omnium cultural

Guardia Civil operation on October 1 vote underway, with raids of government offices and HQ of pro-independence civic organization

Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart were sent to prison on October 16, and various towns throughout Catalonia have held demonstrations to demand their release

In a published letter the civil society leader, incarcerated since October, urges “free, peaceful, and democratic” decisions

We answer all your questions about tomorrow's protest in the Belgian capital

Christmas lights were also inaugurated with doves and hearts in honor of terror attack victims

The demonstrations rejected the possibility of snap elections, denounced implementation of Article 155, and demanded the release of the imprisoned civil society leaders

European politicians spoke out against Spain’s disregard for “democracy and human rights”

Irvine Welsh criticizes EU’s silence on the jailing of grassroots civil society leaders

The Spanish government is politically persecuting the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, warned the two organizations on Tuesday following news that they have been fined an additional €90,000. The Spanish Data Protection Agency is asking them to pay this fine for having a non-operative database in the United States while a new international protocol for data stored in this country was being drafted. The fine comes after the Spanish authorities levied a €240,000 fine against each of these two organizations, widely known in Catalonia for their work organizing huge demonstrations in favor of independence. The ANC and Òmnium say that they are being financially strangled simply because they promote the organization of an independence referendum.

Representatives from several pro-independence civil society organisations joined Parliament President, Carme Forcadell, on her way to the Court. Forcadell testified this Friday for having allowed a democratic debate on Catalonia’s independence in the Catalan Chamber on the 27th of July. Pro-independence grass-roots organisations the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Òmnium Cultural, the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) and the Catalan Association of Municipalities (ACM) highlighted the wide support for the representative. Indeed, the President of AMI, Neus Lloveras, said that the backing for Forcadell was a “demonstration of the unity and strength” of the pro-independence movement in Catalonia. The president of the ANC, Jordi Sànchez, deemed Forcadell’s prosecution “absolutely unjustified” and the president of Òmnium, Jordi Cuixart, said Catalonia is facing “a critical hour” and has to show “unity and firmness”.

The Catalan Government paid tribute last Sunday to the 309 victims and their families that have been recognised as victims of Franco’s regime since 2009, the last time such a ceremony took place. During the event, which took place in Universitat de Barcelona’s auditorium, the Catalan Minister for Foreign Affairs, Raül Romeva compared “with due respect to the obvious differences” the justice of Franco’s dictatorship and that of the current Spanish State. “Today there are still echoes of the Francoist melody” he said, referring to the “interference of the Spanish Government in the judicial system”. Moreover, Romeva stated that despite having overcome the Francoist dictatorship, which reigned in Spain from 1939 until the dictator’s death in 1975, it still has to be proved whether Spain’s democracy “is worthy of the name”.

The main pro-independence associations in Catalonia, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Òmnium Cultural and the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) have organised a rally this Sunday the 13^th of November to protest against the judicialisation of politics. “It is time to say we’ve had enough” ANC’s President, Jordi Sánchez, stated earlier this week. According to the organisers, the civil society has repeatedly “shown its strength” through massive pro-independence rallies and now it is time to do it again. One of the most talked-about examples of Spain’s use of the court in order to stop Catalonia’s pro-independence aspirations and the peoples’ right to vote was the summonsing in October last year of former Catalan Artur Mas and former Catalan Ministers, Joana Ortega, Francesc Homs and Irene Rigau for co-organising the 9-N symbolic vote on independence. However, there are more than 400 towns and villages which have cases pending with the Spanish State for different political reasons.

The Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Òmnium Cultural, the Platform Pro Catalan Sports Selections and the group of jurists ‘Drets’ (‘Rights’) will distribute 30,000 Catalan pro-independence flags at the Champions League match between FC Barcelona and Celtic FC taking place this Tuesday at Camp Nou. The initiative comes after UEFA’s €30,000 fine of FC Barcelona for the displaying of these flags during the Champions League final in Berlin last year. According to the Union of European Football Associations, the fine was issued because it officially condemns in Article 16.2 of its Disciplinary Regulations "the use of gestures, words, objects or any other means to transmit any message that is not fit for a sports event, particularly messages that are of a political, ideological, religious, offensive or provocative nature". 

Barcelona; Salt, next to Girona; Berga, in Central Catalonia; Lleida in the West; and Tarragona in the South beat this Sunday afternoon all at once to demand Catalonia’s Independence. At 17:14 (5.14 pm CET) all the demonstrators lifted a yellow card in the shape of a circle symbolising a heartbeat and responded to the motto ‘Go ahead, Catalan Republic’. According to local police up to 900,000 people took part in the five rallies. Among the demonstrators was the Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, who didn’t follow the path of the former president, Artur Mas, and chose to participate in the rally held in Salt. 

This year’s demonstration to celebrate Catalonia’s National Day on the 11^th of September will be held simultaneously in five different cities all over the territory: Barcelona, Salt, Berga, Lleida and Tarragona. Nearly 380,000 people have already registered to take part in some of these events, united under the motto ‘A punt’ (‘We are ready’). According to the organisers,Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, this year’s mobilisation aims to symbolise two things: that Catalonia “is ready to achieve the republic” and that the citizens have already reached “the final stage” of the pro-independence process, the presidents of both the civil society associations explained. In the different places where demonstrators are expected to gather, the same concrete action will have to be carried out at 17:14 – symbolising 1714, the year in which Catalonia was defeated by Bourbon troops and lost its institutions.