Catalonia Votes for Independence

The Catalan nationalist movement has won its biggest ever victory. It carried out a referendum on independence despite a Spanish court ruling that it was illegal. The modern map of the Iberian Peninsula shows only two nation states, Spain and Portugal, but it actually consists of four historic kingdoms; Portugal, Castile (Spain), Navarre (the Basque country) and Catalonia (called Aragon in the Middle Ages). Catalonia was made famous internationally by George Orwell's book Homage to Catalonia, see: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/was-orwell-mediocre.html. Catalonia has its own culture and language. Most Catalans will fiercely deny that they are Spanish. Catalonia is officially a region of Spain with a limited devolved government, however there is a very powerful independence movement there. The Catalan language has a similar status to Welsh in Wales. Those who speak it are bilingual with Spanish, but it is a vital part of their identity. The regional government decided to go ahead with the referendum in violation of the ruling from Madrid. Farmers drove their tractors into Barcelona, Catalonia's biggest city. Luckily there is a local journalist there of British origins called Simon Harris who has provided on the ground live coverage in English, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OM35k8ONI8. Polling stations have been occupied by protesters. There have been some ugly scenes where voting has been disrupted by riot police and many people have been injured, see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41463719. 

The Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy said "Catalans have been fooled into taking part in an illegal vote. It is a mockery of democracy." However the passionate groundswell continues. If it carries on this could lead to terrorism or a new civil war. I hope the Catalans do get their independence. I am a former Welsh nationalist and there is a part of that still in me that will never die, so I sympathize with their plight. The question has to be though, what is their model for independence, should they achieve it? Will Catalonia jump out of the Spanish frying pan into the European Union fire and just become another "member state" of that evil continental empire? This is the idiotic route that Welsh nationalism has now taken, see: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/plaid-cymru-and-eu.html. Catalonia must understand that if it wants freedom it must win independence from Spain and refuse to join the EU.

See here for more information: http://hpanwo-voice.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/freedom-for-venice.html.

And: http://hpanwo-tv.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/brexit-reality.html.
And: http://hpanwo-radio.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/programme-193-podcast-eu-referendum.html.