Tag: Catalonia

NOVANEWS Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist) The Rajoy Government has more than fulfilled its threats, setting in motion all its repressive machinery as soon as the Generalitat de Catalunya formalized its call for a referendum for October 1st. As has been announced, there has not been a formal suspension of Catalan autonomy nor the military intervention contemplated by the Monarchical Constitution. But there is no doubt that the Government has stretched, at its convenience, what the Popular Party (PP) understands by “legality”, imposing a de facto state of emergency and converting the rights formally recognized on paper: This is the Francoist “force of the rule of law,” which is often cited when a political conflict arises. Threatened officials, closed websites, seized publicatio...

NOVANEWS People react to results in Catalonia's regional elections at a gathering of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) in Barcelona, Spain Dec. 21, 2017. | Photo: Reuters Pro-independence parties have won 70 seats to reach an absolute majority, gaining a significant amount of votes compared to the 2015 regional elections.   Catalonia Vote Infogram Catalonia's ousted separatist leader, Carles Puigdemont, has called for fresh talks with Spain following the success of pro-independence parties in Thursday's regional elections. "Catalonia wants to be an independent state; this is the wish of the Catalan people," he said, speaking in Belgium. "I think the plan of [Spanish Prime Minister] Mariano Rajoy is not working, so we have to find new ways to tackle this cr...

NOVANEWS By Andrew Korybko Oriental Review Catalonia’s separatist campaign has dominated European headlines for the past couple of weeks, but it’s really the northern Belgian region of Flanders which will serve as a barometer over whether large chunks of the EU will fall apart into a collection of identity-centric statelets prior to the bloc’s reconstitution into a “federation of regions”. What’s going on in Catalonia is of paramount importance to the geopolitical future of Europe, since it could very well serve as the catalyst for fracturing the EU if copycat movements elsewhere are emboldened by the Spanish region’s possible separatist success. This was explained in detail in the author’s recent analysis about “The Catalan Chain Reaction”, which readers should familiarize t...

NOVANEWS Adelina Marini Emmanuel Macron Put France Back into EU Driver's Seat Juncker's Triumph What Future for EU Budget after Brexit? Photos from Catalonia where the Spanish authorities used excessive force against those willing to participate in an illegal referendum in the autonomous Spanish province caused justified reactions of indignation that such a thing is possible in the European Union. Even more revolting was the silence of the European political elite, with the notable exception of Slovenia Prime Minister Miro Cerar (ALDE), Belgium's Charles Michel (ALDE), the ALDE group leader in the European Parliament Guy Verhofstadt (Belgium) and the leader of the Socialists and Democrats group Gianni Pittella (Italy). In this company was also Lithuania's Foreign Minister Linas Linke...

NOVANEWS By: Sean Bell Esteladas (Catalan separatist flags) are waved as thousands of people gather for a rally on Catalonia's national day 'La Diada' in Barcelona, Spain. | Photo: Reuters. In the face of Spanish authoritarianism, Catalonia deserves our solidarity and support. Sunday’s Catalan independence referendum delivered a landslide victory to supporters of Catalonia’s self-determination, with some 90 percent voting in favor of secession from Spain. Having been denied a spurious legitimacy by the Spanish constitutional court, which declared the vote illegal, democracy in Catalonia has instead found validation through the enactment of history by its people. RELATED: Serbia Accuses EU of Hypocrisy Over Catalan Independence History, stretching back to th...