Freedom for Catalonia?

[Sims2789]

Backround Info:
Catalonia is a region that includes much of southenr coastal France, northern Spain, and the Principality of Andorra. They have their own language, called Catalan. That is about all I know about the region.

I have seen someone's signature on this site that said something like "Free Catalonia" and I was wondering if it is an actual issue. Should it be independent? If it becomes independent, should it annex Andorra, a Catalan-speaking country, or vise-versa?

 

[stormbind]

http://www.freecatalonia.com/

 

[Plexus]

No, there's less basis for this than for Basque Independence.

 

[jack merchant]

No, there's less basis for this than for Basque Independence.

Why ? What's so fundamentally different about Catalonia that it wouldnn't merit independence while the país Vasco would ? The fact that there are Basques out there throwing bombs ?

 

[Sims2789]

One reason may be that the Basque are much more different than the Catalans. Catalan is in the Romantic language family, whereas Basque probably isn't even in the Indo-European Language family.

 

[jack merchant]

To stay on topic, independence is of course only an issue when a good part of the local people want it. Catalunya's main political party hasn't been outright pro-independence, but they are in good part responsible for the extreme decentralization of authority in Spain (every bit of autonomy the Catalans got the other regions wanted as well), preferring in most part to insult the Spanish state at every opportunity while gleefully grabbing its handouts. But there is a quite distinct Catalan language and a respectable history of revolt, armed and otherwise, against the central regime ever since Spanish unification in the 15th century.

The Andorrans would probably prefer to remain a tax-haven.

Anyway, who are we to tell the Catalans and Andorrans what they should and shouldn't do wrt their statehood ?

 

[jack merchant]

One reason may be that the Basque are much more different than the Catalans. Catalan is in the Romantic language family, whereas Basque probably isn't even in the Indo-European Language family.

By that logic, the USA should have remained a colony too given that they didn't have any difference in language at all .

 

[Sims2789]

I was simply pointing out one of the differences between the Basques and the Catalans. But it really only matters if the people actually want it.

 

[luiz]

I have a Catalan neighbour. Even though he spent most of his life there, he can barely speak catalan. Once I asked him about the Independence issue, and he said it is a non-issue. Well of course one opinion is not nearly enough to know the whole truth, but I guess he is right.

 

[Sims2789]

Why can't he speak Catalan well? And was he from the French part or the Spanish part? So basically the people that support Catalan independence are like the people that support Californian independence(aka their numbers are few).

 

[bobgote]

I saw the title and thought "That's nearly as bad as Freedom for California". And then i saw the thread starter

But other than that, i too am interested in seeing if this is actually an issue.

 

[The Yankee]

Who knows....who cares, let it be up to the people to decide.

 

[Johann MacLeod]

By that logic, the USA should have remained a colony too given that they didn't have any difference in language at all .

ah a fellow loyalist to the british crown!!

 

[Archer 007]

My question: Is it important?

 

[SeleucusNicator]

If such an independence movement sprang up, I would support it heartily (Spain must be punished for their last election), but, unfortunately, no such movement of any consequence exists.

Yahoo does have a page in Catalan, though, for all that's worth:

http://ct.yahoo.com/

 

[Panda]

No. Learn to live in Spain or move to Chechnya to see how how minorities are treated elsewhere.

No need to create yet another state that lives solely on EU funds.

 

[luiz]

Why can't he speak Catalan well? And was he from the French part or the Spanish part? So basically the people that support Catalan independence are like the people that support Californian independence(aka their numbers are few).

He can't speak it well because he never used it.
He's from the spanish side, BTW.

 

[JohnRM]

Let the people decide. I'm not Catalonian.

 

[Archer 007]

If such an independence movement sprang up, I would support it heartily (Spain must be punished for their last election), but, unfortunately, no such movement of any consequence exists.

Seems a little childish to think a nation should be punished for electing leaders of their own choice. Also, and maybe some of our Spanish members can conferm this, the party that was in power wasnt all that popular, and was orginally elected due to a corruption scandal amongst the Socialists.

 

[Duddha]

Anyone noticed that when the question is whether say Scotland or Catalonia should be free we get responses like "Let the people decide. I'm not Catalonian." with a genuine concern for self determination. But when the same question comes up for California, we get militant responses from Americans talking about the "next civil war" (and i'm the crazy one ).