CARTA QUE HE ENVIAT AL PRESIDENT SCHULTZ PER PROTESTAR PER LATORGAMENT DUN PREMI EUROPEU A SOCIETAT CIVIL CATALANA Mr. Martin Schultz President of the European Parliament Rue Wiertz 60 1047 Bruxelles Belgique Girona, November 21st 2014 Dear President Schultz and members of the European Citizens’ Prize Chancellery, I am addressing this message to you because I have recently discovered that a European Citizen’s Prize has been awarded this year to an association called Societat Civil Catalana (hereforth, SCC). As I understand, this prize is awarded to those showing “outstanding commitment to promoting better mutual understanding and closer integration between citizens of the Member States”; or to those indulging in “cultural cooperation contributing to the strengthening of a European spirit”. To begin with, may I say that a serious mistake must have been made because to give this prize to such an organization is a step in quite the opposite direction. I have been looking for answers to exactly how the EU could have possibly considered awarding such a prize to SCC and I must say that I am at a complete loss to do so. Maybe some MEP has tried to present SCC as what it is not? Maybe sectarian and mean political interests have prevailed? Certainly the European Parliament has been made victim to an appalling episode of fraud. Another explanation that occurs to me is that perhaps compensation has been sought for the Spanish Popular Party because of last year’s prize to the PAH (the Spanish anti-evictions platform). Be that as it may, I shall go into why I think to give a prize to SCC is not only an insult to democracy, but also an affront to the European spirit. The name of the entity you are giving a prize to is “Societat Civil Catalana” meaning “Catalan Civil Society”. On paper it sounds great. But when we consider the full social dimension of the appropiation of this name by SCC, it surely becomes apparent to anyone -no matter how remotely acquanited with Catalan society- that fraud is afoot. Indeed, the association’s name –let alone its activities and ideology– is an affront in itself. It could be considered shameful were it not infantile and absurd. How would it be taken if a minority group preaching the suppression of German people’s democratic rights were to be calling itself “German Civil Society”. Would that not be slammed in the German media? But SCC, an entity set up unashamedly as a State-supported, politically-orientated operation to counter the democratic will of the majority of the Catalan people, does just that. You may say, well, maybe they are worthy of a prize as a “brave minority group” who have had to put up with some form of bullying in the majoritarily “nationalist” Catalan political and social environment. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Anyone vaguely familiarized with Catalan society knows full well that no bullying of this kind is admitted. The Catalan revolution is indeed known as “the smiling revolution”. The only persecution going on here is the Spanish Government’s relentless attack against Catalan institutions. To name but one, our President, who is to be prosecuted for organizing a democratic poll. I do hope the Parliament you preside over will take good note of that. If SCC is a fraud, what is real Catalan Civil Society? It involves thousands and thousands of societies, clubs, entities of every kind which lend support to the democratic sovereignty Process. It stands for 920 of our country’s 948 town and city halls. Is that not astounding! It is also the majority option in the Catalan Parliament which, due to the authoritarian position of the Spanish Government, has had to resort to an imaginative formula in order to be able to consult the Catalan people on their future. It did so with the democratic “participation” poll on independence held on November 9th 2014. Now, those calling the poll, all seasoned pro-Europeans, are to be prosecuted by the State. No-one in SCC is to be prosecuted by anyone. Have there been any cases of attacks of any nature against SCC and its members? Absolutely not. Catalan society is a mature society which does not employ violence of any kind. We are, remember, the smiling revolution. Again, you may be thinking that SCC has been discriminated by the press. Again the answer is no. To check up on this, please take a look at the independent media survey carried out by Media.Cat on the question. Indeed, it is precisely the pro-independence option that receives media discrimination, on Spanish and even most Catalan media. Not only in the lead-up to the poll, with near to zero presence on some public Spanish media, but daily. Are SCC persecuted? In no way. They are regularly interviewed on all Catalan public and private media and have been met by President Rajoy and President Mas in their offices in Madrid and Barcelona. None of their meetings have in any way been hampered like some ANC, Súmate (Spanish-speaking pro-Independence group) and, indeed, Catalan Government events, most famously the 11th September 2013 episode in the Blanquerna Centre in Madrid. No members of what is real Catalan civil society (Assemblea Nacional Catalana and Òmnium Cultural) have met with anything but legal persecution in Madrid. Please check up on these facts to get a fuller idea of the mistake it has been to award SCC this prize. Although it is difficult to find official EU documents explaining just why SCC has been awarded a European Citizen’s Prize, one could imagine that perhaps it was considered that they are an association “defending the European ideal” in the face of anti-EU feeling in Catalonia. This, again, is a most mistaken view. Almost the full spectrum of the very plural and multi-faceted Catalan sovereignty movement is imbued with a strong pro-European feeling. Indeed, most pro-sovereignty Catalans feel that the EU is the natural federal environment in which they will one day be able to feel free and comfortable -like most other Europeans- in distinct contrast with the abuse and restraint they suffer at the hands of a Spanish State, where the ghost of Franco still hovers ominoulsy about. In this sense, to award a prize to SCC can be seen as a severe punishment to the majority of Catalans who feel that Spain is quite unable and unwilling to offer them anything but the raw severity of a shrinking Spanish Constitution and the on-going hostility of the Spanish media. Incidentally, these are forms of overt hostility that SCC not only seems impervious to, but also applauds. But just who is there at the leadership of SCC? Though there are sincere democrats there, obviously, SCC’s leadership is clearly studded with figures who embrace Spanish nationalism in its most naked form. Suffice it to mention that one board member, Mr. Javier Barraycoa, took part recently in a meeting organized by a Spanish totalitarian and anti-European party called Democracia Nacional. Everyone is free to attend the meeting he/she wishes, I know. But this particular meeting had been called to pay tribute to the Spanish Blue division that fought alongside Hitler in the Second World War! Furthermore, Mr Barrycoa is on record for declaring his contempt for elections of all kinds. And what can be said of the President of SCC, Mr. Josep Ramon Bosch himself? Significantly, he not only has a record of belonging to authoritarian and Spanish nationalist groups but is also known to have attended masses honouring dictator Franco in the village of Santpedor. Likewise I think you should be informed about a book SCC brought out on the Catalan question in September, “Nos duele Cataluña” (Catalonia hurts us). It was published by a company which bears the name of a Nazi war pilot –Galland Books- and which publishes works which drool over Nazi military prowess. This book included an interview with the current Spanish Minister of the Interior –Mr. Jorge Fernández Diaz– who, incidentally, openly admits regularly seeking inspiration at Franco’s graveside at the Valle de los Caidos. Can you imagine how the German media would take it if one of Mrs. Angela Merkel’s ministers admitted seeking inspiration at Berghof? Indeed, when SCC was created -and in a clear attempt at disguising the clearly totalitarian hue of organizations it was being an heir to- several of its members were on record for having expressed sympathy for Franco. When, on September 11th 2014, SCC called a very widely publicised meeting at Tarragona, only 3000 people turned out, many of whom brought in buses from Spain. That very same day, one million eight hundred thousand other Catalans demonstrated in favour of a democratic solution to the Catalan question in Barcelona. Is it logical that the EU is to award a prize to the organizers of the former event in a gesture that can only be taken as an insult to the latter? In conclusion, once the grave mistake that awarding this prize to SCC has been identified, I very much recommend the European Citizen’s Prize Chancellery, that you preside over, to resort to the option they have of revoking it. SCC is not a model for European ideals. It is an organization defending State nationalism and authoritarianism of the most abusive and antisocial nature. It has a good many defenders of the Franco regime in its number. It joins sides with State-supported and, often, extreme right-wing Spanish nationalists to counter the will of the Catalan people and institutions. And it does so sarcastcally taking on a name it can in no way bear up to. Neither ethically nor politically. No prize should be awarded to them if that forward-looking, inclusive idea of Europe, that the majority of Catalans share, is to be respected. Yours faithfully, Antoni Strubell i Trueta Ex MP of the Catalan Parliament and member of the Comissió de la Dignitat Rambla de la Generalitat 15 A-1-2 17220 Sant Feliu de Guixols Baix Empordà
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 20:40:31 +0000
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