The Spanish newspaper 'El País' has published today that Spain's Foreign Ministry will approve a law which curtails regions' international relations. The regions will have to inform the government on the possible trips, visits or actions focused on their foreign projection, according to a law the Spanish government will issue soon. For instance, regional governments will not be allowed to open any delegations abroad if they do not meet their deficit targets.
Althought Spain rejects that this law is made to control regions' foreign policy, its real purpose is to monitor every movement the regions could make on their relations with other countries and to ensure that they will not act against the Central Goverment's interests. Moreover, its real purpose is to prevent some regions (specially Catalonia) of transimiting their complaints about possible government's abuses. In fact, the Catalan government has expressed its willingness to disclose the attempts made by Madrid to prevent the holding of a referendum on the independence of the region.
Nevertheless, this kind of attempts to preserve Spain's unity are not new. As an example, Pere Gual Villalví, a Catalan minister during the early Francoist dictatorship (1944), wrote on his book Un problema de posguerra: dónde y cómo se emplazarán las industrias: "El Poder central puede reprimir o evitar el desarrollo que va adquiriendo una zona que políticamente se considera desafecta, como en el caso de los regionalismos políticos, cuando están impregnados de un nacionalismo peligroso para la unidad nacional" (The Central Government may supress or prevent the development that an area considered politically disaffected, as in the case of political regionalism, when impregnated by a nationalism which could be dangerous to national unity).
In addition, the Constitution issued in 1978 stablishes the country's unity as a purpose that might be defended even by military means. In fact, some cadres of the army have claimed that an armed intervention against any splittist region should be necessary to "restore constitutional order", regarding Catalonia's push for self-determination. Moreover, some politicians and military officials have suggested that Catalan president Artur Mas should be detained and the regional government abolished.
A government which attempts to prevent a region from exercising its right to self-determination and from spreading its will around the world is simply acting against international treaties and the human rights. Spanish democrats, as if they were the former dictators, are curtailing democracy... again.
In addition, the Constitution issued in 1978 stablishes the country's unity as a purpose that might be defended even by military means. In fact, some cadres of the army have claimed that an armed intervention against any splittist region should be necessary to "restore constitutional order", regarding Catalonia's push for self-determination. Moreover, some politicians and military officials have suggested that Catalan president Artur Mas should be detained and the regional government abolished.
A government which attempts to prevent a region from exercising its right to self-determination and from spreading its will around the world is simply acting against international treaties and the human rights. Spanish democrats, as if they were the former dictators, are curtailing democracy... again.
Cap comentari:
Publica un comentari a l'entrada