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Extreme-right organisation sues President of main pro-independence grass-roots organisation

August 21, 2014 07:13 PM | ACN

Manos Limpias, an extreme-right and Spanish nationalist trade union, will file a judicial complaint against Carme Forcadell, President of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), the grass-roots NGO that is organising the main campaign for independence from Spain. The far-right organisation will sue Forcadell for "provoking sedition", as they consider she is "the driving force" and "the leader of Catalan civil society", and the main promoter of "a road map" towards independence. In addition, Manos Limpias' Secretary General, Miguel Bernad, said they have "data" showing that "the consultation vote will take place" on the 9th of November, even if the Spanish authorities ban it. The extreme-right organisation does not rule out the possibility of presenting similar complaints against the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, and the President of the left-wing independence party ERC, Oriol Junqueras.

The 3rd massive Catalan independence demonstration will be backed by events abroad

August 1, 2014 09:04 PM | ACN / Neringa Sinkeviciute

The Catalan National Assembly, a grass-roots organisation, and Òmnium Cultural, a non-profit association promoting Catalan culture, are behind the massive independence demonstrations of 2012, 2013 and 2014, and in July they presented their new campaign 'Now it's time, united for a new country'. They aimed to mobilize the Catalan people for the self-determination vote scheduled on November the 9th. There will be events throughout Catalonia and abroad during the 2 months before Catalonia’s National Day (September the 11th). On that day, a massive demonstration in the shape of a giant V, for 'Votar' (To Vote) and 'Victòria' (Victory), will take place in Barcelona, which is expected to become the largest rally in the Catalonia's history. In addition, more than 30 ANC groups abroad are organising a worldwide campaign #votecatalonia. The political marketing firm Blue State Digital, which managed Obama's digital campaigns, is involved in the initiative.

3,000 organisations to send Rajoy a letter asking him not to block "the legal" self-determination vote

July 18, 2014 08:44 PM | ACN

Catalonia's National Alliance for Self-determination, which brings together some 3,000 entities including political parties, local governments, trade unions, employer associations, Chambers of commerce and NGOs, held on Friday its 3rd meeting. The Alliance decided to send the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, a letter to ask him not to block the self-determination vote scheduled for the 9th of November, which would be organised under the Catalan legal framework. The document will highlight that the Constitutional Court stated that it did not have powers to solve issues arising from a part of Spain wanting to modify its political status and that "public powers, particularly the territorial ones" are those who have to solve it "through dialogue and cooperation". The letter will be sent in the coming days, ahead of the meeting between Rajoy and the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas. In this meeting, Mas will discuss this vote but also the institutional and social issues in Catalonia.

Catalan institutions launch a website to explain the self-determination process abroad

April 23, 2014 12:37 PM | ACN

CataloniaVotes.eu is a new website set up to present the independence referendum, related news, a chronology of the last few years and facts about Catalan society, culture and economy to a foreign audience. The new webpage is in English, French and German and will also follow the day-to-day evolution of the referendum process, a consultation vote scheduled for the 9th November. It has been launched by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (Diplocat), an organisation backed by the Catalan Government, the four Provincial Councils, universities, chambers of commerce, the main business-owner associations, trade unions, FC Barcelona and other public and private institutions.

Catalonia is not "a sovereign political and legal subject" states the Constitutional Court

March 25, 2014 10:15 PM | ACN

Spain's Constitutional Court has reached a unanimous decision against the Catalan Parliament's 'Declaration of Sovereignty', approved in January 2013 and appealed by the Spanish Government. In May 2013 the Constitutional Court put the Declaration on hold, temporarily stopping its implementation while it was reaching a definitive decision, which has happened this Tuesday evening. In the end the Court has declared the first part of the text, which stated that "the people of Catalonia is, for reasons of democratic legitimacy, a sovereign political and legal subject", "unconstitutional and void". However, it adds that the people of Catalonia have "the right to decide" but not "to self-determination", and it points out that the Constitution can be reformed. After months of internal debate and previous failed attempts to reach a consensus, the decision arrived a few hours after the Catalan Parliament had approved a motion to disqualify 3 of the 12 members of the Constitutional Court of not being impartial on this issue.

Extreme-right group Manos Limpias fuels a judicial battle against Catalonia's self-determination

March 25, 2014 10:05 PM | ACN

The far right trade union Manos Limpias has filed a complaint against the citizen association that organised the two massive independence demonstrations on the 11th September 2012 and 2013: the National Assembly of Catalonia (ANC). On Monday evening the Spanish nationalist organisation accused the ANC of fostering "insurrection" for having issued a road map proposing to declare independence on the 23rd April 2015 if the Spanish Government did not allow a self-determination vote. Furthermore, in February the extreme-right group had filed a first complaint against the Catalan President, Artur Mas, for "sedition" and "rebellion". On Tuesday, after a preliminary analysis, Catalonia's Supreme Court (TSJC) dismissed the complaint, emphasising the political nature of Mas' statements and actions. Manos Limpias announced that it will appeal the decision, saying that the TSJC is "contaminated" by Catalan nationalism.

Employer’s association and civil society organisation present a manifesto on the economic viability of a Catalan State

March 7, 2014 04:19 PM | ACN

The President of the employer’s association Cercle Català de Negocis (CCN), Albert Pont, and the Coordinator of the economic division of the Catalan National Assembly for independence (ANC), David Ros, presented on Monday a manifesto defending the economic viability of a Catalan State. The heads of the ANC and the CCN have called on professionals in the economic sphere to sign the document since independence “is viable, and from an economic point of view, desirable”. Both Pont and Ros have also emphasised that the self-determination process is not harming the Catalan economy, quite the contrary, as revealed by the latest figures for exports and foreign investments.

National Alliance for Self-Determination agrees to focus on ensuring that Catalans can vote

February 19, 2014 10:09 PM | ACN

The second meeting of the so-called National Alliance for the Right to Self-Determination of Catalonia (Pacte Nacional pel Dret a Decidir) has agreed to focus their efforts on making it possible for Catalans to vote on their own collective future. More than 1,500 organisations are part of this Alliance, including institutions, political parties, trade unions, business organisations, professional associations, NGOs, cultural organisations and political pressure groups. Not all the participating organisations back independence from Spain, but they all fully support Catalonia’s right to decide on its future as nation. In the last few months, many organisations have joined the Alliance, which had its first meeting in June. On Wednesday they analysed the current situation and have agreed to campaign for the right to hold a free and democratic self-determination vote, putting specific ideologies aside.

Grassroots platform collects signatures for Catalonia’s independence

January 13, 2014 07:50 PM | ACN

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC), the grassroots organisation that organised the two massive demonstrations for Catalonia’s independence in 2012 and 2013, is working on another initiative to allow Catalan citizens to hold a self-determination vote. This past weekend it installed 700 stands throughout Catalonia with 3,000 attorneys-in-fact to collect signatures for an independence referendum and, if this is deemed impossible, the unilateral declaration of independence, in accordance with international law. The ‘Sign a Vote for Independence’ initiative started last June and will continue during the upcoming months, but on Saturday and Sunday, a special push was given to boost the process. The ANC said the massive signature collecting had been “a success”. Figures will be provided next week although the campaign is still ongoing.