Selfies in solidarity #HungerStrikeforCatalan (1)

Selfies in Solidarity #HungerStrikeforCatalan (2)

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Catalan El Celler de Can Roca is ranked the world’s second best restaurant after topping the list in 2013

Girona-based El Celler de Can Roca, the family restaurant run by the 3 Roca Brothers, continues to be considered among the world’s very best places to eat by ‘Restaurant’ magazine. This publication gives the sector’s main international awards each year at a gala in London and announces the list of the world’s best 50 restaurants; this year’s gala took place on Monday evening. However, this year the Catalan establishment has not topped the ranking as it did in 2013 but has been considered the second best in this sort of cuisine Oscars, a recognition it had already obtained in 2012 and 2011. First place was for the Danish Noma - run by René Redzepi – which had already topped the ranking in 2012, 2011 and 2010. In addition, at the same gala the youngest Roca brother, Jordi, who is in charge of El Celler de Can Roca’s desserts, has been awarded the world’s best pastry chef, a title given for the first time this year. Since 2002, Catalan cuisine is has been sitting in cuisine’s Olympus thanks to the work of the Roca brothers and, originally, the genius of Ferran Adrià, who revolutionised gastronomy and whose restaurant El Bulli was considered the world’s best restaurant for 5 years. In fact, in the last 13 years, El Bulli or El Celler de Can Roca – both of them located in the Province of Girona – have topped the ranking on 6 occasions and the years they have not topped the list, one of them has been second or, once, third. The achievement is remarkable, since it means that in the last 9 years, a Catalan restaurant has topped the world’s ranking 5 times and the other 4 years it was in second place.

As in the 2012 ranking, René Redzepi’s Noma has been named the world’s best restaurant and the Roca brothers’ El Celler de Can Roca, the world’s second best. Last year, it was the other way round, but in 2014 the old positions are coming back. The Catalan establishment lost the top position, but it continues to be amongst the planet’s two best for the 4th year in a row, which is a great achievement.

Starting as a humble family restaurant run by their parents, Joan – the main Chef, Josep – the Sommelier, and Jordi – the pastry Chef revamped the place and managed to put their kitchen among the international cuisine stars. Year after year, this three- Michelin-star establishment was going up in the world ranking and in 2011 it was already considered the second best restaurant on the planet. Finally, in 2013 the Girona kitchen overtook Copenhagen’s Noma and El Celler de Can Roca reached the ranking’s top position.

“It’s like the Oscars”

Now, the positions have been switched again. A few days ago, in an interview with CNA, Joan Roca said that even if they did not win this year, they would always have their 2013 victory. “It’s like the Oscars […] you cannot win each year, but once you get one, you have it forever”, he said. However, Joan Roca was proud “to have done the homework” in the last 12 months in order “to be ready” to prove worthy of the top position again. In fact, the Roca brothers are hard workers who, despite having topped the ranking, have continued to run their family restaurant like a Swiss clock.

The 2013 recognition was a stimulus for them to foster creativity, since they have developed 62 new dishes in the last year. In addition, between the three of them they managed to combine the extremely demanding job of leading their restaurant with the task of offering 150 conferences in 19 different countries. In a press conference given on Monday morning, a few hours before the gala, the Roca brothers said they were proud of the job done and how they manage to combine this additional activity with the regular activity of El Celler de Can Roca without affecting the quality. For this they were taking advantage of closing days to travel, and sharing the extra tasks among the three of them. However, they were sorry they could not make room for all the 121,800 requests to book a table in their restaurant that they received in the last 365 days due to the limited space available. In the last year, El Celler de Can Roca hosted 22,680 clients and served some 340,000 dishes.

Jordi Roca becomes the world’s best pastry chef

The youngest of the 3 Roca brothers, Jordi, who is in charge of the family restaurant’s desserts, was recognised at Monday’s gala as the world’s best pastry chef. Jordi Roca’s creations are extremely original, combining textures, shapes, flavours, temperatures and even states of matter, including fluids, smoke and crunchy solids. Two years ago, he opened his own ice cream shop in downtown Girona, an establishment called Rocambolesc, where clients can taste extremely original frozen creations.

René Redzepi was trained in Catalonia by Ferran Adrià

Noma, based in an old warehouse at Copenhagen Port, has been awarded the world’s best restaurant for the fourth year since 2010. In that year it took the title of the best restaurant in the world from ‘El Bulli’, located in Catalonia’s Costa Brava and run by the Catalan chef Ferran Adrià. 

In fact, René Redzepi was one of Adrià’s pupils in the Catalan chef’s restaurant in the Costa Brava town of Roses. For four years in a row, from 2006 to 2009, and also in 2002, El Bulli topped Restaurant Magazine’s ranking; and in 2010 it held second position. In 2011, El Bulli was no longer included in the ranking of the 50 best restaurants of the world because it announced it was closing its doors in July, after Ferran Adrià had been recognised as “the chef of the decade”. In fact, Adrià decided to close El Bulli to reopen it again transformed into the ‘El Bulli Foundation’, which will no longer be a regular restaurant but a research centre, exploring the links between food, arts and design.

ACN

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Catalan human towers to be built in 7 European capitals for self-determination

Barcelona (ACN).- On the 8th of June, thousands of Catalans will simultaneously build the traditional human towers – called castells – in picturesque locations in Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Lisbon, London, Paris and Barcelona, carrying a banner reading "Catalans want to vote". The action is a festive demonstration to raise international awareness about the aspiration shared by more than 75% of the Catalan population: to be able to hold a self-determination vote to decide on Catalonia's future and possible independence from Spain. The project 'Catalans want to vote – Human towers for democracy' is a private initiative organised by the civil society organisation Òmnium Cultural, an entity that does not receive any money from the Catalan Government. In fact, this Tuesday it was announced that the project has reached its initial objective of raising 120,000 euros through Verkami's crowd-funding web site. The money will be used to pay for part of the trip costs of the thousands of castellers, the name given to those building the human towers (called castells), which were declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2010. However, the crowd-funding platform will still be receiving donations for the coming 11 days and a greater amount is to be expected.

The tradition of building human towers

The tradition of creating the human castles began around 200 years ago in the Tarragona Province, in southern Catalonia. The towers are created by amateur groups and are formed by the castellers standing on the shoulders of each other. They normally take place during local festivals in Catalan towns and cities and tend to involve between 6 and 10 levels of people, literally standing on top of each other and reaching the size of a 3-, 4- or 5- storey building. Depending on the tower's shape and complexity, there are between 1 and 9 people per layer, although at ground level a wide base is formed, which in some constructions secondary and smaller bases are also formed in the first two levels.

In 2010 the tradition was declared a UNESCO element of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It was awarded the honour because of the values of collective self-improvement and solidarity that it promotes, as well its ability to integrate people of all ages and walks of life into the same project.

A civil society initiative

"Internationalising Catalans' right to decide" on their own political collective future. This is the objective set by the action's organising association, Òmnium Cultural, which started its activities promoting Catalan culture and language in 1961, as part of the democratic fight against Franco's Military and Spanish Nationalist dictatorship (which officially ended in 1977).

The initiative is part of the activities to pave the road towards the 9th of November, the day agreed upon by a majority of Catalan parties to hold a self-determination vote. The agreement reached follows the democratic mandate issuing from the last Catalan elections, when some 80% of the votes were for parties supporting Catalonia's right to self-determination and proposing the organisation of a legal referendum in their electoral manifestos. It follows from this that the Catalan Parliament and the resulting Government have the people's mandate to organise such a vote.

The Spanish establishment is blocking Catalans' right to self-determination

However, the Spanish Government vetoes it totally and refuses to even talk about it. Madrid's no-to-everything attitude aims to stop the self-determination process, but a majority of Catalan parties, several civil society organisations and a significant section of Catalan society have been insisting that they want to vote and have proposed several legal ways to make such a vote possible. Despite these efforts, the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, using a centralist and Spanish nationalist interpretation of the current legal framework is pursuing an obstructionist attitude to block such a vote.

After numerous negative answers from the Spanish Government and with several legal ways to organise the vote blocked by Rajoy's lack of political will, a majority of Catalan parties agreed not to wait eternally for the Madrid establishment to change its mind and decided to set a date and an exact question wording to follow the Catalan citizens' electoral mandate and allow them to vote on their independence from Spain.

A clear and absolute majority of Catalans want to vote

More than 75% of Catalans want to vote, regardless of whether they would vote for independence or against it, according to many polls. In addition, although there are no clear figures about how many Catalans would vote for independence, polls indicate support varying between 43% and 60%, while the same polls indicate that those voting against it would represent between 38% and 22%. In fact, probably because independence is the most popular option in all the polls – although in some of them it does not reach 50% of the population – the Spanish Government is not allowing the vote and is threatening Catalans with an apocalyptic future if they eventually leave Spain.

Spain's obstructive attitude will not stop Catalonia's self-determination process

In order to heed the demands of a majority of Catalonia's citizens, Catalan political parties have decided to make all the necessary arrangements to be able to organise a self-determination vote. Since the Spanish Government is blocking the use of Spanish-level legislation, Barcelona-based parties have decided to develop Catalonia's own legal framework, following its legislating powers recognised in the Statute of Autonomy of 2006. This means approving its Consultation Vote Law, a piece of legislation already provided in the aforementioned Statute of 2006.

In addition, they will also use International Law. For this reason Catalan authorities are seeking support at international level, or at least to convince foreign actors not to oppose Catalonia's self-determination process. In this strategy, convincing European Union institutions and EU Governments has paramount importance.

Some international supporters

The third and fourth largest political families in Europe have already backed Catalonia's right to self-determination. Both the Liberals and the Greens announced they would work to allow Catalans to vote on their future. In addition, the Prime Ministers of Latvia and Lithuania partially backed Catalonia's voting demands, but they were forced to modify their stance after loud protests and pressure from the Spanish Foreign Affairs Ministry. In addition, several European intellectuals have publicly supported Catalonia's right to vote on its political future and they have also backed its EU membership in the event of independence.

Since Catalonia's self-determination process is a grass-roots movement, primarily fuelled by civil society organisations and not by political leaders, such organisations also wanted to participate at this crucial moment. Civil society was behind the two massive pro-independence demonstrations of 2012 and 2013, which were the largest demonstrations ever organised in Catalonia, with 1.5 and more than 1.6 million respectively.

Raising international awareness: "Catalans want to vote"

Now, before this year's massive demonstration, which will take place as always on Catalonia's National Day (11th September), Òmnium Cultural wanted to organise a symbolic demonstration in some of the main European cities. The objective is clear and transparent: "internationalise Catalonia's right to decide" on its own future. In other words, raise international awareness of Catalonia's intention to hold a self-determination vote.

The 'Catalans want to vote – Human towers for democracy' campaign was announced around a month ago by this civil society entity. In 29 days it managed to raise more than 120,000 euros to pay for the travelling costs of the participants: the groups of castellers who will build towers in Berlin, Brussels, Geneva, Lisbon, London and Paris, but also in Barcelona and other Catalan cities and town. 36 castellers group have already confirmed their participation, including some of the best. The castells will be built at the exact same time, at 12 pm, and they will show a banner reading "Catalans want to vote". By this action, Òmnium Cultural uses a distinctive feature of Catalan folk culture and makes a festive, peaceful and positive demonstration, in line with, for instance, the 400 km-long human chain that spanned Catalonia from north to south gathering more than 1.6 million people in last 11th September.

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Laws do not exist to limit democracy

WHO ARE WE?

- We are a nation with all the characteristic features of a subject according to International Law. We are only missing political sovereignty.

- We have a clearly defined territory.

- We have a population – currently 7,500,000 (seven and a half million) inhabitants.

- We have a public administration with legislative, executive and judicial powers.

- We are a Mediterranean people - peaceful, democratic and open. Our country is a melting pot. These features are all part of the DNA of Catalonia and its people.

WHAT DO WE HAVE?

- We have our own language, Catalan. We also speak Spanish and many people can speak English, French or Italian.

- We have our own thousand-year-old culture.

- We have had our own system of laws ever since the Middle Ages, especially regarding maritime law. In 1714 we lost our public law system and public institutions such as our government, the GENERALITAT, as a consequence of the War of The Spanish Succession. This governing body was not reinstalled until 1979.

- We have the best football team in the world – Barça, Barcelona Football Club.

- We have Museu Dali, La Sagrada Familia, Museo Picasso , Gaudi ,Pablo Casals Tapies...

- But above all, we have an individual and collective desire to become a sovereign state through the ballot box - carrying out the democratic right to decide our own future and accepting the result, whatever it may be.

- Our only weapons are democratic legitimacy expressed freely and legally through the ballot box.

WHAT DO WE WANT AND WHY?

- We want respect for our language, our culture, our industry, our businesses, our economy, our government, and our capacity for financing and managing Catalan resources for our land and its people. To sum up, we want a status with Spain different to the one we have had since at least 2006.

- We believe that this new status, whether it be independence or a different relationship with Spain, will be good for us, good for the rest of Spain, and good for Europe – including EU and non-EU countries.

- Everybody will be a winner. We aim for “unity within diversity” as Jaques Delors once said. A free and agreed unity, not one imposed against our will.

WHERE ARE WE NOW AND WHY? 

- After Franco died in 1975 we all fought together to reinstall democracy, fundamental freedoms and political rights for everyone.

- In 1978 a Spanish Constitution was passed which recognized the historic nationalities in Spain, such as Catalonia, and set up a virtually federal state.

- The democratic system which had been lost in the Civil War was reinstalled; including the Catalan government – the Generalitat – , its exiled President, and other democratic bodies necessary under a rule of law.

- In 1979, in accordance with the Spanish Constitution, the sovereign nation of Catalonia drew up and passed the Statute of Catalonia. This paper provides the basic laws of Catalonia and is a kind of constitution for sub-states.

- But, ever since then, the central government of Spain has recentralized governance and limited “de iure” or ”de facto” Catalonia’s legal powers on matters such as education, language, justice, economy, taxation, and so on.

DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY VERSUS IMMOVEABLE LEGALITY

- The Spanish constitution included the “iter democratic” to modify the Statute of Catalonia. After a long process, a modification and updating of the Statute was finally passed in 2006.

- This process followed all the legal and legitimate proceedings which make up the essence of democracy. It was passed by the Catalan Parliament, the Spanish Parliament and in a referendum of the citizens of Catalonia - the only people who could vote constitutionally under what is known as the citizens’ “right to decide”. Finally the Statute was signed by the King of Spain as the current head of state. To sum up, 

CONSTITUTIONAL LEGALITY AND IMPECCABLE DEMOCRATIC LEGITIMACY! 

- Other federal states, or autonomous communities, of Spain carried out the same process, even copying some of Catalonia’s new changes and no one challenged this.

- But, Mr Rajoy and the People’s Party which was in opposition at that time, campaigned collecting signatures all over Spain to request that the Constitutional Court revise Catalonia’s legitimately passed statute.

- Four years later the incomplete Constitutional Court with only ten of its twelve members, some already years past their maximum term of service, and with a politically biased nature, eventually declared that some of the Statute’s articles contravened the Spanish constitution. This happened in June 2010.

- However, the same articles which were declared illegal in Catalonia were accepted and came into effect in other autonomous communities! This is incredible, especially from a democratic point of view. The sovereignty of a people, its parliaments and the King himself were overruled by a politicized court.

- Besides this, from 2006 onwards there has been a re-centralization of certain powers held by Catalonia and a restrictive interpretation of other ones, as well as unfair fiscal balances between Spain and Catalonia.

- On the eleventh of September 2012 there was a huge peaceful demonstration in Barcelona – entire families came from all over Catalonia asking for a better set-up for Catalonia. The following day the Catalan President spoke to the Spanish President, Mr Rajoy. He requested an improved relationship and a new fiscal agreement for Catalonia. Rajoy’s answer then, and since then, was A CLEAR NO. Spanish legality does not allow this, he says.

- Early elections were called for November 2012. After these, the Catalan President – Mr Mas – requested permission to hold a referendum where Catalans could express themselves regarding their own future. The Spanish answer was yet another refusal. A REFERENDUM WOULDN’T BE CONSTITUTIONAL. SO, NO, AND NO AGAIN - FOREVER AND EVER! 

- In September 2013, Catalans organized a popular human chain. Peaceful and festive, this chain was made up of two million people and covered 400 km. A clear proof that the Catalan people, ALL CATALONIA, want to decide their own future.

- In December 2013, the majority of the Catalan parliament set November 9th 2014 as the date for the referendum.

- The Spanish government stated that this referendum is illegal and anti-constitutional, and that the Spanish constitution cannot be altered. They claim the constitution does not allow for any kind of referendum in Catalonia.

- Faced with Catalonia’s determination to continue, the Spanish government responds with economic threats, changes to the status of the Catalan language and culture, smears against Catalonia and Catalans, and threatens that Catalonia will have to leave Europe forever and never be allowed back in. A CATASTROPHIC FUTURE INDEED!

- Meanwhile, Europe and the world continue to invest in Catalonia. Barcelona is the third-ranking city in the world in terms of tourism. It is the capital of the mobile phone industry. It has the most important port in the Mediterranean and the busiest airport. Oh, and Xavi and Messi’s Barça are still winning...

CONCLUSION

No one knows what will happen on November 9th or afterwards. But what we do know is that the wish of a people, and their LEGITIMATE RIGHT TO DEMOCRATICALLY EXPRESS THEIR RIGHT TO DECIDE THEIR OWN FUTURE, cannot be systematically refused by an IMMOVEABLE LEGALITY. Voting and deciding is the peaceful and democratic way that a people express themselves. Preventing this vote is to show fear of the democratic result of the wishes of Catalonia’s citizens.

The principles and values on which the European Union is based, as seen in the EU Treaties and its Charter of Fundamental Rights, are obviously: democracy, freedom, and above all, respect for the importance of its citizens and their individual and collective dignities.

Laws must adapt to democratic and majority wishes. They do not exist to limit democracy.

Eduard Sagarra

Professor of International Law at the University of Barcelona

President of United Nations of Spain (ANUE)

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Catalan Government is working on a National Pact for the Industry

Some weeks ago, 138 proposals were presented to the President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, by the representatives of business associations, trade unions, academic experts and leading professionals, who form the so-called ‘Agreement for the Industry’ platform. This comprehensive series of measures favour a clear industrial strategy for the economic revitalization of Catalonia and the recovery in employment, since “there cannot be a strong economy without a strong industry”. 

Artur Mas stated that those proposals are “a possible seed” for a broader agreement: a National Pact for the Industry that will define the priorities and main guidelines of Catalonia’s industrial policy for the next decade. The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment said that the 138 proposals coincide with “between 70 and 80%” of the Executive’s industrial policies. However he pointed out that the Government couldn’t bring all of them on board for budget or jurisdiction limitations.

The President of the ‘Agreement for the Industry’, Joan Trullén, acknowledged that it was “ambitious” for the proposals to include so many different fields, all aimed at the recovery of the Catalan economy at the hands of the country’s industry.

Comprehensive proposals to build an “economy competitive for the 21stcentury”

Indeed, the 138 proposals that were approved last June cover a wide array of fields: finance, training, research and development, cluster policy and infrastructure or energy development, all of them within the European framework for industrial development (Europe 2020). The proposals are part of a strategy to overcome the crisis by promoting growth, increasing competitiveness, fostering export capacity and encouraging the recovery of employment to pre-crisis levels, according to the representatives of the platform.

The main message is that “there cannot be a strong economy without a strong industry. “Only an industrial response can get Catalonia out of the current crisis, as it has in the past. The broad scope of activities in Catalonia, from manufacturing as a core sector of the industry to research and the dissemination of knowledge should be the basis of a strong and productive economy, competitive for the twenty-first century”, explained Joan Trullén. 

The proposals could eventually lead to a National Pact for the Industry

Joan Trullén, explained that Catalan President, Artur Mas, had reacted in a “very positive” way to the proposals, which favoured “a new global industrial process” and “a strategic agreement in the country”, in the words of the President of the ‘Agreement for the Industry’.

Indeed, Mas agreed to the “commitment to accept the bulk of the measures” and stated that the proposals were “a possible seed” for a broader agreement: a National Pact for the Industry that will define the priorities and main guidelines of Catalonia’s industrial policy for the next decade. In the meantime, all the representatives have asked the Catalan President to present a budget and implementation schedule in the coming months.

The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, stated that the 138 proposals coincided with “between 70% and 80%” of the Executive’s industrial policies. However he pointed out that the Government could not implement all of them for budget or jurisdiction limitations.

The event was attended by the main Catalan leaders and experts in the industry sector, notably Joan Carles Gallego, Economist and Secretary General of Catalonia’s Workers Commissions trade union (CCOO); Josep Maria Álvarez, Secretary General of the Workers General Union (UGT); Joaquim Gay de Montellà, Chairman of the main employers’ organisation in Catalonia, Foment; Josep González, President of the main SME association Pimec; and Dídac Ramírez, Economist and President of the University of Barcelona, among others.

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Retired Spanish Colonel Uncovers Military Operation to Halt Catalan Rebellion

Col. Martinez-Inglés

Former Spanish Army Officer Amadeo Martinez-Inglés claims Spanish top brass, including the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Chiefs of Staffs of the Army, Air Force and Navy, have made plans with the full knowledge and blessing of PM Mariano Rajoy's government for the rapid deployment of forces in Catalonia, disregarding democratic form, if by October the Catalan Government has not withdrawn its plans for a referendum on secession from Spain, set for early November.

Provisionally codenamed Operation Estela —Wake— Col. Martinez-Inglés explains in a letter (PDF, in Spanish) which digital news site Nació Digital has had access to, that the military intervention in Catalonia would be carried out unless what they have dubbed the Catalan Rebellion is called off.

The former Colonel quoted high-ranking military sources as saying that Mariano Rajoy's speech in Barcelona on Saturday was the starting gun for an anti-independence offensive which would first be "media-based, political and social, but if things come to a head —and Catalan President Mas does not back off— could turn into another sort of confrontation, whereby corrupt politicians would be forced to make way for military patriots. Operational plans have already been made."

"The plan" —continued the retired officer— "according to information I have from solvent military sources, is for elite units of the Spanish army —paratroopers and legionnaires— to occupy by surprise and at night all centres of political power and the media in Barcelona and the other provincial capitals in the Catalan community no later than 20th October, while also declaring a state of emergency throughout Catalonia and outlawing its Government.”

“Once the night-time operation was completed —at about eight in the morning of D-day +1— Prime Minister Rajoy would report before Congress in an emergency session of the Spanish Cortes, providing explanations to the Spanish people and promising a quick and 'democratic' solution to the conflict" added Col. Martinez-Inglés in his letter.

Spanish Army Colonel Threatens Catalonia with Military Intervention

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