanish government has control over banks.
5. Catalonia cannot take any decisions on the creation and supervision of Taxes. The Spanish government decides.
6. The historical rights of Catalonia are neglected. As Catalonia is not allowed to be a nation it can neither posess any national symbols such as a national flag or a national anthem.
7. Catalonia is not allowed to have any control or supervision on immigration and how to deal with it (the last 15 years the population of Catalonia has increased by 16%, from 6 to more than 7 million inhabitants, all thanks to a massive and uncontrolled immigration).
8. The Spanish government decides how Catalonia shall be structured in regions and councils.
9. Parents who want their children to fully study in Spanish language in Catalonia must be able to study in Spanish language (but if Catalan children in Spain want to study in Catalan that is not necessary).

There are more verdicts on the way, as the process is still ongoing. But the Catalan Estatut must include a text saying that Spain is indivisible. Apparently they are kind of sensing a tendency to secession, otherwise they would not force us to add this article.
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The fact is that lately the spectrum of options were:
1. To stay and 'develop' Catalonia whitin Spain and the actual system of Autonomies.
2. To try to develop a federation of states whitin the Kingdom of Spain.
3. To try to get the so called 'Concert econòmic', status which Basque Country enjoys, in which the local Basque government is allowed to collect directly all taxes.
4. Independence.
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Now the sentence by the Constitution Court has made things clear:
1. The actual system with regional autonomy governments is obsolete. Catalonia cannot go forward whitin this system, we are actually going backwards!
2. Catalan politicians who said that a Federal Spain would be a good idea have lost their credibility. Spain does not even want to give more autonomy within the actual regional system, so a Federal Spain is just impossible.
3. The Concert Econòmic is also impossible. If we are not allowed to even advance a millimeter in financial issues within the actual regional system to try to achieve full independent autonomy in the collection of taxes is unthinkable.

So, we either accept that Catalonia cannot be more than a discriminated Spanish region, and a region that is spoliated and mistreated, that our language cannot be fully recognized, that we are simply not allowed to participate to the Global economy as there are several laws that limit our range of possibilities, we either accept that we are Spaniards of a lower class, who pay more to get less, with no access to international competitions as Catalans in any cultural or sports events. We either accept all of this or we choose for independence.
Up till now there seemed to be (for some people, not for me) different options.
Today there are only two options left: The actual and total defeat or independence.
The clarity this has given is great, and the defeat of the autonomic system is also a great tool to show that Catalonia does not fit in Spain. No matter how hard we try.

REASON 22: ONLY WAY FOR THE CATALAN FILM INDUSTRY TO EXIST

One of the questions I ask to many people here when I explain why I want a Catalan state: Did you ever hear of the Catalan film industry? The answer is always NO.
If I ask them if they know anything on the Norwegian, Finish or Danish film industry the answer is always YES.
Why does a film industry of a region as Norway or Denmark with just 4,5 milion inhabitants international projection and the Catalan culture with 12 milion inhabitants has no international projection at all?
The only reason is that we do not have a state. And the states we are in (France and Spain) do not represent us, do not give us access to project our movies internationally. It all starts with asking for grants to make a movie. The Catalan film industry has a lack of access to the international platforms, but it already has disadvantage from the beginning: when asking for a grant for a movie in Spain it is forbiden to present the libreto in Catalan language, it must be in Spanish, even though 20% of the inhabitants of Spain speak Catalan at home.
Spain is not Switserland (who presents movies in all the languages that are spoken there) and it has no intentions to become like it. This year a Catalan actor tried to open the doors for the Oscars for Catalan movies without success.
I will only present here a reflection on one of the international platforms: The Oscars, but with all international platforms the same shit happens: no access for the Catalan film industry.
In theory if 20 % of the population of Spain speaks Catalan one on the 5 movies presented at The Oscars should be in Catalan language. We all know that never a Catalan movie has been presentedto represent Spain at the Oscars. And we all know this will never happen.
When Catalonia is an independent country:
we shall be able to send a movie to the Oscars every year!
We shall have a much higher amount of money to develop our own film industry, and nobody will question our right to spend this money in Catalan culture.
Catalan movie makers will not be in disadvantage any more to ask for grants.
The world will know about the Catalan film industry when we ask around the globe, as they know about something about the Danish or Finish movie industry.
Here is a list of the winners of the last 20 years for the best foreign movie. As you can see the spectrum of countries has changed ever since the USSR won in 1980.
Bosnia & Herzegovina would have never appeared in this list if it hadn't become an independent country, and the Czeck republic would still be together with Slovakia. Things change. They changed for Ireland, Finland, Norway, and later for several countries in Eastern Europe. More and more countries are becoming independent. This is the clear tendency we are going to.

1980 USSR
1981 HUNGARY
1982 SPAIN
1983 SWEDEN
1984 SWITSERLAND
1985 ARGENTINIA
1986 THE NETHERLANDS
1987 DENMARK
1988 DENMARK
1989 ITALY
1990 SWITSERLAND
1991 ITALY
1992 FRANCE
1993 SPAIN
1994 RUSSIA
1995 THE NETHERLANDS
1996 CZECH REPUBLIC
1997 THE NETHERLANDS
1998 ITALY
1999 SPAIN
2000 TAIWAN
2001 BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
2002 GERMANY
2003 CANADA
2004 SPAIN
2005 SOUTH AFRICA
2006 GERMANY
2007 AUSTRIA
2008 JAPAN
2009 ARGENTINA
2010 ARGENTINA
.
.
.
2014 CATALONIA?

Reason 21: THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THE REGIONALISATION OF CATALONIA: INDEPENDENCE

The Spanish government is planning to approve a new law that will avoid Spaniards to vote in the elections of their respective Autonomous Communitites. As this is a Spanish invention it is very difficult to translate and therefore difficult to understand for someone with little knowledge of Spain and of Catalonia. The concept of the ‘Autonomous Community’ -Comunitat Autonoma in Catalan- is a mix between a regional government and a separation of Spain into states, similar to the German Länder.
The problem of this system is that it is applied to all Spanish regions, no matter their own interest in having an own government and an own parliament. The interest in having an own parliament lies on the perception of your territory either as a region or as a nation.
And here lies the essence of the problem. Most Spaniards see their respective ‘Autonomous Communities’ as a region and the respective governments as regional governments without much interest.
Catalans, Basques or Galicians tend to see their Autonomous Communities as a nation, and their governments and parliaments as their national government, rather than a regional one.
As Catalan, Catalonia is the country I come from, where my people live, where my language is spoken, where my traditions are kept, where literature is made that corresponds to my culture, where they cook the food of my homeland, etc.
The only reason for me to keep a Spanish passport is that I can vote for the Catalan elections. Spain is not of my interest, not politically, not culturally. In no way Spain represents my culture or my language. The Spanish consulate and the Spanish cultural organisations in Holland do not represent who I am what so ever. And yet, Spain has the right to prohibit me my vote for Catalonia, my country.
Now the Spanish government is planning to apply a new law that will avoid us who live abroad to be able to vote for our Catalan elections (our national elections) we see this as a new measure in the process of regionalising Catalonia.
Such a measure would be unthinkable in Scotland or Quebec. But Spain is different. Spain is still miles away from a democratic country, still miles away from being a proper State of rights.
Not only because Spain is going to ban my right to vote in my homeland. Spain is far from being a State of rights because its judicial system is still today, several years after Franco’s death, not clean and impartial. All the contrary. In the highest Spanish judicial institutions you shall find, still today, several judges who were working under the fascist regime at Franco’s side, politicians who have direct liaisons with Franco’s party or other fascist organisations, and a judicial system directly ruled by the political parties, nothing as should be allowed in a proper State of rights.
And as a result of this Spain can go on prohibiting democracy and allowing fascism. This is happening in Spain today. Baltasar Garzón is a clear example of this. And Europe is doing nothing to stop this.
Again a new reason in favour of having an own Catalan state.

Reason 20: To break with Spanish fascism: independence (III)

Unfortunately I have to add two articles concerning to reason Nr. 20 that explains that Spain still is today packed with fascists.
The newspaper ABC in Seville allows death notices of Spains' last dictators Franco and Primo de Rivera. Not only that, they allow text in them that dignifies them.
20th November 2009, on the day both dictators passed away.
Such a death notice would be banned in any other democratic country in the World.
It is not so in Spain.
http://www.sms25.cat/noticia/1859/Ledicio_de_Sevilla_del_diari_ABC_encara_fa_apologia_del_franquisme
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Last but not least,
Just a couple of days ago, a journalist from The National Spanish TV and Cadena Ser, was present in a fascist demonstration in Madrid in honour to Azul division, a fascist military division of Franco's regime that fought next to Hitler . He sung the fascist hymn 'Cara al Sol' among other fascist songs and he often attends fascist lectures from the fascist party Falange de las J.O.N.S., the party of Franco himself.
This kind of people occupy important positions in the highest Spanish authorities and national institutions such as the National Spanish TV channel.
http://www.sms25.cat/noticia/2145/Un_periodista_de_TVE_i_la_SER,_entre_els_assistents_a_una_concentracio_falangista_a_Madrid