The
Spanish region of Catalonia could briefly steal the referendum
limelight from Scotland on Thursday during demonstrations in Barcelona
aimed at sparking momentum for those opposed to Spanish rule.
About
55% of Catalans support independence from Spain, according to the
Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia, a government-supported group that
seeks to raise awareness about the semiautonomous area of Spain that
has Barcelona as its capital.
The organizers of
Catalan Way 2014, as Thursday's mass demonstration is called, expect
more than 450,000 people to attend and hope to fill the streets and
ballot boxes.
A similar event last year brought 1.5 million people together across Catalonia to campaign for independence. The
date marks the anniversary of when Catalonia lost its independence by
succumbing to a year-long Spanish military siege in 1714. On Sept. 11 of
that year, Catalonia became a province of the Spanish crown, which it
has been for 300 years.
Catalonia's 7.5 million residents
have their own language and culture, and the region represents around
one-fifth of Spain's $1.4 trillion economy. Unlike in Scotland, Catalans have not been granted a legally binding referendum on independence.
Spanish
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has said on many occasions, most recently
in July, that a vote "cannot and will not take place," and he is
prepared to challenge the issue aggressively in Spain's constitutional
courts.
He has cautioned — as Scotland's independence
naysayers have — that a Catalonia untethered from Spain would have to
renegotiate dozens, if not hundreds, of important international
relationships, including with the European Union and NATO.
That
hasn't stopped Artur Mas, Catalonia's president, from seeking formal
independence consultations that would lead to a referendum vote Nov. 9.
"Catalans
want to vote. We want to vote in order to become the masters of our own
future and to be able to decide how to best respond to the needs of our
fellow citizens. We are not moved by the desire to be better than
others, but by the desire that we may become better ourselves," Mas said
Wednesday in a statement.
"I would also like to take a moment to
be explicitly clear with the central government and the institutions of
the Spanish state: There is still time to listen to the Catalan people's
peaceful and democratic outcry," Mas said.
Albert Royo-Mariné,
secretary general of the Public Diplomacy Council, said Spain should
take note of Scotland's vote and "the way Britain managed to find a way
to give the people of Scotland a vote that mirrors their political
will."
"Scotland has been given the opportunity to choose what
they want to be, and Spain needs to be inspired by this precedent. This
is the way to solve political conflicts," Royo-Mariné said.
"Spain is a young democracy, and it cannot afford to block a peaceful
movement such as this. That would be dangerous for Spain."
Spanish government bond prices have fallen in recent days amid Catalonia's push for independence.
Susana Beltran, vice president of Catalan Civil Society, an anti-independence group, told Agence France-Press that Scotland and Catalonia are "two different realities." She said, "Catalonia is a region, not a nation like Scotland."
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