As Scotland decides it’s future, other countries are also seeking their independence. READ: bit.ly/1qMD4T7 Andrew Jehring writes: In the UK, the Scottish independence referendum is reaching its knife-edged finale after months of loud and passionate debate. Whichever way it goes (YesScotland or Better Together), there will be groups around the world envious of a situation where the independence question can dominate a country’s consciousness and be voted on in a democratic referendum. While the Scots prepare to do battle at the ballot box, others are struggling to get their voices heard or are fighting for their cultural survival. Ahead of the Scottish vote, I talked to experts and leaders from around the world – Catalonia, Western Sahara, Quebec, Iraqi Kurdistan and Puerto Rico – to find out about their fight to declare independence. CATALONIA: Perhaps the only independence movement to rival Scotland for publicity in recent years, the Catalonians have been formally fighting for independence for almost a century. “The Catalan independence movement is not against anyone, not against any country or any language,” says Ramon Tremosa, a politician with the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia party. “We respect Spain and other countries, but we also want to be respected within the Spanish state and we are not. That is why we want to decide our future peacefully and democratically at the ballot box.” Ricard Gené, International Coordinator of the Catalan National Assembly, is also pushing for independence. “As a national minority within Spain whose constitutional right to political autonomy has been historically constantly denied and is currently being seriously undermined by Spanish governments, the Catalan struggle is now about securing the only status that can preserve Catalan identity and political autonomy in an interdependent world: having our own sovereign state within Europe,” he explains. The movement enjoys widespread popularity in the region, but many Catalonians see themselves as equally Catalonian and Spanish, and the fact that the popularity of the movement soared following the Eurozone crisis seems to indicate there are many factors (economics, employment…) at play. “Most Catalans see the project not only as the only chance to keep the Catalan language and culture,” argues Tremosa, “but also as an opportunity to live better in relation to the financial resources generated in Catalonia.” Gené and Tremosa stress that the movement needs to first confirm they have a majority through their referendum on November 9 this year before taking further steps. However, with the Spanish government having already branded this referendum illegal, this is far from a straightforward march to independence. WESTERN SAHARA: To the south of Morocco, in the region of Maghreb, lies the disputed territory of Western Sahara where there’s been a bitter independence struggle for almost 40 years, frequently manifested in open conflict. “It’s a traditional fight for freedom and independence and the last case of decolonisation in Africa,” explains M Limam Mohamed Ali, representative of Frente Polisario in the UK. “Western Sahara was a Spanish colony until 1976 when it was unlawfully divided between Morocco and Mauritania. Internal Sahrawi resistance forced Mauritania out, but Morocco maintained its occupation. Despite a 1991 ceasefire and agreement to hold a referendum, the vote has never been held and Morocco is still in control of Western Sahara.” The movement has enjoyed some success, particularly Western Sahara’s recognition as a state in exile by many countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia. Ali argues that there has been “important progress in education, health and emancipation for women” despite the exile. But with two thirds of the territory remaining under Moroccan control and all attempts at gaining a referendum to date having collapsed, many are bitterly frustrated. Ali points to the “intransigence of the Moroccan regime and the unconditional support it has received from several Western countries, most notably France,” as holding back the cause. “Big powers such as France keep supporting Morocco in this colonial adventure to defend their own geostrategic and economic agenda in North Africa.” Though the UN brokered a ceasefire in 1991 that stands to this day, there has been no progress beyond this. “The referendum in Scotland has taken a few years to organise,” Ali says, “but in Western Sahara the Saharawi have waited more than 23 years for MINURSO (United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara) to fulfil its mandate and give them their rightful say on their country’s future.” The longer this conflict is allowed to continue without a referendum or negotiations taking place, the starker the prospect is of a ceasefire lasting, Ali suggests. “The only possible solution to end this conflict is to allow the people of Western Sahara to choose their own destiny democratically, to decide between three options: Independence, Autonomy or a sort of Association with another existing State.” QUEBEC: The independence struggle of the Quebeckers, Canada’s predominantly French-speaking region, is a tricky one to pin down. Patrick Bourgeois, President of the Quebec Resistance Network, explains how the independence movement came to the fore in the 1960s: “Franco-Quebeckers had become angry about their economic situation. They were the poorest citizens in Quebec alongside the Amerindians.” With over 80 per cent of the Franco-Canadian province of Quebec still speaking French, it’s difficult to argue they’re a culture under threat today. That isn’t the issue, though, says Bourgeois. “The independence movement is not only a response to the cultural assimilation of Francophones in North America, but one of fair representation,” he says. “Québec doesn’t have any real power within Canada, despite representing 23 per cent of the population. Every time Quebec has tried to negotiate with Ottowa to amend a constitution we never signed, Ottawa has said no.” The independence movement’s early momentum rested on a unified nationalist front, specifically with the formation of Parti Québécois in 1968. But in recent years the sovereignty movement has splintered. For Bourgeois, so long as Ottowa continues to be unwilling to negotiate the Canadian constitution with Quebec the choice is simple: “Quebec must either accept Canada as it is, or leave.” But it’s worth also noting that Quebec has twice held democratic referendums (1980 and 1995) and in both cases, despite close calls, the people decided to remain part of Canada. IRAQI KURDISTAN: Brutal images from the newly formed Islamic State have shocked the world recently. It’s been suggested that the arming of Iraqi Kurds is central in halting their advance. But Iraqi Kurds have been fighting their own battle since at least the First World War, alongside fellow Kurds in Turkey, Syria, and Iran, believing their distinct Kurdish identity deserves recognition through a sovereign state of Kurdistan. “Kurds have agreed that each part of Kurdistan should work on its part,” says Kamal Chomani, co-founder of KurdishPolicy, “and they shouldn’t be a threat to other regions and they shouldn’t impose their agendas on them.” Wladimir van Wilgenburg, Middle East analyst for the Jamestown Foundation, specialising in Kurdish politics, argues the issue for Iraqi Kurds today is that, “Though Iraq recognized the Kurdish identity, they didn’t allow the Kurds to decide about their own affairs. Now the biggest question is if the Kurdish parties in Iraq are really moving towards independence, or simply trying to get a better bargain with Baghdad.” A few weeks ago, it appeared to van Wilgenburg that “since the Iraqi army have collapsed close to the Kurdish regions in Iraq, and the Kurdish territory now mostly borders with the Islamist Jihadist movements”, the crisis represents a great opportunity for the Iraqi-Kurdistan independence movement. Chomani agrees. “It’s a great opportunity for independence, or at least a great opportunity to secure our total land as the first step.” But just this week Kurdish leaders postponed a referendum on independence in favour of forming a new Iraqi government, as ridding themselves of IS (or Isis) has taken precedence over all other matters. PUERTO RICO: Puerto Rican nationalists have been fighting for independence from the US for over a century. To some it may seem paradoxical for the ‘land of the free’ to have one of the world’s last colonies, but in recent years Puerto Rico’s independence movement has failed to poll above 5 per cent, suggesting, perhaps, that many in the country are happy with how things are. Manuel Rodriquez-Orellana, political leader of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement, views it differently. “The Puerto Rican independence movement is about Puerto Rican and US authorities’ continued repression, persecution and discrimination of independence organisations and individuals under US colonial rule,” he says. “After such persecution and continued de facto social and employment discrimination against independentistas, I find it surprising that there are any of us still around.” Puerto Rican campaigners have a colourful past in confronting US authorities, in particular an attempt to assassinate President Truman in 1950. Though such confrontation has died down, the effects are still felt today; Oscar López, “a pro-independence nationalist whose liberation enjoys widespread support,” according to Manuel-Rodriguez, “remains in federal prisons for acts of ‘sedition. “After 33 years, he has been a political prisoner longer than Nelson Mandela.” What’s left of the independence movement now works through diplomatic channels, where it enjoys some success. In January 2014, the heads of state from the Congress of Latin American and Caribbean States placed Puerto Rico’s self-determination and independence on its permanent agenda. But for Rodriquez-Orellana there is still much to be done. “Puerto Rico is a junkyard economic failure 62 years after the current territorial arrangement,” he says. “Dependence is a permanently unproductive condition. Divorce must come through mutual consent and alimony payments made to rehabilitate Puerto Rico after more than a century of colonial rule. Without political subordination and economic dependence, we can achieve economic growth and development better.” ENDS
Posted on: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 18:51:29 +0000
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