Spanish Government instructs Spanish police to seize Catalan independentist flags

The Catalan Estelada is the symbol of Catalonia's independence

The Spanish Government has replied to Catalan deputy Alfred Bosch’s query on the issue that instructions have indeed been given to the Spanish police to seize Catalan independentist flags in sports events, just like it happened in Madrid last May during the Spanish Cup’s Football final in Madrid where it was reported the Spanish police seized Catalan starred flags from Barça supporters.

The Spanish Government says this is done because “displaying them could trigger an adverse reaction and violence from certain supporters” (CA). Even though they confirm that the Catalan Estelada (Starred flag) is not illegal per se.

Also during that match it was reported that at least one young man was beaten up by the Spanish Police for displaying a Catalan independentist flag and later another supporter was fined with 3001 euros for wearing a Catalan independentist scarf (CA).

However, the Spanish police didn’t seem to have a problem with the fascist symbols displayed during the fascist demonstration which took place in Madrid on the same day.

Spanish police beat young man up in Madrid for waving a Catalan flag during football match

Through Vilaweb I read that ERC have denounced that a young Catalan man was beaten up by the Spanish police after waving a Catalan flag during the Spanish King’s Cup Final in Madrid last friday. The policemen ordered him to give them the flag. He refused so they took him away and was beaten up by 6 policemen causing cuts and swelling in his face. When he was on the floor and somebody passed by on the other side of a fence, they lifted him kept beating him up and said “Look how we beat this Pole (way Spanish refer to Catalans as an insult) up”. Once again he was lying on the floor and they said to him “C’mon wave you flag now dirty Catalan!” They took him away and spent the night in a cell at the police headquarters. A friend of his was witness to the beating and even though he tried to record it the policemen took his phone away and deleted it.

This was not the only case reported of Catalan supporters being beaten up by the Spanish police on friday.

Catalan deputies Joan Tardà and Ramon Tremosa are taking these cases of racist violence to the Spanish Congress and European Commission.

All of this happened in Madrid only a few hours after a fascist demonstration went down the streets of Madrid (ca) I made a post about it here.

Also, apuntem.cat has denounced that twitter was full of racist comments from people asking for a bomb to explode in the stadium to kill the Catalan and Basque supporters.

Fascist demonstration in Madrid before the Spanish King’s Cup Final

Spain has authorised a fascist demonstration in Madrid before the Spanish King’s Cup Final in response (I quote) “to the expected provocations from the Basque and Catalan separatists.” This is extremely irresponsible since within the Catalan and Basque supporters there’ll be families and children. From here we want to denounce this irresponsible act and hope that the demonstration is eventually cancelled to avoid possible violent actions against the visiting supporters.

In the meantime the King himself, the Spanish President and the President of the Madrid Autonomous Community have declined attending the game.

Thanks for your support.

I already made a post about previous whistling here.

Practical guide for Spanish governments on how to increase Catalan independentism

I have come to the conclusion that the Spanish Government are infiltrated Catalan independentists plotting to get Catalonia out of Spain as quickly as possible. You may be tempted to think I have completely lost it but it is the only conclusion I can reach after carefully analysing some of their actions in the last year only:

1- ignore all claims to negotiate a fair financial deal with the area which produces most of the exports in your state so that they can produce and export more, generate employment, increase your tax income and get you out of the crisis

2- attempt to minoritize even more their beloved language by sabotaging their educational system by attempting to enforce language segregation instead of fixing the real problems that make you score at the bottom of the PISA report

3- insist on squandering billions of public money to build the longest high speed train network in Europe which has already proven a financial disaster instead of building the mediterranean freight railway line that would boost trade and exports (as the European Union is asking (ca))

4- instead of increasing infrastructure investment in your most dynamic area to boost its economy reduce it by 45% (ca) while only reducing it on average by 24% in the rest of the state

5- plunder 8% of that area’s GDP for the last 30 years and at the same time accuse them of being the culprits of the crisis. Top it by threatening to intervene them even though they are the only ones having acted responsibly and started reducing their budget one year before you did

6- bail out Madrid’s toll roads by extending the toll road concessions of Catalan toll roads (ca). Making Catalans, who already have 67% of the toll roads in the Spanish State, pay also for Madrid’s toll roads (Catalans were already paying for Spain’s non toll roads through their taxes)

7- refuse to pay 1.4 billion euros you owe the Catalan government claiming that because of the crisis there is no money left. Immediately afterwards bail out Madrid-government controlled savings bank with 10 billion euros of taxpayers’ money.

8- sabotage Barcelona’s airport international connections to favour Madrid’s expansion using a government controlled agency, AENA. (Being, together with Portugal and Romania the exceptions to the rule in Europe, where airport competition is encouraged)

9- block international recognition of Catalan language in Europe instead of being proud of having such a cultural asset and promoting it

10- reply the increase of Catalan independentism by threatening with economic and physical violence (for example, here and here)

10- finally, get your head of state and his family members involved in several scandals within a few weeks: corruptions charges in cases involving public money, underage people getting shot while playing with guns, being caught hunting endangered species in exotic countries. And to make things worse do all of this in the midst of an unprecedented crisis when you should be closely following what is going on.

They deserve my applause. Way to go Mr Rajoy!