1982-2014: The Soviets Did Not Save Galtieri, The Russians Will Not Save Rajoy

The decision by Spain's Rajoy administration to facilitate Russian naval operations in the Mediterranean and Atlantic by providing logistical support to the Russian Navy at Ceuta (right in front of Gibraltar) has shocked some, in particular given the mounting crisis between NATO and Russia. Furthermore, coming from a party founded by leading figures of the Franco regime, it may seem even more odd. After all the Spanish Government keeps paying public homage regularly to the Nazi Wermacht, while Russia is extremely sensitive to any attempt to revise her narrative of the Great Patriotic War (Second World War).

However, a look at history shows that it is not so unusual for Fascist, or neo-Fascist, regimes to have strange bed fellows when trying to confront British democracy. In 1982, following the Argentine invasion of the Falklands, the Junta received military aid from the Soviet Union, including satellite intelligence. This was despite Buenos Aires being considered to be a bastion of anti-communism. This was so much the case, that cooperation with Washington in Central America was one of the reasons why the Junta made the mistake of thinking that America would come on her side after the landings. When, despite General Haig's shuttle diplomacy and official neutrality, Washington came squarely in favor of Great Britain, providing key logistical support and some essential equipment like the air-to-air Stinger missile, those fantasies quickly gave way to a desperate attempt to get support from any quarter. Ideology was quickly tossed aside in the name of real politik.

Something similar may be happening in Spain. Rajoy, who like Galtieri and his successors, has never renounced to use force to conquer what he believes is his property, namely Gibraltar, regardless of the wishes of the Rock's inhabitants, and who has the same approach towards Catalonia, was confident to secure American support. However, after US President Obama failed to speak out against Catalan independence at a joint meeting with the media present, and some White House high officials went as far as publicly suggesting that at the end of the day it was up to the Catalans to determine their future status, Rajoy may have concluded, just like Galtieri, that his only hope lied elsewhere. Prime Minister Cameron's public warning not to use force against Catalonia, and the people of Gibraltar's resolve to remain loyal citizens of Her Majesty the Queen, can only have reinforced Rajoy's feeling that the West could not be relied on when it came to crushing a people's will by force.

When we take all this into consideration, what may seem at first surprising, ceases to seem so. There is nothing strange with two semi-democratic regimes cooperating in the naval sphere. What would be strange would be to see a neo-Fascist like Rajoy work side by side with democracies like the US and the UK. Birds of the same feather … 

The coming months will be harsh, for both Gibraltar and Catalonia, and we can expect growing tensions and even more incidents. However, there is nothing stronger than a heart where the flame of freedom burns, and it is no coincidence that the English and the Catalan Parliaments were the first in the world. Soviet help did not save Galtieri, and Russian assistance will not save Rajoy. Democracy will win in the Western Mediterranean, just like it triumphed in the South Atlantic.

Alex Calvo is an expert on security and defence in Asia

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496 Spanish State Vessel Incursions into BGTW Last Year

In a recent UK Commons debate on Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton Jim Dobbin questioned Europe Minister David Lidington on the number of incursions by Spanish state vessels in BGTW between December 2013 and now. Minister Lidington stated that there had been a total of 496 incursions throughout 2013, with 9 being carried out in December. This year there has been 77 unlawful incursions as of 28^th February. Guardia Civil carried out 53 of these, with two being carried out by the Spanish Navy.

Minister Lidington went on to say that the Government continues to make diplomatic protests to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding these incursions. He added, ‘unlawful incursions do not weaken or undermine the legal basis for British sovereignty over Gibraltar territorial waters.’

Source

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The soon-to-be King Philip VI defines:"Spain is ONE(!!!) nation ONE(!!!) united social and political COMMUNITY deeply rooted in a ONE-THOUSAND-year old (!!!) history"

The soon-to-be (of course, non-elected) Spanish King Philip VI defines Spain in his first public speech after his father's abdication:

"Spain is ONE (!!!) nation… ONE (!!!) united social and political COMMUNITY deeply rooted in a ONE-THOUSAND-year old (!!!) history.”
Wishful thinking, I’d say.
And after stating that Spain is this ONE NATION he glibly adds:
“…and diverse”.

His vision of Spain clearly doesn’t sincerely contemplate the actual DIVERSITY of NATIONS within –currently ruled under ONE state and an oligarchy that still insists on denying their existence.

Does anyone still think the Spanish state and Establishment appreciate, serve and give the due respect to the several nations within the Iberian Peninsula they rule?
Does anyone still wonder why THE NATION OF CATALONIA is seeking to have its own state?

Francesc Xavier Canals

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"El Jueves" censored in the Kingdom of Spain

"El Jueves" (Thursday) is a satirical magazine. It was censored yesterday (2014.06.05) and "kidnapped" from stores in the so called "democratic" Kingdom of Spain. This is Spanish meaning for press freedom. RBA, the company which owns it binned 60.000 copies at the last minute because their front cover showed Spain's King Juan Carlos putting a dung-filled crown on his heir Prince Felipe's head.

Cartoonist Albert Monteys and the artist behind King Juan Carlos’s dung crown, Manel Fontdevila, both announced their resignation. They both are Catalans. 

"El Jueves " was already forced to pull a front cover in 2007 which caricatured Prince Felipe and his wife  having sexual intercourse as it was deemed “disrespectful”. Copies of El Jueves came out a day later than usual with a new cover showing Pablo Iglesias leader of the grassroots political party Podemos (We Can). Iglesias is a subject. Its funny to laugh on him but not on the Kings. Are we all equal? Really?. 

 

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Catalan Government against the Eastern Ukraine process

Should Catalonia's Government judge the developments abroad?

In a wrong step the Autonomous Government judges about the Eastern Ukraine process in a press release.

Why to judge the Eastern Ukraine developments but not to judge the Crimea's one?

Why to express an opinion about Eastern Ukraine but not about Tibet, Western Sahara, Kurdistan or Chechnya?

Diplomacy is to make allies, not enemies.

Read the full statement.

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From Terrorism to Fraud

It is of vital importance that the Government of Catalonia calls a Parliamentary session in order to solemnly declare Catalonia’s political rupture with the highly discredited ‘Spanish Empire’, adhere to the International Law –there is Life outside the ‘constitution’- and set a date for immediate elections to take place, so that the people of Catalonia can finally vote for their Independence with a formal request abroad, to ensure that the world keeps a watchful eye over the whole process. 

In the meantime, our political representatives should assign a prestigious panel of judges who, alongside the process, present before the Tribunal of The Hague a report against the Spanish State for GENOCIDE! Long overdue war compensations should be claimed from: Spain, Germany and Italy. And, at the same time, demand a new Nuremberg to judge the only existing regime which, to this day and in the hands of the Nazis and the assassin General Franco, no-one has yet condemned! 

Once all the cards are on the table, Catalans will cease to feel ridiculed and the ‘hidalgos (Spanish nobles), despots, inquisitors, villains and informers’ from the ‘Imperial Castille’ – the only remaining dregs of their rotten ‘empire’- will once and for all cease to ‘dance mockingly’ in front of us! 

Do I hear you say that things should not be done like this? Do I hear you say that this is not the way to solve things? Do I hear you say we need to maintain certain decorum? And who, then, will talk of substance? One thing is to avoid confrontations with colonizers, whether they appear dressed in civilian clothes or in uniform, and another very different thing is to trivialize the Independence of Catalonia!! It is not a matter of taking us all out to ‘pasture’ every September 11th. What we really need is to have politicians with character, capable of making decisions and able to defend our dignity. The tendency to make a pact, establish a dialogue, reach an understanding or an agreement with the ‘empire’ who, throughout history and at the present time, treats our country as a colony, is only accepted by politicians like Cambo and his ‘political descendants’. And here we must ask ourselves: when facing the truth, where were the ‘fathers’ of the present style of politics they so much praise? 

They were obviously occupying the Francoist ranks, providing funds for the ‘Empire’s national cause for God and for the indivisible and indissoluble unity of Spain’. It is understood, of course, that here there is only one country: Theirs! The rest are just provinces: ‘Conquered land!. 

Furthermore, when that nazi died many of us, willingly or not, swallowed the new idea that we were being driven towards a democracy! Some of us asked ourselves: how could we build a democratic society by following the will of a dictator who shoved down our throats the idea of a monarchy without ever taking it to the ballot box? Now, however, many of us have finally uncovered the farce. 

Meanwhile our politicians still intend to persuade us that we can still negotiate, establish a dialogue and reach an agreement with a people who are yet to condemn the old regime! If they are not willing to repent, how are they going to change their peculiar vision of the imperial Spain? What can we negotiate with people who are proud of their ‘crusade’? When the dictator died, they successfully persuaded us that our executioners had changed; now, however, after thirty-five years of scandals, pedagogies and mockeries, do they really think they can still cajole us? Do they take us for fools? Will the new negotiations be carried out in the same style of servitude like the one that has so far driven us to complete failure? Isn’t it the case that when one fails one tries to rectify the old mistakes? With the succulent salaries they receive and yet they still haven’t been able to shrug off the look of the butler who is proud to serve in a good home? They talk as if they are afraid to open their mouths and thus offend their master. They look like puppets pulled by strings. How was Jesus able to bring down an empire in a world without loudspeakers? 

Just as observed by Carles M.Espinalt in his book ‘The Written Work’ when citing Demostenes: ‘It is not possible to make a powerful speech without a firm intention of throwing a tirade’ Since they are so obsessed with maintaining their social standing, why don’t they learn to speak in public! Telling the truth through big loudspeakers requires standing! Lowering the voice so that the audience won’t hear you is a form adopted only by slaves! 

Therefore, insisting on maintaining one’s standing while, at the same time, offering an open hand, as Mr.Artur Mas said he would do shortly after the parody displayed in the Congress of the Spanish Empire, is an attitude particular of a slave! 

The depth of his talk, if it had any, evaporated in an instant. Or is it perhaps that they do not remember the shooting of people such as Carrasco Formiguera, Ildefons Sunyol or none other than our very own President Lluis Companys? Have they also forgotten that the Spanish language was enforced in our land with spilt blood? 

Is it up to these state terrorists who govern the ‘Empire’ by means of putrefied laws and who protect a corrupted monarchy as well as the will of a bloodthirsty nazi under the umbrella of their ‘sacrosanct constitution’ to legalize a collective survey (not through elections) for the Catalans? With whose moral authority? Have our politicians not understood the command given by the People of Catalonia? Have they not realised that we are offering them the opportunity to redeem themselves for all their wrongdoings? 

Brief: if we Catalans tolerate our political representatives to disgrace themselves in such a way it is only because we have neither shame nor dignity. Our plea aims to neither seek economical retribution, nor any bureaucratic nature, nor are we requesting any kind of protection. We are demanding JUSTICE! In short, when the existing laws are inspired by war criminals, these are not changed or agreed or even re-interpreted; instead, they are opposed! POLITICAL RUPTURE NOW!.

Encarna Parreno

Disciple of Prof. Carles M.Espinalt 

Psychoesthetics

* Translated by Josepa Gomis

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