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THE CATALONIAN BISCUIT

LA GALETA DELS PAÏSOS CATALANS

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News and infomation in English about the Catalan Countries

Per a la llengua, el poble, la terra – i la independència.

In support of the language, the people, the land – and independence

This page is: http://www.estelnet.com/catalunyacymru/catala/galeta_noticies_2003_09_21.htm

Archives of Previous News Pages

1/ More on the attack by neo-Nazis, aided by Castilian paramilitaries, on participants in the annual festival in Castellar del Vallès (see yesterday’s news page 0005)
Another letter today in the Catalan daily “Avui” about the problems of neo-Nazi gangs in Castellar del Vallès. In fact the existence of gangs of neo-Nazi adolescents is a problem in all areas of Castilian immigration, where some of the children and grandchildren of immigrants who have refused to adapt to the country in which they live have formed bands to attack ‘undesirables’ in their estimation – Moroccan and African immigrants, and Catalans (who they consider to be ‘traitors’ to Castile (“Spain”). Catalans quite rightly maintain they are not Castilians, but the neo-Nazis believe themselves to be in Castile, that is, the same country from where their parents or grandparents came.

Oddly enough, their parents or grandparents who came to live in the Catalan Countries do not share this hatred of Catalans, although in most cases they have made no attempt to learn the national language of the Catalan Countries, and like their offspring do not consider that they have moved out of Castile into another country.

Joves nazis a Castellar

Sóc ciutadana de Castellar del Vallès, i des de fa algun temps em fa vergonya ser-ho. Concretament, fa un parell d'anys que tots aquells ciutadans que advoquem per la catalanitat, la democracia o senzillament per tenir un color de pell diferent, ens sentim intimidats i a vegades apallissats per joves d'estètica nazi; Això si, sempre en grup, suposo que son massa covards i insegurs per fer-ho sols. Evidentment no cal dir que la policia fa els ulls grosses (imagino que també tenen por). Ara que ha arribat la festa major, després d'haver de suspendre actes a causa d'aquests indesitjables, el dia 13 de setembre, molts dels ciutadans (gent de totes les edats) ens hem rebel·lat en contra i l'únic que hem aconseguit ha estat ser objecte dels antiavalots i la Guardia Civil: bales de goma han provocat ferits, gasos lacrimògens i persecucions mentre els conflictius eren custodiats per ells. Fins on han d'arribar els neonazis per tal que ens considerin a nosaltres com les víctimes? De fet, com diuen aquests joves feixistes: "la Guardia Civil y nosotros defendemos la misma bandera", i en això els he de donar la raó. Sóc catalana i demòcratica, però a Castellar mes val dir-ho amb veu baixa. :

UNA CIUTADANA Castellar del Vallès

Young nazis in Castellar

I am a woman who is a resident of Castellar del Vallès, and for some time I’ve been ashamed of this fact. To be specific, for a couple of years now all of us residents who believe in the right to live as Catalans, and in democracy, or simply residents who have a different skin colour have felt threatened, and sometimes have been the subject of beatings by young people dressed in Nazi fashion. Precisely that, as they always go around in groups. I suppose they are too cowardly and not brave enough to do it alone. It goes without saying that the police have turned a blind eye (I imagine they too are afraid). Now that the annual festival is with us again, after having had to cancel events because of these undesirables, on the 13^th of September, many residents, of all ages have shown our opposition to them and the only thing which resulted from this was that we became the targets of the riot squad and the Civil Guard (= Castilian paramilitaries): rubber bullets which caused injuries, tear gas, and running fights while they protected the troublemakers. How far do the neo-Nazis have to go before we are considered to be victims? In fact, as these young fascists say, "la Guardia Civil y nosotros defendemos la misma bandera" (Castilian = “the Civil Guard and us defend the same flag”), and in that respect I must say they are right. I am a woman who is Catalan and a democrat, but at Castellar it is advisable not to say this out loud.

A RESIDENT of Castellar del Vallès

2/ An interview with Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira, Secretary General of ERC (Esquerra Republicà de Catalunya – The Republican Left Party of Catalonia)
In today’s edition of Avui there is an interview by Albert Sáez and Pere Martí with Mr. Carod-Rovira in which he speaks of the election campaign for the Generalitat de Catalunya (the Parliament of the the Autonomous Region of Catalunya, which is about a third of the total area of the Catalan Countries) .

Some of his comments are that CiU (Convergència i Unió – a right-wing Catalan regionalist party) and PSC (Partit Socialista de Catalunya – a left-wing pro-Castilian party, a regional branch of on the Castilian Socialist Party PSOE) “represent the old, resigned Catalonia”. (that is, resigned to accept things as they are)

“We have to overcome the provincial mindset where we make demands which don’t go any further than what Madrid (the Castilian government) is prepared to accept”

One of Carod-Rovira’s proposals has been the creation of a government of national unity after the elections on the 16^th of November. Most of the parties in Catalunya are in broad agreement on the need for a new Statue of Autonomy – apart fron PPC, the Catalunya branch of the far-right Castilian party, Partido Popular. His argument is that instead of each party presenting its own version of a Statute, and thinking merely along party political lines, in the face of the present onslaught on a number of fronts against Catalonian interests by the ruling Partido Popular in Castile (attacks which are supported slavishly by the Castilian Socialist Party) the parties in the autonomous region of Catalunya should overcome their differences and act for the benefit of Catalunya.

The two biggest parties insist on knowing who ERC will form a pact with after the elections. ERC is expected to do exceptionally well, perhaps winning 15% of the vote compared with 8.7% in the last national elections in Catalunya in 1999, and winning 10 more seats to add to its present 12. CiU, once far ahead of the Socialists, is now more or less at the same level (both expect to win about 46 / 47 / 48 seats each). In fact, the Socialists gained more votes than CiU in 1999, but the distribution of seats favoured CiU who were able to govern with the aid of the far-right Partit Popular.

Since ERC is likely to hold the balance of power this time around, the Socialists are appealing for ERC’s support as a left-wing party; and CiU are demanding its support since ERC is also a nationalist party. But ERC maintains that it is not beholden to anybody, and will announce its post-electoral strategy at the appropriate time – after the election!

The full interview is available in Catalan on the Avui website

3/ The current affairs programme ‘30 minuts’ on TV3 will show the second part of the report “Amb dret a la llengua” (= having the right to speak our own language”)

This second part will show the difficulties facing young Catalan speakers – cinemas refuse to show films dubbed into Catalan, and will only distribute films in Castilian. Mobile phone companies (apart from Siemen) refuse to include Catalan in the list of available languages. Most commercial companies, even those of Catalan origin, refuse to use the language on their products, though in some cases as well as Castilian they will include many other foreign languages. Although Catalan is (supposedly) the language of the education system, and so all children educated in Catalunya should be able to speak Catalan, in the Castilian ghettos the school is the only place where Catalan has any presence. The language is not used at all by the immigrants and their descendents. Catalan-language radio and TV is ignored by about 70% of the population of Catalunya.

The only true bilinguals in Catalunya are the Catalans – the immigrants educated in Catalunya refuse to speak in Catalan, and expect Catalans to defer to them and use Castilian. Which the Catalans do without thinking of the consequences of doing this, (and without ever considering why they have been obliged to have a thorough knowledge of the language of Castile in the first place – though this is not mentioned in the programme, as the imposition of Castilian on the Catalans is usually never questioned; and if it is, usually the ability to speak Castilian is thought to be of immense benefit to the Catalans by the Catalans themselves).

A few Castilian speakers who accept that they have been brought up in Catalunya, and are not immigrants like their parents or grandparents, have formed an association Veu Pròpia (“Our Own Voice”) which seeks to promote Catalan as the language of social interaction, whatever the home language is. The programme will look briefly at this organisation.

END OF PAGE

Last Updated: 2003-09-21