Catalans in London “say yes” to independence via street parade

London (CNA).- Catalans living in London gathered together on Saturday and showed their support for independence at a festive street parade organised by ANC England, the British section of the civil society organisation Catalan National Assembly. Nearly 300 people marched along the streets of the British capital, carrying Catalan and pro-independence flags and passing by icons of the city such as St Paul’s Cathedral, Westminster Parliament and the London Eye. The rally was linked to the ‘Via Lliure cap a la República Catalana’ (Gateway to the Catalan Republic), the mass demonstration that the civil society organisations Catalan National Assembly and Òmnium Cultural are organising for this coming Catalan National Day, on the 11^th of September. When the parade arrived at Kennington Park, the demonstrators reproduced what the ‘Via Lliure’ will look like, displaying a mosaic, wearing white t-shirts and carrying arrow pointers that will symbolically point to the Catalan Parliament. Inside the park, Catalan traditional human towers, ‘Castellers’, and ‘Sardanes’, the traditional Catalan dance, were both on display.

During the parade, which went along the Thames, the demonstrators made 10 stops and gave 10 different speeches, according to the 10 concepts that will define ‘Via Lliure’ and that symbolise the key points of a new country: openness to the world, equality, democracy, education and culture, innovation, welfare and social justice, solidarity, diversity, sustainability and regional balance.

Many tourist saw the big crowd carrying Catalan and pro-independence flags and displaying banners with the ‘Catalonia says yes’ motto. The demonstrators took the chance to highlight Catalonia’s situation and the ‘plebiscitary’ nature of the upcoming 27-S elections. “We need to explain our situation to the world” said Lluís Díaz-Guerra, a member of ANC England, “many eyes are upon us now”, he added. Sara, a teacher who has lived in the United Kingdom for ten years felt assured “no matter how far away we are or how long we have been living abroad”, she said, “this is an historic occasion and we want to show our support and commitment to the independence process”. “I’m here today and I’ll be in Barcelona’s ‘Via Lliure’ on the 11^th of September”, said Marc, an engineer also living in the British capital.

Reproducing the ‘Via Lliure’ abroad

The Catalan Street Party wa organised by the ANC England, which is the British branch of the pro-independence civil society organsiatins Catalan National Assembly (ACN). Together with Òmnium Cultural, ANC is the main organiser of the ‘Via Lliure cap a la República Catalana’ (Gateway to the Catalan Republic) rally that is being prepared for Catalonia’s National Day, on the 11^th of September. ANC is organising a ‘Via Lliure’ in 50 cities worldwide.

The ‘Via Lliure’ arrives after three years in a row of historic pro-independence rallies that have gathered more than 1.5 million people each. This time the demonstration will take place along Meridiana Avenue in Barcelona and there are already 360,000 people registered to participate. The rally will make its way along a 5.2-kilometre-stretch, from ‘Parc de la Ciutadella’– where the Catalan Parliament is located – to the outskirts of the Catalan capital, symbolically linking the institution that represents Catalonia's sovereignty with the streets of Barcelona and the rest of the country.

While last year’s V-shape’s demonstrators dressed in red and yellow, symbolising the colours of ‘Senyera’, the Catalan flag, this year’s predominant colour will be white. According to the ‘Via Lliure”, the white colour symbolises a blank page, a book that citizens have to fill with their wishes for the next country that will be Catalonia. Different coloured arrows will be placed all along the avenue, one for each of the ’10 concepts’ of ‘Ara és l’hora’ (‘Now is the time’), the Catalonia National Assembly and Òmnium Cultural’s summer campaign for the Catalan elections scheduled for the 27^th of September.

Once the demonstrators got to Kennington Park, they reproduced the mosaic to be displayed in Barcelona. They wore white t-shirts and placed coloured arrow pointers coloured according to the 10 key concepts that will define the ‘Via Lliure’.

A festive event for everybody

Kennington Park was the final stop of the ‘Catalan Street Party’. There, the demonstrators took part in a picnic with traditional Catalan food organised by Catalans UK, the Catalan Society in London.

Later, the castellers group ‘Castellers of London’ displayed several ‘castells’, the Catalan traditional human towers. The ‘Colla Sardanista de Londres’ also took part in the celebration, dancing ‘Sardanes’, Catalonia’s traditional folk dance.