Catalan students protest against spanish repression

by iosaf Sun Oct 07, 2007 17:25

Yesterday 6/ x / '07 saw lots of demonstrations globally & quite a few choices for the marcher in the Spanish state. Thousands walked globally to remind the Myanmar military that switching off the internet didn't prevent us from noticing their barbarism.

By far the most important mobilisation in the Spanish state was that of the housing group "V" or "V de vivienda" (= V for housing). They held simultanous demonstrations in Madrid, Barcelona & Donsati in the Basque country to reject as paltry & ineffective tax relief options & tiny grants to young people belatedly offered by the Zaptero regime to solve the worst housing crises in Europe.

For their part the Catalan independence interests also mobilised to revindicate their liberty of expression & instead of burning copies of the usual photograph of the King which sits in their post office and hampers their conscience when sending mail or collecting correspondence to their postal box - decided to burn photocopied pictures of the many comedian mimics & comedic interpretors of the King. Of course the legal eagles amongst us would say that is still a symbolic attack on the crown. But some people in CUP think their unstoppable increase of votes will be served more by the lighter & zippo fluid than dressing up in silly clothes & a Mc Donald's or Burger King party hat.

aye - the wisdom.

Now a word to those who might think Spain is going to open revolution & civil war.

Or that their favourite weekend holiday destination & favourite location to buy a get-away property & thus ensure yet another pair of young fertile locals stay at home with their parents along with their siblings is getting to hot to visit without a short wave radio.

We do this every October. I had almost forgotten one of the little details of local cultural life which more than bemused me, actually stunned me into a brain fever when I first settled down to life here. A little over a week ago, it was Dunk a contributor to indymedia Ireland things who himself is settling here who reminded me of it. "everyone really goes on holiday & all the campaigns stop !?!? said he, obviously bemused that from July to September the revolution stops. Aye, that's the way of it, I assured him. We'll all be firey & passionate by mid October .

& therein I suppose is the wonder amongst many other things of the CNT/FAI van which waited to bring volunteers of the anarchist collectives to the front in the civil war, so they could stand in trenches & take up positions without ammunition & do nothing more military than shout "fascist!!" at the corresponding lines of Franco's troops on the other side.., In a while they got bored of it & as soon as the assembly could make a decision, off they trundled home - if there was still petrol. I believe it was to this inefficiency which is often forgotten as a counterpoint to the horror, massacres and barbarism of the Civil war & what came later, that Orwell alluded to when he mused that he only survived the war because the Spanish fascists were such terrible marksmen. I often thought in my cynicism which covers realism derived from observation of humanity that if neither the nazi's or Mussolini or Stalin & the international brigades had bothered taking an interest - & it had been left to the Spanish, Catalan & Basque to do their way - the whole civil war would have petered out by the first summer. At end possibly the foreigner with their good or bad will & lack of respect for the forgetfulness induced by a regular siesta of three hours and a long summer of doing nothing in particular, are the source of all the Iberians' problems.

;-)
so stop buying flats & houses here.

by auld wan is forgetful Sat Oct 06, 2007 09:38

your link in the English language.

http://www.eitb24.com/new/en/B24_69344/politics/HISTORI...f-in/

by auld wan Sat Oct 06, 2007 09:36

EiTB the Basque TV channel reports in English on the first "monographic plenary in the State about the victims" [of terror]. Needless to say the AVT (right wing dominated supposed victims of ETA have boycotted the event - for indeed they'd prefer more victims). It will be remember that Batasuna blamed the PNV (majority nationalists) equally with the PSOE (of Zapatero) for the end of the ceasefire, their arrests & well everything generally.

You can't declare war all the time. You can't declare peace all the time either. You can't talk about genuine dialogue all the time either. Sooner or later you've got to tackle a bit of honesty. Nobody can say if this plenary will be honesty, or even the magic word "r-e-c-o-n-c-i-l-i-a-t-i-o-n". But then again, if nobody has done it before or decides to try it again & improve on it - - - - - -

non-banking days.

by linker Fri Oct 05, 2007 11:49

"...Posters calling for demonstrations tonight have appeared in Basque villages and the Basque newspaper, Gara, which sympathises with Batasuna, called the arrests 'a declaration of war'...."

Indymedia Euskal Herria / IMC-BASQUE : Democracia a la española: toda la cúpula de Batasuna arrestada por orden de Garzón
http://euskalherria.indymedia.org/eu/2007/10/42163.shtml

IRISH TIMES: Spanish police arrest Basque leaders
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/1005/bre...0.htm

RTE: Call for protests after Batasuna arrests
http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1005/spain.html

by hmmmmmmmmmm Thu Oct 04, 2007 23:34

22 of them. all the joseba's too.

REpublicanism in the Spanish state may generally be thought to be msot developed in two nationalist traditions - that of the Catalan or Katalalalalander & that of the Basque or Euskal Herria. The political room for republicanism as professed by pan-Spanish-state marxists & socialists of the IU and ICV-EU has been a bit reticent since a bomb in the Barcelona office of the ICV-EU.
Thus the debate which is most valuable to either Basque or Catalan on the legitimacy of the crowns of either Navarra or Aragon aint starting. Without that debate which defines territorial aspirations beyond the mere remit of linguistic matters (euskera in the basque not navarra) or (catalan in catalunya but less so in valencia...) & thus pins independence republican hopes on a map with vague historical arguments.
Of course you won't get far explaining that to lots of people. They presume independence for their country or wish-state has to be a republic. Not for them an independent Scotland with the same British monarchy. This is because their historical & social background had no Arthur Griffith.
Republicanism for "Spain" &/or the "Spanish state" may thus be seen to often be quite different concepts naturally inimical to the republican wishlists of "paisos catalanes" or "euskal herria". Yet it might be time, now that everyone has had squawk is still squawking in both Catalunya and España about the King's photos to raise the all too often unheard taboo.

The King & thus the crown were instituted by Franco who came to power in a coup d'etat. The current King was named as heir to the crown in the 1960's some 30 years after the republican leadership of Catalonia were imprisoned by the Spanish republican state for declaring their "republic in a republic". Jayzhus you must say. I always though there was a universal common ground between republicans & they all wanted the same thing & stood in solidarity. Quite so, say I. You should become an anarchist instead. We've got it much easier. We just want to overthrow all states, all kings & queens, shapeshifting iguanas and cute hoor biz types & won't give a gonad what language you speak.

"welcome to the independent republic of your house" [ IKEA's slogan in the Spanish state ]

by Asier Thu Oct 04, 2007 18:39

This photo is not in Barcelona,is in Madrid near the national audience(spanish special tribunal).
There are the friend of the imputed of injuried to the king.

Freedom fot Catalonia
Freedom for the Basque Country!