Atlantic Sentinel

Tag: Catalan Referendum 2017

An independence referendum was held in Catalonia on October 1. It was boycotted by most unionists. Of the 43 percent who turned out, 92 percent voted to secede from Spain.

  • Don’t Exaggerate Russian Meddling in the Catalan Independence Crisis

    Plaça de Catalunya Barcelona Spain
    Night falls on Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, September 11 (Sergio Marchi)

    Spanish media exaggerate Russia’s role in the Catalan independence crisis.

    Russian state media, like RT and Sputnik, and Russia-friendly trolls, like WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, have predictably sought to exploit the crisis in a major European Union and NATO country, for three reasons:

    1. To encouraging Catalan separatism.
    2. To provoking an overreaction from the Spanish right.
    3. To legitimizing the self-determination referendum it organized in the Crimea in 2014.

    But there is little evidence Russian propaganda has changed anyone’s mind. (more…)

  • Catalans Vote for Independence in Controversial Referendum

    Sagrada Família Barcelona Spain
    Aerial view of the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, Spain (Unsplash/Carles Rabada)
    • Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy maintains “no self-determination referendum” was held in Catalonia on Sunday, although millions voted.
    • Regional president Carles Puigdemont claims the region has “won the right to be an independent state”.
    • Hundreds of Catalans were injured in altercations with Spanish riot police. (more…)

  • A Failure of Leadership in Spain

    Mariano Rajoy
    Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy arrives at Congress in Madrid, October 29, 2016 (La Moncloa)

    The unstoppable force of Catalan separatism is about to meet the unmovable object that is Mariano Rajoy.

    The Spanish prime minister and conservative party leader has vowed to prevent an independence referendum in the northeastern region at all costs. The Catalans are determined to vote anyway.

    Neither side will be able to claim victory on Monday.

    Rajoy may succeed in blocking the vote, but his intransigence has already convinced moderate Catalans there isn’t a future for them in Spain. The separatists may manage to organize a referendum, but it will be so marred by illegality and irregularity that the outcome cannot possibly be considered a mandate to break away. (more…)

  • British Struggle to Understand Spain’s Reaction to Catalan Referendum

    The British struggle to understand why, if they could manage two referendums in three years, Spain is so desperate to prevent the Catalans from voting on Sunday. (more…)

  • Catalonia Unlikely to Declare Independence After Referendum

    Catalonia is unlikely to declare its independence from Spain even if a majority votes to break away on Sunday.

    The law that made the referendum possible — and which has been suspended by Spain’s Constitutional Court — calls for a declaration of independence within two days of a “yes” vote.

    But Carles Puigdemont, the regional president and separatist leader, has told French television he wants to open up a transitional period of talks after the plebiscite. (more…)

  • Putting Catalan Police Under Spanish Command Is a Bad Idea

    Carles Puigdemont Mariano Rajoy
    Catalan president Carles Puigdemont listens to Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy giving a speech in Barcelona, August 18 (La Moncloa)

    Spain’s latest attempt to prevent the Catalans from voting on independence next week risks making the situation in the region more dangerous.

    Prosecutors have ordered the 17,000-strong Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan police force, to report directly to the Interior Ministry in Madrid as opposed to Catalan authorities in Barcelona.

    Spanish officials had accused the Mossos (troopers) of not doing enough to disrupt preparations for the October 1 vote.

    Spain claims it is protecting public safety, but its power grab could have the opposite effect. (more…)

  • Mixed Views from France on Catalan Referendum

    French coverage of the Catalan independence referendum has something of the left-right split we saw in Germany, but most of the media are united in calling on Catalan and Spanish leaders to meet each other in the middle. (more…)

  • Catalan Referendum Animates Flemish, Leaves Dutch Cold

    The Dutch aren’t sure what to make of Catalonia’s independence bid. Only in the last few days have their news media started paying attention to what’s happening in the region.

    Flemish media are more interested. Maybe because they have pragmatically managed their differences with the French-speaking Walloons for decades and are wondering why the Catalans and Spanish can’t do the same? (more…)

  • Spanish Raids, Arrests Cross Red Line: Puigdemont

    Spain has “crossed a red line,” Catalan president Carles Puigdemont said after gendarmerie raided offices of his regional government in Barcelona and arrested a dozen civil servants.

    “On October 1, we are called to defend democracy from a repressive and intimidating regime,” Puigdemont told Catalans in a televised speech.

    He argued that the actions of the Spanish state, which considers a planned independence vote illegal, are “totalitarian” and amount to the suspension of Catalan home rule. (more…)

  • Partisan Divide in German Views on Catalan Referendum

    German views on Catalonia’s independence bid break down along partisan lines. Left-wing commentators sympathize with Catalan pleas for self-determination and blame Spain for the impasse. Conservatives focus on the illegality of the planned October 1 vote. (more…)

  • Spanish Far Left Takes Rajoy to Task for Catalan “Repression”

    Pablo Iglesias, the head of Spain’s far-left Podemos movement, has criticized Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy for his handling of the Catalan separatist challenge.

    In a series of tweets, Iglesias takes Rajoy and his government to task for their “fear of democracy”.

    Defending Spain requires providing political solutions to historical problems. Prison and repression will only compound the problems.

    Iglesias accuses Rajoy of aggravating support for independence by refusing to negotiate with the Catalans and argues that the only way out of the crisis is to let them vote. (more…)

  • The Arguments For and Against Catalan Independence

    Barcelona Spain
    Basílica de Santa Maria del Pi in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona, Spain (Egor Myznik)

    Catalans are due to vote on independence from Spain in a referendum next month, despite objections from Madrid.

    Most of the arguments for independence are cultural or emotional. Opponents are more likely to point out concrete economic and security risks. (more…)

  • The Val d’Aran: The Minority Within the Catalan Minority

    The one area of Catalonia where there is remarkably less enthusiasm for independence from Spain lies in its northwest: the Val d’Aran, the only comarca north of the Pyrenees.

    Its population of less than 10,000 speaks Aranese, a form of Gascon, itself a variety grouped (though not without controversy) under the rubric of Occitan, a Romance language once spoken in the south of France.

    In France, these “varieties” (a term I use for the sake of neutrality) of Occitan, such as Gascon, Provençal and Limousin, have been relegated to folkloric remnants harking back to the Troubadours. They are subject to token efforts, such as bilingual signage and partially subsidized school instructions, but are derisively considered patois dialects or, worse still, bastardized versions of French.

    In Catalonia, however, Aranese enjoys co-official status alongside Catalan and Spanish. (more…)

  • Catalans Determined to Vote in Referendum Declared Illegal

    Barcelona flag
    Flag of Barcelona, Spain, September 17, 2013 (Fredrik Rubensson)
    • Spain claims control of Catalonia’s public finances and police force in an attempt to prevent the region from voting on independence.
    • According to regional president Carles Puigdemont, Spain has “crossed a red line.” (more…)

  • Don’t Force Catalans to Choose Between Independence and the Status Quo

    Plaça de Catalunya Barcelona Spain
    Night falls on Plaça de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, September 11, 2017 (Sergio Marchi)

    Last night I wrote that time is running out to avoid a constitutional crisis in Spain. The Catalans are determined to hold an independence referendum in October; the central government in Madrid is determined to prevent one.

    This seems to be a case of an unstoppable force meeting an unmovable object, but there may still be a way out. (more…)