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Latest update: 11/07/2010
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One million march to support statute on Catalan autonomy
More than a million people marched on Saturday in support of a statute of autonomy for the Catalan region after it was challenged by a Spanish court. The statute gives the region more power in tax and judicial matters as well as immigration.
AFP - More than a million people on Saturday marched in northeastern Spain in support of the Catalan region's statute of autonomy, after it was challenged by a constitutional court.
The statute, which was earlier approved by the Spanish parliament and endorsed by Catalan voters in a 2006 referendum, gave the regional parliament enhanced powers in taxation and judicial matters as well as more control over airports, ports and immigration.
Police put the number of demonstrators at 1.1 million.
A vast column of protesters was preceded by a huge Catalan flag with the slogan "we are a nation, we decide ourselves" while thousands of red and yellow Catalan banners were visible among the huge crowd.
"This demonstration is the start of independence that we want for our country (Catalonia)" one student told AFP.
The protest was staged hours after the confirmation by Spain's Constitutional Court of the June 28 ruling which removed important parts of the new statute of autonomy.
The ruling, published on Friday, stated that the term "nation" defining Catalonia in the statute had no legal value because "the constitution only knows one nation, Spain."
The court in June approved most of Catalonia's statute of autonomy but changed some of the most controversial points, drawing the ire of the government of the nationalist-minded region.
The statute has the support of the vast majority of political parties in Catalonia, where a sizeable minority would like to see the wealthy region, which has its own language and distinct culture, break away from Spain.
The statute was one of the first initiatives of the Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, which took office in 2004.
It was approved by the parliament in Madrid in 2006 and endorsed by Catalan voters in a referendum.
Catalonia is home to around seven million of Spain's population of some 47 million, and accounts for 25 percent of its gross domestic product.
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Freedom For Catalonia
Trop, c’est trop. Nous avons tout essayé avec les Espagnols, toujours en des termes pacifiques et démocratiques. Nous avons essayé d’expliquer ce que nous voulons, ce que nous sentons. Mais ils veulent seulement nous assujettir, nous soumettre, nous imposer leur Diktats. Ils nous insultent, méprisent notre identité et notre langue catalane, précieuse pour nous. Nous sommes la dernière colonie de l’Espagne, qui ne veut qu’exploiter notre pays, ils veulent juste être surs que nous payons et que nous la fermons. Je ne me sens pas du tout représentée par les lois ou les Cours de ‘justice’ espagnoles, par les média espagnols, par l’équipe nationale de foot espagnole (laquelle, de fait, chacun peut s’ en apercevoir, n’est que le Barça portant un maillot espagnol pour l’occasion), je ne me sens représentée par rien d’espagnol. Et je n’ai nullement plus envie de continuer a tortiller ou à me quereller avec les Espagnols pour quelque affaire que ce soit : Je veux juste l’indépendance pour mon pays et le plus tôt ce sera le mieux. Je veux que la Catalogne soit membre à part entière de l’UE en tant que nation souveraine, puisque nous remplissons toutes les conditions pour y adhérer. Je veux que mon pays puisse participer officiellement dans n’importe quelle compétition sportive internationale. Je veux que ma langue ne soit plus exclue des institutions internationales. Je veux que mon pays récupère enfin ses libertés nationales, désastreusement perdues en 1714. Vive la Catalogne libre !!
Catalonia is more than that.
Catalonia is more than that. Is a nation with more than a thousand years of history.
independence now !
Nobody called for autonomy, we all were 4 hours shouting "INDEPENDENCE". This night all the catalans with Holland !!
Congratulations Catalonia
Congratulations Catalonia
How many demonstrators?
It would have been great if you had contrasted the demonstrators figure. Assuming that each demonstrator takes up 0,5 square meters, you would have needed 500.000 m2 to host 1.000.000 people. This equals a street 10.000 m long a 50 m wide. Do the fotos prove that? I guess they do not. You ought to look for independent sources, and local police isn't definitely independent, since is subordinated to Barcelona Major, who is a member of the Socialist Party, one of the parties which organized the demonstration.
very good report
very good report
Catalonia Independent
I want Catalonia to be the next independent country in the European Union as soon as possible. We need the respect and support of the Europeans to the decisions of the Catalan people.