I would like to talk about fear, and especially, about the fear of the Catalans. Some might wander, but Catalans, have they fear? Well, in certain measure, do so.

We often observe that there are many people who switch languages in front of who speak the language of the Spanish and French colonizers. Many wander how can they defend our own language in front of this swarm of linguistic deserters that populate the country. The answer, surely, has more than one explanation. But is necessary to remember that, after three centuries, Catalans have been subject continuously to the tyranny of the fear.

It is so that today, we collect the fruit of a constant persecution still suffered as a nation, as a language and as individuals with differentiated character and personality.

Fear is the result of a nothing but innocent strategy. Be it by the force of the arms, first, aimed to impose over an alien country, be it with legislation which obviates the original, the ultimate aim is to inflict in the colony's population the habit of fear, and doing it so that this population acquires and internalizes it to the point of believing that is an absolutely normal and unconscious behaviour. Fear might be unconscious, but is never normal.

In fact, though, how would we want that a country subject to wars, murders, persecutions, public punishments and mockery, looting and constant illegalities during three centuries? Few countries have suffered such fierce harassment for being simply people with their own personality. In the Mediterranean, for example, we might find a similar case with the besiege suffered by the Jews.

Despite this, how do we explain that the percentage of Catalans in support of independence of Catalonia is higher than ever? Apparently, if we judge by certain attitudes that speak about a presumably acquired fear, it might seem that the need for our independence would create certain mistrust. And it is because of that, the need to end everything that has caused these fears, that is when the urgency to stop and face the abuser is demonstrated. But, who takes the first step?

The word fear does not exist for Catalunya Acció. And we are ready.

Ready to initiate a process to break definitely with Spain and France.

Ready to break definitely with the abuser and all who, from Catalonia, collaborate with them.

Ready for independence to stop being politically orphan, and to begin the journey that will lead our flag to be flown among the rest of flags of Europe.

Ready to demonstrate to Spain, France and everybody, that never, ever, it is possible to destroy winning people.

Albert Ubach
Member Catalunya Acció

All who demand a Catalan State without mentioning that Catalonia is a Nation, split and colonized by two oppressive European States, perpetuate the deception of the oppressors, which is that Catalonia is a region of Spain.

We cannot claim for a State and continue to be politically corrects, that is selfcensoring in order to please. This behaviour has kept us subject to the enemy. We speak about dignity, but we will not be dignified when the truth is distorted and behave as chained slaves.

The perspective of the National problematic, meaning the denounce of the National exploitation both to the territory within the French State -the poorest, with highest unemployment index in France's departments, and the territory within the Spanish State, is not only an ethical perspective, of respect to the historical memory, fidelity to the roots, agreement with a minority -the few non-colonized Catalans, but instead is a pragmatic view. May we afford to hide the truth when the survival as European Nation is so threatened?

We must tell the truth for three main reasons, on one hand to convince the rest of Europeans about the existence of the Nation; from the other hand, to obtain help from the other European Nations that strive to obtain their own State; and finally, to encourage and pride our own compatriots, who ignore, generally, the limits of our own territory.

Europe is conscious, from decades ago, of the problems of the border regions and tried to find solutions and giving development grants. But the next step is missing, recognizing that a lot of problems of these border regions hide national problems and that conceding money to regions that have no legal reconnaissance such as the Northern Catalonia -subject to the double colonialism from Paris and Montpellier, is a temporary patch.

In Europe, is only known the existence of the Catalonia as a region in Spain and its maximum claim is for autonomy. How may we convince them that we are not a region in Spain, that we want a Catalan State, if we do not inform them that we are a dismembered Nation, doubly oppressed from three centuries ago? Moreover, bringing up the double oppression both from Spain and France make the Basques, Bretons, Alsatians, Corses and the long list of nations colonized by France overseas potential allies.

Exposing the own cause as well as defending the cause of these others is not adding forces? Is it not the reinforcement of the credibility we want to achieve? How can we explain that we glorify ourselves for our universalism, defending peace and giving humanitarian aid all over the world and yet we cannot defend our own cause? How is that we prefer to minimize, dilute, remain within a provincial framework, instead of being the speakers for the colonized nations and more particularly in one self-satisfied so-called democratic Europe?

Both Pau Casals and Oscar Ribes knew how to take advantage of a worldwide spread message to refer to the existence of the whole Catalan Countries. They situated Catalonia in the linguistic and cultural field; now is the time to denounce the inner colonialisms in Europe, the negation of the existence of nations split by false borders, victims of occult identity genocides.

Not delimiting the territories of the Catalan Nation perpetuates the betrayal by Pujol's government who affirmed in big banners hung around the Alt Empordà: "som una nació, som 6 milions" -"we are a nation, we are 6 millions"- as if Catalonia began at La Jonquera. We, the excluded, the Northern Catalans, Majorcans, Valencians, Andorrans and from Alguer, cannot allow that our Catalanism is concealed by allegedly pragmatic reasons.

The true pragmatism in the 21st Century is to make discourses to break from three and a half centuries of colonization, having the self-awareness that we have been formatted to hide, to beg, to be pleased with minimalist vindications such as the Spanish Constitution, amnesty for the Francoist executioners, the "Estatut" already defeated fifty years ago, and now, the Nation limited to the four provinces.

The true pragmatism is to break with the colonial selfcensorship, spreading the legitimate reasons of our fight, conciliating our people.

Daniela Grau Humbert
Counsellor Catalunya Acció Northern Catalonia

It is not new. It has happened already in recent times but we must talk about the same topic over and over.

Some small Spanish TV station -public, thus paid by Catalans too, has insulted the whole Catalan nation once more. With the excuse of the calling to public examination for teachers of Catalan by the Aragonese government, this TV station has made a supposed parody of this examination, urging the applicants to teach Catalan and 'everything it represents', such as 'mastering the stealing and blackmailing' apart from other disrespects against the Catalan language.

However, in front of such serious insults towards the Catalan people, none of the so-called 'defenders of the Catalan dignity', hence, politicians and other representatives, have come forward to demand an apology by the Aragonese TV channel or its politic representatives.

In front of such offense, Santiago Espot, CEO Catalunya Acció, has published the following public note as follows:

Barcelona, April 8th 2010. The public TV of Aragon has broadcast a gag of xenophobic character against Catalonia, branding Catalans as blackmailers. In front of such ignominious attack, the President of Catalunya Acció and promoter of Força Catalunya, Santiago Espot, has shown his indignation for the silence of all parties that should defend the dignity of Catalonia and that, in this deliberate attack from the public Aragonese TV, have not defended Catalonia.

In words by Santiago Espot, 'everything is a sample of the xenophobic character of the Spanish public media against Catalonia, which do not let escape any occasion to erode the dignity of our Nation'.

Santiago Espot added 'and it is in this sense that the passivity of the political establishment of our country, and our Government, has to be denounced. The Government that tolerates that a sister party -Aragonese socialists-, insult our country, this time through their TV station'.

To Santiago Espot, the Aragonese Government must end broadcasting this program that only represents an attack to the dignity of Catalonia.

However, Spain do not tolerate that samples of similar 'parodies' come out from Catalonia. In July 2008, not long after the Spanish Government published the so-long waited fiscal balances, which officially certified that Spain plundered an 8.7% of the Catalan GDP -at least, because the method used was very dubious to the opinion of several well-renowned economists such as Ramon Tremosa-, Lluís Suné, local Councillor in Torredembarra (Catalonia), published this picture on his blog.



The legend "An 8.7% of the Catalan GDP is not enough. Sponsor a child from Extremadura for €1000/month", caused profound outrage in Extremadura, which initiated legal action against Suné. Lluís Suné then, had to delete the picture from his blog and publicly apologise for that.

Will we see similar action against form the Catalan Government for the aggression by Aragon against Catalonia? Probably not, because attack on Catalonia comes for free. Only very determined voices, like Santiago Espot, and Catalunya Acció, will never cease to denounce the attempts to offend our Nation.

Jordi Margalef
Member Catalunya Acció

In a moment where there is a very deep crisis like now, the economic news proliferate in all media with supersonic speed and we barely have the time to separate the grain from the straw. Besides, the majority of people ignores the tricky mechanisms over which the experts pontificate their studies, is easy that we feel fooled. In fact, it is difficult to understand how is possible that if numbers are the same to everybody, one party reads them exactly opposite than the other party. Two plus two are four, whether you are right or left, people think.

In this mess of number and percentages, common people do not, and cannot, understand, it is thanked the clear words heard a few weeks ago to the economist, and Professor at the University of Barcelona, Gonzalo Bernardos, during a debate at Carlos Fuente's "Catalunya Opina", Canal Català. More or less, Prof Bernardos said that to begin to readdress the actual situation, the authentic reality of the Spanish banking sector had to be faced. Spanish banks have closed the tap to credits, which drags us towards a cul-de-sac, why? We must, then, ask. In a solitary sentence by Prof Bernardos, it is summarized; he affirms that in 2007 there were banks that had 85% of their credit conceded to the estate sector. Not long after, it has come the big downturn of this sector, and consequently, a few weeks ago, the President of the Superior Council of Chambers of Commerce, Javier Gomez Navarro, said that the estate companies in Spain owe a total of €350B, from which half are loans to buy land. Very good. In that respect, the very Prof Bernardos manifests that banks are doing "creative accountancy" to make up the fact that a lot of those plots of land that they financed are not worth, now, a 10%. All together, there is no need to have studied economics to preview that the banking sector in Spain is about to explode.

However, it has not been unique to Spain. He have all seen as the American and German governments have faced the situation and have tried to solve this cancer that was -maybe still is- rotting their financial structures. I shall not value whether they have done well or not but certainly, have made public the insides of the responsible of this chaos that has affected a great number of the companies and families. Contrarily, the internal situation of the Spanish and Catalan banks continues to be as impenetrable as the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. Why are so untouchable the figures of Botins and Forneses, when everybody guess that hide more sins than Barabbas?

I do not believe that the answer to this question is alien to an information appeared more or less a month ago, where it said that Banco de Santander accumulated debt from PSOE -Socialist Party of Spain- worth €30M. On the other side, "la Caixa" made the same with PSC -Socialist Party of Catalonia- but with a more modest figure, only €7.2M. When we see the generosity of these institutions towards who represent us, can start imagining why the governments look at the other side. How can they ask for responsibilities to whom saves them from bankruptcy? We are in front of one alliance politico-financier that invalidates any sign of authentic democracy. Who pays, rules. And PSOE and PSC are not exceptions. Their viability as political parties depends exclusively from a General Council to which they had to concede privileges to be able to finance and not having to close for administration. Do not come now with tales like popular sovereignty or similar things, because who really rule are a bunch of people with offices at the highest floors of the most emblematic buildings in Madrid and Barcelona. Talking about democracy, when the elected government are puppets in the hands of bankers who give or forgive debts when they want, is wanting to take us for granted and an insult to the intelligence of the voter. A partitocracy in the hands of a banking oligarchy is not a symptom of progress. It is a clear political and moral degradation. Does anybody like to keep voting Botin's butlers?

Santiago Espot
CEO Catalunya Acció

Article published at "El Punt", on March 29th 2010

There has not been three years since the power cut that affected Barcelona in summer 2007. Then, the interruption of power supply lasted for three days and it evidenced the actual mistreatment to that Catalonia is object, not only from Spain but from the private companies managed from Spain. In that occasion, a wave of anger and protest was started on the digital media and blogosphere. Now, only a snow storm is enough to knock down electric posts in Girona and leave a big part of the North of the country in the dark for more than a week. On the third night, Vicent Partal qualified it as Intolerable. What must be it when the time doubled?

The prejudice and the consequences are already more important than the ones suffered in Barcelona, and they go beyond the economical loss -said to be millions. A hundred people have been intoxicated by the fumes of generators and at least one has died due to that. The reaction, however, from the media and the blogosphere, has been notably minor. Is it because there is tiredness and resignation, or is it because the main affected is not Barcelona but the region of Girona?

To see how thousands and thousands of people have to spend their days and nights without electricity and below zero temperatures, due to lack of maintenance of the towers for many years by Endesa and REE, results with a pathetic image, more seen in a Third World country than a developed one, and that not long ago saw itself as an European economical motor. Colonist politicians have tried to centre the debate in the need for Very High Tension line (MAT, in Catalan) which only pretends to play in the interests of those companies and evade their responsibilities in no guaranteeing the maintenance of those infrastructures giving public services managed from Spain and divert the public's attention from the real problems of the people. Only direct information from citizens who see this situation from the spot allows us to have an approximate idea of the reality; experiences from elderly or infants being cold, fishermen emptying the petrol tanks of their ships to feed the emergency generators of the Hospital in Palamos, isolated families without enough food or water, people looking for a hotel or asking other relatives for somewhere to sleep or take a shower. The numbers of the thousands of consumers without electricity are watered down because always hide that with every consumer, more people from the family, from the firm, the hospital or school are affected.

In the reports by VilawebTV "Apagats" -"Switched off"- and "Passen les hores i no torna la llum" -"Hours go by and the power is not back"-, we can see the adventures that people have to imagine to carry on without electricity. On Facebook, the affected have set up a group, where the indignation for the abandonment to which these people are subject is very noticeable.

Economic plunder and the colonial condition of our Nation is manifested with all cruelty in emergency situations like this, but is a permanent practice more or less disguised. Because there is no difference in mentality between a public or private manager when there is a Spaniard in front of a Catalan consumer: the latter must pay or vote, and keep their mouth shut. It does not matter whether from the public powers or the private companies, the asphyxia to our economy and our decision capacity is an identity symbol. Spain grows and Catalonia sinks, while we allow this with our work and the taxes we pay. The incompatibility of wanting to live in Catalonia decently and defending dependency is progressively increasing.

All this is another symptom of the severe decadence to which Spain is leading us, fully consciously and premeditated if we do not act urgently. The solution, as pointed by Enric Canela in his weekly article on Deumil.cat, has to be rebellion. A democratic rebellion that has already begun and that has more people reacting by adding themselves to the cause of recovering the freedom for Catalonia.

Published at "Es Poblat de'n Talaiòtic"

Last February 19th, at the Sports Centre in Corçà (Baix Empordà, Catalonia), a conference was called by the  commission organizing the polls for independence  that will be held in this town on February 28th.

I take advantage of this place to reproduce the speech I made, as the representative of Catalunya Acció invited to this act, and also thank the assistant public and the organization for the hospitality received.

Good evening to everybody,

I would not like to begin my intervention before thank you for having invited Catalunya Acció to participate in this conference, and applaud, on behalf of the organization I represent, the poll for independence that you are organizing for February 28th.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am convinced that I am not wrong if I affirm that everybody gathered in this act -if not all of you, at least a great part- will go to vote for the independence of this country. In other words, I am convinced that on February 28th, Corçà will vote, mainly common sense. Because if something is represented by these ballots is exactly this, a popular expression of common sense.

It is true that these polls represent a democratic exercise too and are a thermometer that will measure the capacity of organization of the towns and cities despite the official silence that the politicians of this country have imposed to suffocate popular initiatives like these. But, above all this, even above the democratic exercise to convoke the people to referendum, there is a factor that make these polls more than an election anecdote, because they are, and so they must be, the primaries of our National Independence.

Because, nowadays, you will convene with me that Catalans have invested enough time demonstrating that are a democratic nation. As if Catalans, who have been one of the most old and glorious Nations in Europe, would not believe ourselves that being Catalan means to bring the democratic gene in the blood. So, I want to go one step beyond and encourage you to live these referendums as a page that you, as part of the Catalan Nation, are writing  in History recovering our State. I invite you to take the relay to the spirit born in Arenys de Munt last September, taking the flame that that group of patriots -Mr Ximenis, today present too, was among them, lit up to spread around the Nation.

If Catalonia live today  in a collective campaign of polls, is due -and I want to remind it explicitly, to the courage and conviction of a small group of people who demonstrated us how a whole country can be shaken up even when they had the wind against and nobody betting for them. Next February 28th, all you will have the opportunity and the responsibility to make that the spirit of Arenys de Munt continues advancing and settling the bases of our next National emancipation.

But nobody fool themselves. Nobody think that independence will come as a present from heaven. And even a friendly agreement among Spanish, French and Catalans. No! The battle for Independence will be, above all, the battle for the dialectics and oratory. Because, ladies and gentlemen, this war -because we are in a political and diplomatic war, but war, nevertheless-, will demand that we choose an army of political leaders able to confront, to the last consequences, the discourse and the French and Spanish State machine. This, dear friends, is impossible to find in this public trough and fodder spreading institution that one day was our beloved Parliament of Catalonia. This, there, now, is not to be found.

The time for those who do not speak clearly, with euphemisms, auto-censoring themselves, is over. The time of watering down our language and discourse is over. To recover this Nation's dignity is time to recover the adequate tone to express our national genius, the steadiness of our actions and the strength of our reasons. In fact, as I said in the beginning, let's impose common sense.

Our political, cultural, linguistic, social and economic future is in play. Let's be worthy of Catalonia and rise willing to conquer victory that History reserves only to those in those Nations that are called to win. If on September 13th, Arenys de Munt initiated the way to this victory, next February 28th you will become ambassadors of democracy, and will let the world know, and especially the rest of Europe, that very soon, within the heart of the European Union, a new flag will fly, symbol of freedom, justice and democracy; the four stripes of our beautiful and immortal Catalonia.

Many thanks.

Albert Ubach
Member of Catalunya Acció


Speech made at Corçà, (Baix Empordà, Catalonia), on Friday, February 19th 2010, with occasion of the poll for independence to be celebrated on February 28th 2010.

In this occasion, 80 towns and cities of Catalonia, will hold similar polls. The number of electors, older than 16, arrives to a little less than 300,000. The biggest town holding the ballot will be El Vendrell (Baix Penedès). With this second wave of ballots, the number of possible voters will increase to one million Catalans, and the speaker for the National Coordinator qualified it as the non-return point for independence in view of the third wave of polls, to be held on April 25th, in big cities like Lleida, Figueres, Reus, Girona and Manresa.

Catalunya Acció UK is pleased to congratulate Catalunya Acció in the Principality of Catalonia for admitting to have reported during 2009, 3000 shops and other establishments that are in breach of the Normalization of the Catalan Language Act. The Act was endorsed by the Parliament of Catalonia late in 2007 and has not been contested against the Spanish Constitution by any Spanish political party. It allows citizens to report to the authorities of those who do not comply with the terms of the Act.

In words by Santiago Espot, Catalunya Acció is doing what other associations, exclusively dedicated to the promotion of the Catalan language - but subsidized by political parties, are leaving to anonymous citizens to do. Catalunya Acció UK congratulate their brave members and invite other Catalans to join in this action to demonstrate that the ancient Catalan spirit is still alive and the actual subduing of Catalonia to Spain is within the last moments. Needless to say, only those who are against the freedom of speech in the own language of Catalonia, which coincided with those who denounced the celebration of the "illegal" plebiscites for independence, have protested against the the actions by Catalunya Acció amid claims of acting like the nazi Germany. At this moment Catalunya Acció UK wander whether those who negate the application of a, nevertheless, Spanish law are the real nazis. And also wander whether the actual authorities will apply any of the fines previewed in the Act. 

Occupied countries have always suffered the stigma of division. It seems a previous condition to freedom. It is not strange, then, that our outstanding leaders have warned us about this danger and wave the flag of unity. One of them, writer Agusti Calvet -better known in History as Gaziel-, in the most difficult moments of our history, the beginning of the Francoist regime, wrote: "At this moment, I would sacrifice everything for the unity of Catalans. It is not that is an essential job; it is the only job".

Luckily, we do not live in a gloomy dictatorship, but we live in a time where every day, more see that our future will be well dark if we do not achieve independence. It is one of the most important moments of our history, although we are conscious that achieving our objective will not be easy and, because of that it is prevailing amongst us the spirit of the union that was defended by Gaziel.

This is the intention that has urged the manifest "Suma Independència", presented on December 17th, in Barcelona, being one of the more that 1,900 signers to the date. Some voices have presented it as a competition against other options supporting of independence more or less consolidated in the eyes of the public opinion. Furthermore, there is always who sees it as a dark manoeuvre to divide the votes of those who wish the independence of Catalonia when, in fact, this vote is already divided amongst different political forces with representation in the Parliament for many years. Take a look at the number of supporters of independence voting CiU -Convergència i Unió-, ERC -Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya- or Iniciativa. Even some of them count in the rank and file of the PSC -Socialists-, some of their members collaborated enthusiastically in the organization of the ballots on the last December 13th. And we should not forget the big number of supporters of independence that remain at home every election. Would you like a bigger division of the vote than today?

Agglutinate all this vote, making it effective with view to our independence is not easy. Among other things, because the people know perfectly that, in election to the autonomous Parliament, we can only elect those who have to administrate the crumbs that are left by the Spanish power. Overturn this situation and transform the next elections to Parliament into a plebiscite for independence of Catalonia comes by articulating a front for the "yes", the widest and transversally possible. That means, a coalition where the only common denominator among all the participants is the proclamation of the Catalan State. The origin and political profile of its constituents must be varied and represent all sensibilities. It is not being "within" but "besides". Because a coalition is a temporary alliance of people or parties with a common objective, and nothing better than representing the wish for unity that is claimed by the big majority of patriots of our country. We know that in this union, neither we are equal nor we want to be. Who does like uniformity? Therefore, there will be big ones and smaller ones. This is the key to success, know how to combine potentials. One coalition stages an authentic team spirit and their most outstanding faces may be identifiable with the different shades within the movement supporting independence. We cannot be so ingenuous to believe that all who desire the independence of Catalonia will be willing to unite in only one of these shades and achieve absolute majority.

To crystallize this initiative, it is essential to see beyond our own lines and be able to build alliances and weave complicities. We can not minimize ourselves because all forces supporting independence, be it the smallest one, are necessary in this titanic battle. Valuing strengths and possibilites of one or the other goes beyond the simple number of militants. In these determining hours of our history, there is no place for childishness and school yard envies.

Catalonia demands to leave personal interests apart and to have a vision to go beyond our own convinced. The signers to "Suma Independència" are willing to make this gesture.

Who is accompanying us to add for freedom?

Santiago Espot
CEO Catalunya Acció

The patriotic gesture of all of you, voting "yes" to independence of Catalonia, represents the first time in the last thirty years of watched probation, not authentic democracy -do not fool ourselves, that Catalans will come out of the identity trench where we have tried to defend our national features, be them our language, our history or our traditions. So to take initiative and going on the attack to achieve our authentic freedom as a nation, which is no other than our political independence, because no other exists. Nobody wins any battle remaining indefinitely in their trenches. Hence the importance of the polls. We might say that it represents the Prats de Molló of the 21st Century to Catalans; the primaries of our independence, which will be won town by town; the reconquest of the authentic Catalan spirit that has been tried to snatch from us with wars and dictatorships. And we must say that out loud: with wars and dictatorships, in the last 300 years, but that neither Spain nor France have annihilated.

Catalonia has no other possibility to develop in its fullness their artistic, intellectual, scientific or entrepreneurial skills without taking Spain off. If we focus on the economics -only to point at one of the issues-, the Principality of Catalonia suffers a looting of €22B/year, as our politicians talk, without giving any importance, about fiscal deficit. The total Budget of the Principality of Catalonia for the year 2009 is almost of €39B. That is, Spain keeps a bag equivalent to 60% of the budget. This is every year! With this Budget is impossible to decently manage, adequately, any population such as the Catalan, as we are more than seven million inhabitants. And yet, those €22B would be used to improve our Health Service, the schools... You must think that a children's nursery costs only €1M and now they take more than €60M/day. A District Hospital, with first quality equipment and fully staffed, costs between €55 and €60M, what is plundered every day. As I said, with these monies we could improve our Health Service, schools, universities, build infrastructures for the future or improve our retired people's pensions. We would be amongst the richest in Europe, whereas now, after paying taxes to Spain, remain at the bottom of the Spanish autonomies. You make the numbers about the fiscal toll that we, Catalans, pay to maintain this staging called Spain compared to Europe. Europe, all the potent economy that represents the EU with more than 300M citizens, gives to Spain €8M/day, because they say that Spain is poor (€2.9B/year). Remember this number. And the Principality of Catalonia, a small corner in Europe, with a little more than 7M citizens, gives to Spain, with permission of our politicians, €60M/day (€22B/year), with the same argument, of course; we are rich, they are poor and we have to be supportive. This situation cannot be corrected by any Financial Treaty. Spain has become used to live with Catalans' money, and only independence, or in other words, only the existence of a Catalan State will end with this continued situation of fiscal looting that affects directly our material well being. Without independence is not possible to save our language. And without a Catalan State is not possible to recuperate our history nor it will be taught at our schools. There is no doubt that our best economical and social policies we can achieve start by becoming independent. And we must do it soon.

Next December 13th, not only you will go to vote, you'll be accompanied by the authentic Spirit of Catalonia. On December 13th, you will have the honour of carrying the flame of the memory of all those Catalan who have wished for freedom and the existence of Catalonia. And you will have at your hands the responsibility of taking the first step, a firm one, to offer a dignified and prosperous future to the next generations of Catalans. When you go to give your voting paper of freedom, I ask you to think for a second. Look at it. Have present and honour, honour all those Catalan patriots, men and women who have preceded us because is their example what will give us the necessary strength and courage to achieve the final victory. If every September 11th, Catalans celebrate the "Day of Resistance", name it as we should, Day of Resistance, make this December 13th of 2009 the beginning of our victory. For all these reasons, I ask you to vote "yes" for dignity of Catalonia and Catalans. Vote yes to our independence. And nobody forget a moment, that Catalans are a nation of winners. If they were not, nowadays, we would not be Catalan. Many thanks.

Josep Castany
Catalunya Acció General Manager
Castellbisbal (Vallès Occidental, Catalonia), November 27th, 2009

With the independence of Catalonia, Catalans will cease to exist as a regional product, to integrate ourselves among the States of the European Union, and at the same time, the whole Continent will witness the dismantlement of this Franco-Spanish colonial remora that has nowadays nobody to grief of.

Nobody doubt it. This wave of polls unleashed after the pioneer gesture of the people of Arenys de Munt are not only a simple poll: they are the beginning of the Independence of Catalonia.

It must be why. It is normal to hear voices that minimize the effects derivable from the plebiscites among those who are eager to deride and despise the new political paradigm to which Spain and France will face. These are the tentatives by who wanted to perpetuate, eternally, the situation of political dependence and the economic looting to which Catalonia is object. Definitely, it is not the bombs but the ballot boxes what causes real concern to Spain and France. These two States, with their opposition to Catalan votes are the live portrait of antidemocracy.

When Catalunya Acció gave unconditional support to the heroes of Arenys de Munt, the pioneers of the polls, we knew that were giving support to men whose gesture incarnated the courage that is needed for a Nation to build itself. Because they were the gestures that regenerate politics and exemplify the essential winning mentality to start a secession process.

The times of political ambiguity, euphemisms, playing word games and snake enchanters are over. The plebiscites for independence will promote a clear positioning between those in favour of the "yes" and those in favour of the "no". Is there anything healthier than to know who is in favour of Catalonia and who is against it?

History of Catalonia will remember the names of their heroes and also their detractors. But nobody doubt about it, from the moment Catalonia recuperates its State, its people will build a monument dedicated to those men who, with their attitude and morale of victory, deserve to enter in the altar that every country's History reserves only to their National heroes.

At the moment, a place in Arenys de Munt needs to be reserved.

Albert Ubach
Member of Catalunya Acció

Ninety-one years ago, November 11th 1918, in a train carriage in the Compiègne Forest, the Armistice between France and Germany was signed. Curiously, the place is not far from where the War had begun four years before. The signature of the Armistice meant the end of the hostilities in the Western Front and was signed by Marshall Foch, the Allied Commander-in-Chief, and Matthias Erzberger, representative for Germany.

The treaty observed the end of warfare in all remaining fronts at 11:00 hours of that day, hence the saying "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month", although the definitive peace between the Allies and Germany was not signed until a year later in Versailles, Paris. The Armistice established a monthly self-renewal clause unless Germany resumed hostilities, to which the Allies would respond in 48 hours.

Here is the account by Col. Gowenlock, who served as an intelligence officer for the US Army, and was at the front line that very same day.

"On the morning of November 11 I sat in my dugout in Le Gros Faux, which was again our division headquarters, talking to our Chief of Staff, Colonel John Greely, and Lieutenant Colonel Paul Peabody, our G-1. A signal corps officer entered and handed us the following message:

Official Radio from Paris - 6:01 A.M., Nov. 11, 1918. Marshal Foch to the Commander-in-Chief. 1. Hostilities will be stopped on the entire front beginning at 11 o'clock, November 11th (French hour). 2. The Allied troops will not go beyond the line reached at that hour on that date until further orders.

[signed]            MARSHAL FOCH    5:45 A.M.

Although Spain had remained neutral, there were Catalan volunteers fighting in the French Foreign Legion. The exact numbers are still uncertain. It had been speculated with figures between 10 and 20 thousand volunteers but following investigations by David Martinez i Fiol, who searched through Joan Soler i Pla's studies and French Foreign Legion archives, rather obscure and confusing, and concluded the real figure was 954 volunteers, including 48 Northern Catalans from Rosselló. Such discrepancy in the numbers would be caused by the Catalan nationalists willing to appear important, the conception that only anti-Catalan nationalists would negate the figures and the cruel death toll of the Influenza Pandemic of 1918, which was especially increased in Spain. Martinez i Fiol sustains that a mix up in the figures of both, along with more political reasons, had originated the discrepancy.

However meagre the number of volunteers might seem, the political repercussion within Catalonia was very notable. Important nationalist political figures of the time, Domènec Martí i Julià and Antoni Rovira i Virgili, among others, considered that Catalonia ought to have independent political relationships with the rest of the world to become independent from Spain. Even Francesc Cambó, leader of the "Lliga Catalanista" gave this cause some support, quickly withdrawn after taking possession of a Ministry in Madrid. Also, the French victory at the Battle of the Marne, 1914, which stopped the German advance in Europe, leaded by the Northern Catalan Marshal Josep(h) Joffre, made the Allied cause very popular among Catalans from the South of the border.

To help Catalan Volunteers in the Front, it was created the "Comitè de Germanor dels Voluntaris Catalans", supporting committees for the Catalan volunteers in the trenches. They even minted the "medal to the Catalan Volunteers", to be given to Catalan survivors of the War. Several Catalan politicians gave them support, but the death of J. Ferrés-Costa and Camil Campanyà during the Battle of the Somme, in 1916, the two more popular members of the contingent, frustrated the creation of a solid link among the soldiers and the politicians. The disturbances of the General Strike in Spain, the fall of the Unió Catalanista, the suspension of the Courts by Dato, the death of Martí i Julià and the Russian Revolution, all in 1917, decreased the popular support to the Volunteers too. The Russian Revolution caused the French High Command to be sceptical about the political aspirations of the Catalans, considering they were revolutionaries.

One of the Catalan personalties that took a significant support for the Allies was Francesc Macià. He covered the Battle of Verdun, late 1916, for the newspaper "La Publicidad" and gave the readers a very graphical description of the causes of the conflict, life in the trenches, and the destruction caused by the war. The months that Macià spent in France had great impact in his future political thought, strengthening his nationalism. The future Catalan President, and who proclaimed the Catalan Republic independent from Spain in 1931, returned to Catalonia certainly radicalised from what he had seen in France. Just a few years later, in 1922, Macià created Estat Català, the organization in which modern Catalan support for independence is based on.

In order to never forget who has given their lives in defence of democracy and freedom for Catalonia, to recognise the significance of a war that caused around 15 million dead and 21 million wounded, let this article be a small homage from Catalunya Acció to all who gave everything in "the war to end all wars".

Jordi Margalef i Turull
Catalunya Acció UK

The Treaty of the Pyrenees -or Peace of the Pyrenees- was signed on November 7, 1659, by the representatives of Philippe IV of Castile and III of Aragon, Luis de Haro and Pedro Coloma, and the representatives of Luis XIV of France, Cardinal Mazzarin and Hugues de Lionne, on the Pheasants Island (Bidasoa River, at the limits of the Northern Basque country), and ended the conflict of the Thirty Years War.  One of the consequences of this Treaty was the transfer of the county of Rousillon and part of the Cerdanya to France.

Philip IV negotiated this Treaty without consultation to the Catalan Court nor the affected.  In fact, he hid it from them, and did not officially inform Catalan institutions until the Courts in 1702.  The affected territories conspired for years to reunite again with the Principality, and the Catalan authorities resisted to accept partition, that was not effective until 1720.

The Catalan territory was divided against the will of the Catalan institutions, against the Oath for the Islands, from which the territories of the former Kingdom of Majorca could not be separated from the territories of the Crown of Aragon, by the will of the Hispanic monarchy to hand over the territories of the North of Catalonia in exchange for keeping the possessions in Flanders.  Differently from Gibraltar or Minorca, handed over to England in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht, not one Spanish government has reclaimed the devolution of the Northern Catalan territories handed over in the Treaty of the Pyrenees.  Usually this Treaty is considered a part of the Treaties of Westphalia, from which it is considered a consequence.

Background

France entered the Thirty Years War after the Spanish victories against the revolted Dutch, in 1620, and against the Swedish at Nördlingen in 1634.  In 1640, France started interfering in the Spanish politics, positioning in favour of Catalonia during the Reaper's War, while Spain gave them support during the Fronde in 1648.  In the negotiations of the Peace of Westphalia, in 1648, France won the territories of the Alsace and Lorena and cut the access of Spain to Holland from Austria.  This caused the War between Spain and France.  After 10 years, France –allied to England- won the battle of the Dunes, in 1658, and peace was signed in 1659.

The negotiations

During the negotiations to delimit the border, Luis de Haro, Philip IV's representative, tried to preserve the counties of the Rousillon and Cerdanya for the Crown.  French negotiators presented a line for the border very favourable to their interests, while the Castilian representatives, ignoring the characteristics and customs of these territories and the illegality of the separation -Oath for the Islands-, preferred to defend the positions in Flanders before keeping territorial unity in The Principality.
 
The fact that the skilful negotiators chosen by Louis XIV, Cardinal Jules Mazzarin,  Pèire de Marca, Plessis de Besançon and Ramon Trobat had great knowledge of the land and history of Catalonia, unlike the negotiators chosen by the Spanish monarch, while holding the talks behind the Catalan government backs, had a very negative influence in the results of the Treaty for Spain. Mazzarin defended, as indicates in a letter still kept, speaking about Monts, “j'ay fait expliquer que ce sont ceux qui separent de toutte ancianneté des Gaules d'avec les Espagnes”, “… the Pyrenees separated the Gaul from Spain since ancient times”, skilful historical vaguish that fed Spanish vanity, keen on building her own History, but that created to successive problems of definition that had to be resolved in successive Treaties.

The Treaty that established that, from the County of Cerdanya, thirty-three towns had to be handed over to France. These were defined in 1660, at the Conference of Ceret and at the definitive Treaty of Llívia, under which the new border between the territories of the two crowns was drawn and were the Philip IV’s representatives got to retain Llívia with the argument that it was a “village” and not a “town” –see the note about Llívia and the extract of the text.

In total, French crown won the territories of the County of Rosselló –that included the Vallespir, Conflent and Capcir- and half of the Cerdanya; Artois, Luxembourg and Flanders. The border with the Spanish crown was fixed following the Pyrenees only in part, except the “village” of Llívia. If the line of the Pyrenees had to be followed, by the Corberes, all the Northern Catalonia had not passed to France. In return, the French returned the Charolais and the conquests of Italy to Spain.

The Treaty previewed the marriage between Louis XIV of France and Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter to Philip IV of Castile. Maria Theresa had to renounce to her successor rights to the Spanish throne, in exchange for an economical compensation that had to form part of the dowry. This compensation was never paid and was one of the factors that concluded in the Spanish Succession War, 1702.

Consequences to Catalonia

Catalonia was a very important piece in the chequer of the international politics since the Reaper’s War. She has demonstrated largely her capacity to destabilize Spanish monarchy. Catalonia had the disgrace to be the hinge between the two great powers of the time.

The territories of the Northern Catalonia annexed to France with the Treaty (Rosselló, Conflent, Vallespir, half Cerdanya and Capcir) have reminded under French dominie since then.

The Treaty included to preserve all Catalan institutions Northern from the Pyrenees, but this part was not respected by the French King Louis XIV –the simple-. A year later from the signature, Catalan institutions were dissolved –Generalitat, consulates, etc- despite the Treaty said to conserve them.

A Royal Decree, on April 2nd 1700, to be applied from May 1st of that year, prohibited the use of Catalan language in official acts of any kind. From then, French is still the only official language and the only one that is being used in the public education. Recently, France has modified her Constitution, including in the 2nd article “la langue de la République est le français”, the language of the Republic is French. This article is often used to negate grants or to refuse the presence of the Catalan language in the bureaucracy.

After the Treaty of the Pyrenees, there are the following years of war: 1667-68, 1673-78, 1680-84, 1689-97. In all those periods, the Treaty of the Pyrenees has no effect. The very Cerdanya passed from one hand to the other in numerous occasions. There, the Church border did not coincide with the real border until 1802. Thirty-three towns of French Cerdanya still belonged to the Bishop of Urgell.

The nearest weekend to November 7th has become, every year, the date chosen for Catalans to demonstrate in Perpinyà, in favour of Catalonia and the Catalan language.

Extract

“Having convened within the negotiation that began in Madrid in 1656, about the foundation of which is this Treaty, that the Pyrenees mountains, that commonly have always been held by division between the Spains and the Gauls, were from here and always the division of the same kingdoms too”.

Article 42:

“Has been convened and accorded that the Mr King Chr will remain possessing and will effectively enjoy all the County and vegueries of the Roussillon, and the County and vegueria of Conflent, and that to Mr Catholic King has to remain the County of Cerdanya and all the Principality of Cataloina […]; well understood that if there were places of such County of Conflent only, not Roussillon, that would be found to be within such mount Pyrenees, in the Spanish part, would remain to the Catholic Majesty; as well as if there are places and the vegueria of Cerdanya only, that would be within said mountains, will remain to Majesty chris”.