MANIFESTO

Freedom, democracy and respect for human rights. These are Europe’s founding values. Values that were achieved at great cost. Values that are under attack right now. Catalonia has always been at the forefront of Europe’s values. Our country has always cared about social rights.

That’s why we have gladly created an open-minded society compound by people from all over the world. We were pioneers in the fight for women’s rights and in the creation of the most advanced public schools. We demonstrate en masse against wars. We are Europe. We are Europe’s values. We believe in Europe’s future.

First, last October the Spanish government deployed police forces to stop the referendum on independence. They assaulted polling stations, beat young people and senior citizens and seized ballot boxes. What crime had these people committed? Going out to vote. What’s happening in Catalonia is not a Spanish internal affair and it concerns every European citizen.

This is how we got to this point:

In 2006, Catalans approved a new Statute of Autonomy in a referendum, creating a new political relationship between Catalonia and Spain. But in 2010, Spain’s Constitutional court repealed the backbone of it. More than 1 million Catalans peacefully protested the ruling, but Mariano Rajoy’s cabinet rejected any kind of dialogue with Catalonia.

As support for independence has rocketed, the Catalan Parliament decided to call for a referendum like that held in Scotland.

The Spanish government declared the vote illegal, and thousands of police officers were sent to seize ballot papers, raid pro-independence media offices, shut down websites informing about the election and arrest more than a dozen Catalan government officials without court orders.

On October 1st, Catalans attempted to vote peacefully. And Spanish police used a degree of force previously unseen in a European member state. Despite the violence and threats, 2.3 million people, 90% of whom were in favour of an independent Catalonia, managed to cast their votes.

Spanish officials, including the king, have failed to condemn police violence and threaten further crackdowns if Catalans continue to pursue their freedom.

We are European citizens, just like you, and we need your help to defend freedom and democracy. Please, don’t look away. Share this video with your friends and representatives.

Help Catalonia. Save Europe

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