2010 Catalan autonomy protest: Difference between revisions

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==Organisation of the protest==
==Organisation of the protest==
The protest was organised by the prominent Catalan cultural organisation [[Òmnium Cultural]] with the public support of about 1600 other organisations,<ref name="EPDC"/> including four out of the six political parties represented in the [[Parliament of Catalonia]] (representing more than 85% of votes at the [[Catalonian parliamentary election, 2006|last parliamentary election]]), the two main [[trade union]]s ([[CCOO]] and [[UGT]]), the main employers' federation ([[Cipec]]), and [[F.C. Barcelona]].<ref name="LV"/>
The protest was organised by the prominent catalan political organisation [[Òmnium Cultural]], of a nationalist leaning, with the public support of about 1600 other organisations,<ref name="EPDC"/> including four out of the six political parties represented in the [[Parliament of Catalonia]] (representing more than 85% of votes at the [[Catalonian parliamentary election, 2006|last parliamentary election]]), the two main [[trade union]]s ([[CCOO]] and [[UGT]]), the main employers' federation ([[Cipec]]), and [[F.C. Barcelona]].<ref name="LV"/>


The march had been planned to start at 18:00&nbsp;[[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] (16:00&nbsp;[[Universal Coordinated Time|UTC]]) at the junction between the [[Avinguda Diagonal]] and the [[Passeig de Gràcia]] {{coord|41.3965|2.1595|display=inline}}. It was then to have descended the Passeig de Gràcia to its junction with the [[Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Barcelona|Gran Via]], before turning left and finishing at the [[Plaça de Tetuan]] {{coord|41.3948|2.1755|display=inline}}, a distance of about 2&nbsp;kilometres (1¼&nbsp;miles).
The march had been planned to start at 18:00&nbsp;[[Central European Summer Time|CEST]] (16:00&nbsp;[[Universal Coordinated Time|UTC]]) at the junction between the [[Avinguda Diagonal]] and the [[Passeig de Gràcia]] {{coord|41.3965|2.1595|display=inline}}. It was then to have descended the Passeig de Gràcia to its junction with the [[Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, Barcelona|Gran Via]], before turning left and finishing at the [[Plaça de Tetuan]] {{coord|41.3948|2.1755|display=inline}}, a distance of about 2&nbsp;kilometres (1¼&nbsp;miles).

Revision as of 14:57, 13 July 2010

The protest in the intersection of Gran Via and Passeig de Gràcia Avenues

The 2010 Catalan autonomy protest was a demonstration in central Barcelona on 10 July 2010 against a recent decision of the Spanish Constitutional Court to annul or reinterpret several articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia, considered by this court as overtly unconstitutional.[1] The number of people taking part in the demonstration was estimated at between 1.1 million (according to the metropolitan police of Barcelona, politically controlled by the protesters), 1.5 million (according to the organisers)[2][3] or 56000 according to the protesters-counting specialized company Lynce[1]. The mobilisation was described as "unprecedented" by the Mayor of Barcelona, member of one of the political parties that arranged the demonstration, the PSC-PSOE.[4] The Barcelona daily newspaper El Periódico de Catalunya, one of the main supporters of the protest, described it as "without a doubt one of the biggest [protest] marches that has [ever] occurred in Catalonia, possibly the biggest".[2]

Background

The promise of a new Statute of Autonomy for Catalonia was a key promise by Socialist candidate José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in the run-up to the 2003 Catalan parliamentary election and the 2004 Spanish general elections.[3] The new Statute was approved by the Parliament of Catalonia, by the Cortes Generales (parliament of Spain), albeit it in a modified form, and finally by the electors of Catalonia in a referendum on 18 June 2006 (73.24% in favour on a turnout of 48.85%).

Almost immediately, the opposition People's Party launched a legal challenge to declare much of the new Statute unconstitutional.[3] The opinion of the judges in the Constitutional Court was divided between "progressives", who felt the Statute was basically in line with Spain's 1978 Constitution, and "conservatives", who felt the Statute gave Catalonia far too much autonomy and so threatened the unity of the Spanish State. The debate went on for four years, with one judge dying in the meantime and four other judges continuing long after their terms of office had theoretically come to an end. A compromise was finally reached on 28 June 2010, and passed by six votes to four. The summary judgment published the same day revealed that the Court had declared parts of 14 articles (out of 277) unconstitutional and would submit 27 more to "interpretation". The full judgment was released on 9 July 2010.[5]

Organisation of the protest

The protest was organised by the prominent catalan political organisation Òmnium Cultural, of a nationalist leaning, with the public support of about 1600 other organisations,[2] including four out of the six political parties represented in the Parliament of Catalonia (representing more than 85% of votes at the last parliamentary election), the two main trade unions (CCOO and UGT), the main employers' federation (Cipec), and F.C. Barcelona.[3]

The march had been planned to start at 18:00 CEST (16:00 UTC) at the junction between the Avinguda Diagonal and the Passeig de Gràcia 41°23′47″N 2°09′34″E / 41.3965°N 2.1595°E / 41.3965; 2.1595. It was then to have descended the Passeig de Gràcia to its junction with the Gran Via, before turning left and finishing at the Plaça de Tetuan 41°23′41″N 2°10′32″E / 41.3948°N 2.1755°E / 41.3948; 2.1755, a distance of about 2 kilometres (1¼ miles).

Events on the day

Well before 18:00, crowds had started to press down the Passeig de Gràcia from Diagonal, and many people were still moving up from the Plaça de Catalunya along both the Passeig de Gràcia and the parallel Rambla de Catalunya. The official "front" of the march, with its 25 m by 10 m (83 ft by 33 ft) Senyera (flag of Catalonia), eventually managed to form at the junction of the Passeig de Gràcia with Carrer d'Aragó 41°23′32″N 2°09′53″E / 41.3922°N 2.1648°E / 41.3922; 2.1648, and started moving at around 18:20,[2] albeit moving through dense crowds. By 19:30, it had only reached the Gran Via 41°23′22″N 2°10′06″E / 41.3894°N 2.1683°E / 41.3894; 2.1683, a distance of about 400 metres.[3] The organisers decided to perform the closing act – the singing of Els Segadors (the Catalan anthem) and the reading of a short manifesto – in a packed Plaça de Tetuan despite the absence of the official "head" of the march, and the demonstration started to disperse at around 20:00.[3]

However the event later found to be not timed correctly, as it was later marginalised by Spanish national football team victory in 2010 FIFA World Cup just a day after this demonstration [6] , which made the entire nation celebrate, including those in Catalonia. [7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Catalan protesters rally for greater autonomy in Spain, BBC News, 10 July 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  2. ^ a b c d "La manifestació ha desbordat totes les previsions", El Periódico de Catalunya, 10 July 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help). Template:Ca icon
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Un millón de personas inundan Barcelona en una histórica manifestación de rechazo a la sentencia contra el Estatut", La Vanguardia, 10 July 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) to 56000 according to protesters-counting specialized company Lynce[1] to 56000 according to the protesters-counting specialized company Lynce[1]. Template:Es icon
  4. ^ "Hereu: "No hi ha precedent d'una mobilització així"", El Periódico de Catalunya, 10 July 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help). Template:Ca icon
  5. ^ "Els detalls de la sentència", El Periódico de Catalunya, 10 July 2010 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help). Template:Ca icon
  6. ^ Hawthorne, Mark. "No more heartache in Spain". Sidney Morning Herald. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ Abent, Lisa (July 11, 2010). "With Win, Spain Takes On the Meaning of Nation". TIME Magazine. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links