Jan Pro Wieland FoubergMy partner and I affirm the resolution Resolved: Spain should grant Catalonia its

independence. We offer the following framework: This round should be weighed on a

cost/benefit analysis because the resolution says, should, thus implying a debate of weighing

pros and cons.

We affirm the resolution for the following two reasons; first Spain harms Catalonia

politically and second Spain harms Catalonia economically.

On to our first point, Spain harms Catalonia politically.

Since Catalonia announced its independence referendum for October of 2017, the

political rights of the citizens of Catalonia were completely disregarded. According to

Catalonia’s president, Carles Puigdemont, who was forced to flee Catalonia to avoid arrest,

Madrid has opted for a path of authoritarian repression, and that QUOTE “[Spain has] arrested

officials of the Catalan government, tapped telephones, raided private residences, and banned

political rallies . . .[Spain] prohibited both public and private media from broadcasting

advertisements about the referendum, it has also moved to block Catalan government websites

that inform the public about the vote . . . The Spanish government not only wants to keep

Catalans from voting, but also to prevent them from being informed” UNQUOTE. According to

The Atlantic in October, Spain’s denial of the vote has only increased the pro-independence

movement, and has tarnished Spain’s reputation, with the UN and Human Rights Watch

criticizing Spain’s response to the referendum. The Independent wrote in September that the

fight for Catalonia’s independence has now become more about defending their basic rights like

freedom of speech, assembly, and press. Over the course of the referendum, Amnesty

Jan Pro Wieland FoubergInternational shows the impact of 893 people reporting injuries from police using excessive

force.

On to our second point: Spain harms Catalonia economically.

Catalonia is the largest economic booster for Spain. It makes up 25% of all exports and

and 24% of all tourism. BBC News reported in October of 2017 that the region provides the

largest GDP for Spain at 19% out of all Spanish regions, and is taxed the most. However,

Catalonia doesn’t see any of this money returned. Catalans paid nearly €10 billion to the Spanish

government and didn’t get any back in public spending. Granting Catalonia independence will

allow them to keep this money.

Hamish Mcrae of the Independent reported "there is no reason why [Catalonia] should

not [...] be an extremely successful economy. [...] It has a coastline, and a Mediterranean one at

that. Barcelona and Tarragona, a little to the south, are Spain’s two largest ports. [...] it has an

established economic base. It is a manufacturing centre, has two top-ranking business schools,

and the usual array of service industries. [...] On its own, Catalonia could be nimble in attracting

business, and consequently creating jobs, than it has been as part of Spain." UNQUOTE.

Catalonia also wanted changes in its region that were overruled by Spain. The Guardian found

on December 9, 2017, that Catalonia voted to guarantee providing poor in Catalonia with heat

and electricity, however, Spain overruled this vote, and is continually overruling Catalonia’s

economic policies, thus independence is the only way to true fiscal autonomy. Al Jazeera wrote

in September 2017 that independence will increase Catalonia’s GDP by 7%. Furthermore, Jon

Henley from the Guardian found that an independent Catalonia would actually help Spain’s

Jan Pro Wieland Foubergeconomy. Spain would be forced to invest effectively, and grow a more efficient economy, by

following a separate economic model from Catalonia.

The Guardian on December 22, 2017 proves that the majority of Catalans support

independence. They state QUOTE "pro-independence parties secured a renewed majority in the

Catalan parliament." UNQUOTE.

As such, along with the benefits to both Catalonia and Spain, from decreased political

and economical harm, we urge a Pro ballot.

Jan Pro Wieland Fouberg

POINT 1 - POLITICALSpain has been limiting Catalan’s freedom of expression

Puigdemont The Washington Post September 22Carles Puigdemont – president of Catalonia “Sorry, Spain. Catalonia is voting on independence whether you like it or not.” The Washington Post September 22, 2017 online at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/democracy-post/wp/2017/09/22/sorry-spain-catalonia-is-voting-on- independence-whether-you-like-it-or-not/?utm_term=.97e631f65674

After three centuries under Spanish rule, on Oct. 1, citizens of Catalonia will finally have the chance to exercise their right to self-determination. More than 5 million eligible voters will have the right to decide on a simple question: “Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?”

The way to this historic referendum was paved by a majority decision of the Catalonian parliament. In our last regional election in September 2015, pro-independence parties won 47.8 percent of the vote, which gave them an absolute majority of seats. Unionist parties won 39.1 percent of the votes, a clear defeat, while the rest of the votes went to parties that defend the right to self-determination but are not necessarily in favor of independence. So there can be no denying the democratic legitimacy of our current Catalonian government. For this reason, after making several unsuccessful efforts to agree on the terms of the referendum with Spanish President Mariano Rajoy, I initiated the referendum.

In stark contrast to the governments of Canada or Britain, Madrid has refused to accept this democratic challenge, and has opted instead for the path of authoritarian repression. In most parts of the developed world, police protect ballot boxes, polling stations, and voters. In Catalonia today, the situation is the opposite. Spanish security forces are confiscating ballots and ballot boxes, stripping campaign posters from the walls, and intimidating citizens. They have arrested officials of the Catalan government, tapped telephones, raided private residences, and banned political rallies.It seems incredible that this could happen in Spain in the 21st century. One French journalist recently noted that the Spanish government is acting more like Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuelan

dictatorship than a h ealthy European democracy. And consider the fact that Catalonia, Spain, and other European countries are currently on maximum alert against jihadi terrorism. Instead of working to prevent possible attacks, Spain’s police forces are working to prevent the exercise of democracy. This is profoundly irresponsible.

The Spanish government has also gravely violated the freedom of expression and of information. Not only has it prohibited both public and private media from broadcasting advertisements about the referendum, it has also moved to block Catalan government websites that inform the public about the vote. Madrid has even blocked proxy servers, a procedure employed by only the most totalitarian regimes. The Spanish government not only wants to keep Catalans from voting, but also to prevent them from being informed.This de facto state of siege to which the Spanish State has submitted Catalonia nullifies the autonomy conceded in 1979. A few days ago the central government seized control over Catalonia’s finances, thus imperiling the Catalan economy, which is the motor of the Spanish economy. Catalonia is responsible for almost 20 percent of Spanish GDP, and our exports comprise some 25 percent of all Spanish exports. Spain is thus gravely damaging its own economy as well as putting Catalonia’s at risk, and is even threatening to cut some of the social services to which

Catalonia’s people are entitled. Madrid is thus punishing each and every citizen of Catalonia indiscriminately, whether or not they actually want independence.

The Spanish government has to understand that its behavior is unacceptable from the point of view of democracy and civil rights. Four decades after the death of the dictator Francisco Franco, we still find that authoritarian instincts rule at the heart of

the Madrid government. Respect for minorities is a fundamental human right, and the right of self-determination is an irrevocable right of all nations.Our commitment to the right of self-determination and to the will of the Catalan people to decide its own future remains unshaken. The repression of the Spanish government will not be able to change that. On Oct. 1, citizens of Catalonia will exercise their right to decide whether they want to become a new independent republic, just like other peoples of the world have done before them. This is the moment of the people of Catalonia, but we are not alone in this fight. We call on democrats around the world to give support to this long struggle between freedom and authoritarianism.

Jan Pro Wieland FoubergMadrid has bad response to referendum

Hamid and Pretus The Atlantic October 1Nafees Hamid and Clara Pretus – research fellow at Artis International, faculty at department of psychiatry and forensic medicine at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona “How Spain Misunderstood the Catalan Independence Movement” The Atlantic October 1, 2017 online at: https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/10/catalan-referendum-spain-independence/541656/

Today, millions of citizens of the Spanish region of Catalonia hope to vote in a referendum to declare their independence. Many Catalans feel that they are, historically, a separate people with their own distinct language and culture that must be protected through the restoration of their own nation.

But Spain’s government is vehemently opposed to such a referendum even taking place. The country’s constitutional court has declared the referendum illegal, and the national police have arrested 14 senior Catalan officials and confiscated millions of ballot papers. Judges have ordered the police to seize any building or materials related to the referendum to ensure that a vote does not take place. These actions have prompted mass protests, and Spain’s Interior Ministry has deployed thousands of extra police to the region ahead of what it expects to turn into a violent day.

As researchers at Artis International, an organization of academics and practitioners that conducts field-based research on political conflicts around the world, we sought to study the underlying psychology of the Catalan independence movement to better understand what could strengthen or weaken it. Our study consisted of 24 in-depth ethnographic interviews with leaders of the “independentist” movement, and several dozen more with supporters and non-supporters of independence. In addition, we conducted 68 longitudinal psychometric surveys with independence activists during a non-binding—and thus symbolic—referendum held in 2014 that was not recognized as legitimate by Spain.

The actions of the Spanish government reveal a deep misunderstanding about the psychology of the independence movement. Authorities are attempting to wear down the movement by denying

a vote. Our findings suggested that Madrid’s current approach may well backfire: The government’s muscular response to Catalans’ desire for self-determination could increase the number of independentists and heighten their passion, which, in the long run, may further erode the stability and reputation of Spain’s central government. Allowing a vote to proceed, meanwhile, could actually strengthen Madrid.

The current strain of the Catalan independence movement began under the rule of fascist dictator Francisco Franco, who took over Spain in 1939. Under Franco, the public use of the Catalan language was banned, and all specifically Catalan institutions, such as the Government of Catalonia, were abolished as part of an attempt to end regionalism in Spain. Shortly after Franco’s death in 1975, the government reinstated Catalonia’s status as an autonomous community within Spain. But a small minority of activists still wanted full independence.

The share of those favoring independence began to rise steeply in 2010, from 25 percent to its peak of 57 percent in 2012. The first reason for this rise was likely the 2008 economic crisis. Using government data from 2005 to 2016, we found a very high correlation between support for independence and unemployment in Catalonia. The second reason for this rise was public outrage at the 2010 constitutional court’s cutting down of reforms aimed at increasing sovereignty in Catalonia’s Statute of Autonomy, its equivalent of a constitution. Both events led many to feel that Catalonia would be better off under self rule. Since then, Madrid has been adamantly opposed to an independence referendum, arguing that it is illegal according to the 1978 Spanish constitution (which mentions the “indissoluble unity of the Spanish Nation”).

Since then, the Catalan independence movement has been building. It is driven by strong personal identification with Catalan culture and what social psychologists call sacred values: moral values of the highest significance that, in some cases, people would give their lives for.

According to our research, the top two sacred values motivating the Catalan movement were the right to vote for independence and the protection of Catalan identity. In studies of conflicts around the world, our colleagues have found that threats to sacred values and identities often lead to increased activism and, sometimes, violence. The denial of a vote is a threat to these values and identity and, most likely, will only further fuel the

independence movement. Until recently, many supporters of the referendum have been undecided on the question of independence. However, the denial of the vote by Madrid has outraged some, turning them into pro-independence activists.Denying Catalans their vote may only increase the sense of distrust towards Madrid from Spain’s other regions, such as Galicia and Basque country, both of which have had their own independence movements of varying degrees of popularity. Many Spaniards do not have confidence in the country's democratic institutions. For example, the People’s Party, the current ruling party, has been implicated in 65 cases of corruption. President Mariano Rajoy has stood by many of those involved, causing many to question their government’s interest in the public good.

A study conducted by our colleagues at Artis International found that only 23 percent of Spaniards regarded democracy as a sacred value. In interviews with ordinary Spaniards in different regions, we found that one explanation commonly offered for this low belief in democracy was the perceived unresponsiveness of the central government towards the needs of its citizens. The lack of jobs for ordinary citizens was seen as especially unjust when compared to the embezzlement allegations against senior government officials. “We can hardly support our families, and [government officials] steal millions from us. They don’t care about our families, they only care about holding onto power. That’s Spanish democracy,” one young man in the Basque city of Bilbao said.

The Spanish government would have been more likely to achieve its goals of national unity by allowing a vote in Catalonia in which it demanded that more options appeared on the ballot. Such options would have included the choice of remaining an autonomous community but with greater sovereignty, or becoming a federal state. However, the current choice is a binary one—to either be for or against independence, with the “fors” as the loudest voices. According to Catalan government data from July, 41 percent support independence when it is presented as a binary; when presented with those other options, support for total independence drops to 35 percent. Allowing additional choices would achieve two things: it would offer diverse options that represent the spectrum of voter attitudes, and lower the support for total independence.

What the Spanish government has failed to understand: Even a no vote in the referendum will tame the independentists. Our longitudinal surveys of independence activists before, during, and after a symbolic vote for independence held in November 2014, for example, showed that voting has a cathartic effect. We found that the strength of Catalan identity expressed by independence activists decreased after the vote. Using a psychometric tool known as identity fusion, activists can indicate on a survey how much their sense of self is defined by being Catalan. Before the vote, 75 percent of activists felt “fused” with Catalonia; after the vote, the number dropped to almost 50 percent.

Catalans’ willingness to make sacrifices in defense of their values also decreased. These sacrifices were assessed on a series of scales ranging from “willingness to lose one’s job” to “willingness to lose one’s life.” Before the vote, activists were, on average, willing to be imprisoned to protect Catalan culture via independence; after the vote, they were barely willing to risk their jobs for

Jan Pro Wieland Foubergthe same cause. In fact, the more engaged the activists were, the less willing they were to continue sacrificing for independence after the symbolic vote. At the same time, the perception of the strength of Catalonia increased while Spain was seen as weaker. Taken together, though carrying no practical effect, the vote reduced the passion of the independentists while allowing their sense of dignity to increase.

Madrid’s strategy of denying a referendum will not cool the independence movement. Its obstinance will backfire, inflaming the passions of some Catalans and further maligning the undemocratic image of the central government in the eyes of other Spaniards. Conversely, allowing a vote with multiple options could have driven down support for total independence and had a cathartic effect on the most passionate of independence activists, even if they lost. Allowing an official referendum will work in the favor of the central government and lead to more unity, not less. Unfortunately, Madrid has chosen the path of greatest resistance.

Background on independence – voters hurt + UN/HRW condemn, economics hurts, Kosovo mentioned

Maguire The Conversation October 2, 2017Amy Maguire - Senior Lecturer in International Law and Human Rights, University of Newcastle “As Spain represses Catalonia’s show of independence, the rest of Europe watches on nervously” The Conversation (independent source of news and views from the academic and research community) October 2, 2017 online at: http://theconversation.com/as-spain-represses-catalonias-show-of-independence-the-rest-of- europe-watches-on-nervously-84463

On Sunday, more than 2 million Catalans voted in a referendum on the question:

Should Catalonia become an independent state?

The vote was a milestone in the century-long struggle for self-determination in Catalonia, a region in northeast Spain. The claim for independence, though, was again met with opposition by the Spanish government, with Spanish police seizing polling stations and beating would-be voters.

Catalonia’s claim for independence

Catalonian President Carles Puigdemont said on Monday that Catalan “citizens have earned the right to [be] an independent state”. Puigdemont sees the 90% referendum win as a self-evident claim for independence.

Catalonia’s claim to independence is historical. It has always considered itself a distinct entity. While Catalonia has co-existed with Spain for centuries, the 1979 Statute of Autonomy under the 1978 Spanish Constitution permitted Catalonia some autonomy, with self-government of education, health care and welfare.

Catalonia has also maintained a culture and language distinct from its Spanish neighbours. For Catalans, strong national identity has been demonstrated through resistance of repressive expressions of Spanish influence – notably the Franco dictatorship’s attempts to suppress Catalan culture and language.

As one of the strongest and most productive economic regions in Spain, the perception among Catalans is that they give more in tax than they receive in state benefits. In 2015, 20% of Spain’s total GDP came from Catalonia, while the state budget for Catalonia received a 6.5% decrease from 2003.

The current Catalan claim for independence has been energised by the perceived economic and political repression of the region by the central government in recent years. Many Catalans believe Catalonia would be more successful if it could self-rule.

Parallel to inequitable economic treatment, the Spanish government has also moved recently to tightly constrain Catalan autonomy. In 2010, the Spanish Constitutional Court struck down an expanded version of the Statute of Autonomy that granted Catalonia the title of a “nation”.

In March 2017, former Catalan leader Artur Mas was banned from holding public office after being found guilty of disobeying the Constitutional Court by holding a symbolic referendum in 2014. Such aggressive responses by Spain to the idea of secession have driven increasing numbers of Catalonians toward the independence movement.

In the context of Sunday’s referendum, Puigdemont argued that his people’s sovereignty lies with the Catalan parliament, and that no other court or political power could ban or suspend the vote.

The referendum’s legality is certainly contentious, notably because it did not adhere to democratic conventions like the requirement for a

minimum threshold of votes. Regardless, Puigdemont is looking to make a declaration of independence in the coming days.

Why does the Spanish government oppose Catalonian independence?

While Catalans claim independence, Madrid refuses to recognise the referendum’s legitimacy at all. According to Spanish President Mariano Rajoy: There has not been a self-determination referendum in Catalonia. Rajoy labelled the referendum as a “constitutional and democratic atrocity” and slammed the Catalan leaders for creating “serious damage to co-existence” between Spain and Catalonia. In line with the 2010 Constitutional Court decision, the Spanish government opposes Catalan independence on the grounds of constitutional invalidity. The 1978 Spanish Constitution denies the independence of Catalonia, declaring the “indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation”. Madrid argues there is no provision in the Spanish Constitution for self-determination, and that a unilateral vote of independence is at odds with Article 155’s requirement for democratic participation of all Spaniards. On these grounds, the Constitutional Court banned the referendum – which nevertheless proceeded on Sunday. What happened during the referendum on Sunday?

Sunday’s referendum was marred by violence and repression. Spanish national police forcibly blocked voting, seizing ballot boxes and voting papers, physically removing voters from polling stations, and attacking civilians with batons and rubber bullets. Catalan emergency officials say that 761 Catalan civilians and 12 police were injured during the police actions in Barcelona and Girona. Catalan and Spanish leaders blame each other for the violence. Rajoy condemned the Catalans for their “radicalism and disobedience”, praising the Spanish police for their “firmness and

Jan Pro Wieland Foubergserenity” in response. This response sits uncomfortably with images of voters being removed from polling stations by their hair and attacked with batons while raising their hands in peaceful protest.

The UN has criticised Madrid for its disproportionate and violent response to a peaceful attempt at self-determination. Human Rights Watch has condemned the Spanish government for violating Catalans’ civil right to peaceful assembly and free expression.In contrast, the European Union regards the vote as illegal but has called for unity and peaceful relations between Spain and Catalonia.

As Catalans call for a national strike in response to Madrid’s repressive actions, the world waits to see whether this act of protest will be met with greater repression. Madrid could use emergency powers to take full administrative control of Catalonia. Catalonia and the struggle for self-determination On Monday, Puigdemont said the Catalan people:

… have sent a message to the world, we have the right to decide our future, we have the right to be free and we want to live in peace. Catalonia is effectively asserting the right of its people to self-determination. This is a collective human right, enshrined in common Article 1(1) of the twin human rights covenants – the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

In voting at a referendum and preparing for a declaration of independence, Catalonia is following a similar contested path to the emerging state of Kosovo. In 2010, the International Court of Justice found that Kosovo’s declaration of independence did not violate international law.

Spain is the only major country in Western Europe to refuse recognition to Kosovo as an independent country. Spain’s insistence that unilateral secession cannot be permitted for Kosovo is intertwined with its determination not to lose Catalonia.Self-determination can be realised in a range of ways, including through forms of autonomy within a nation-state. It may be that a negotiated arrangement that would preserve Spain’s sovereignty over Catalonia would still be possible.

However, by meeting Sunday’s assertion of self-determination with repression, Spain has undoubtedly fuelled Catalonia’s determination to establish an independent state.

Other EU member nations, including the UK, will be watching with concern that Catalonia may inspire separatist movements in Scotland, Bavaria and Flanders.

Judges allowed officers to do whatever in Catalonia, the conflict is more about basic rights of speech

Baird The Independent September 2017Kate Shea Baird – Independent correspondent in Barcelona “The scale of repression over Catalonia is exposing the crisis of the Spanish state” The Independent September 21, 2017 online at: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/catalan-independence-referendum-self-determination- separatist-spain-government-unpopular-region-a7959286.html

On Wednesday Mariano Rajoy lost control of the narrative on the Catalan question. Appearing before the press after a series of raids and arrests designed to halt a unilateral referendum on independence planned for 1 October, the Spanish Prime Minister trotted out the government’s well-worn arguments in defence of the constitution and the “rights of all Spaniards”.

However, Rajoy’s professed defence of the rule of law is increasingly at odds with reality on the ground. Over recent weeks, judges in Spain have used startlingly loose interpretations of the Supreme Court’s ruling on the referendum’s illegality to issue orders that violate many of the rights they’re charged with upholding. Local police across Catalonia have seized posters and banners related to the 1 October vote, and the Spanish Civil Guard has searched a number of newspaper offices for incriminating materials. These aren’t signs of a state that’s confident in its authority.

Significantly, this legal overreach hasn’t been limited to Catalonia, and nor has the popular response to it. Judges in Madrid and Bilbao have ruled public debates on the Catalan question illegal. While both events eventually went ahead despite the court suspensions, the apparent attempt to use criminal law to suppress political expression recalls some of the darkest moments of Spain’s recent history.

The scale of state repression in Catalonia and its extension to the rest of Spain mark a significant shift in the ongoing dispute over the national question. The conflict is less and

less about competing conceptions of democracy and increasingly about the defence of the basic rights like freedom of assembly, speech and the press.

Jan Pro Wieland FoubergAs Rajoy addressed the country on Wednesday night, the streets of Barcelona swelled with tens of thousands of people demonstrating outside the Catalan economy ministry, where a junior

minister had been arrested earlier that morning. On the other side of the city, protesters gathered outside the headquarters of the pro-independence party “Popular Unity Candidacy”, blocking the entrance of the national police, which had spent the morning attempting to search the offices without a warrant.Is this a revolt with a national current? Undoubtedly. But there is something else going on, too. Wednesday’s rallies were not the highly organised, disciplined affairs that characterise the annual demonstrations of the independence movement. Their spirit owed something to the anti-establishment “indignados” movement that occupied the squares of Spain’s major cities in May 2011 and politicised a generation.

Protesters alternated between collective renditions of the Catalan national anthem, “Els Segadors” and the libertarian and anti-fascist chants of “the streets will always be ours” and “no passaran”. As night fell, the air was filled with the sound of people banging pots from their balconies in protest, even in neighbourhoods where support for independence is relatively low. Elsewhere in Spain, emergency solidarity protests were held in more than 20 cities, using the hashtag #CataluñaNoEstásSola, “Catalonia, you’re not alone”.

Since the financial crisis in 2008, both the independence and the “indignados” movements have questioned the foundations of the so-called “’78 Regime” in Spain, the constitutional settlement that transitioned the country to democracy after decades of dictatorship. While neither movement on its own has had the strength to pose a serious threat to the established order, united around a common cause, they could create the most formidable grassroots movement in Europe.

The question now isn’t whether or not there’s a wafer-thin majority in Catalonia in favour of independence. It’s whether there’s a social and political majority capable of standing up to the most regressive elements of the Spanish state and defending basic freedoms and the values of the Republic, be it Catalan or Spanish.

Polling stations shut down, 893 hurt from police action

Amnesty International October 3, 2017Amnesty International - London-based non-governmental organization focused on human rights “Spain: Excessive use of force by National Police and Civil Guard in Catalonia” October 3, 2017 online at: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/10/spain-excessive-use-of-force- by-national-police-and-civil-guard-in-catalonia/

Amnesty International has directly confirmed on the ground that members of the National Police force's Police Intervention Unit (UIP) and Civil Guard officers used excessive and disproportionate force against demonstrators who were passively resisting in the streets and at the entrances to polling stations. The security forces were acting on the ruling of the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC), which ordered them to prevent the holding of a referendum. The Ministry of the Interior reports that the security forces intervened and shut down 92 polling stations.

According to information from the Generalitat (the government of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia), there were a total of 2,315 polling stations, 400 of which were shut down by court order.In several cases, the actions of National Police and Civil Guard officers involved excessive and unnecessary use of force, and the dangerous use of riot control equipment, injuring hundreds of peaceful protesters

John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International

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An Amnesty International delegation of five people has been monitoring the situation in Catalonia for several days, including the afternoon of Saturday 30 September and Sunday 1 October, and visited numerous polling stations throughout the weekend, gathering testimonies and statements.

According to figures provided by Catalonia’s Regional Ministry of Health at midday today, on Sunday 1 October, 893 people were attended at primary healthcare centres and hospitals for wounds, bruising or health issues resulting from the police action. Two people with serious injuries have been admitted to Sant Pau and Vall d’Hebron hospitals. The majority of the wounded were in the Barcelona health region. According to Ministry of the Interior sources, 19 National Police officers and 14 Civil Guard officers sustained injuries. Various images also show demonstrators behaving violently towards Civil Guard and National Police officers. One Civil Guard officer was wounded when a chair was thrown at him at Sant Joan de Vilatorrada polling station, Barcelona.

“In several cases, the actions of National Police and Civil Guard officers involved excessive and unnecessary use of force, and the dangerous use of riot control equipment, injuring hundreds of peaceful protesters,”,said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International's Director for Europe and Central Asia.

Under international law, law enforcement officials must only use force when strictly necessary to perform the duties entrusted to them. Actions to enforce the TSJC ruling must comply with international standards regarding the use of force. Amnesty International considers that, in many cases, National Police and Civil Guard officers used disproportionate force.

The human rights organization has also documented dangerous and inappropriate use of riot control equipment such as rubber balls by National Police officers, for instance at the junction of Calle Sardenya and Calle Diputación, in Barcelona. Two Amnesty International observers witnessed a police charge by officers trying to clear the way after a group of demonstrators sat in the street to block the passage of police vans following a police intervention at Ramón Llull state school to remove the ballot boxes from the polling station.

After having been blocked by the demonstrators for almost half an hour, the officers forced them to move by beating them with their rubber truncheons. Meanwhile, other officers fired blank cartridges, causing the protesters to stand up and start to disperse. The police vans advanced quickly down Calle Sardenya. Some demonstrators threw objects at the police as they continued firing blanks. According to testimonies gathered by Amnesty International, as the officers withdrew, they also fired rubber balls at demonstrators who were running after them, wounding at least two people. Reportedly, one person was hit in the leg and the other in the right eye; the second person underwent surgery at Sant Pau Hospital, where he remains today.

Amnesty International recalls that rubber balls can cause serious injuries, especially if they impact the head, face or upper body. The general imprecision and lack of reliability of most of launchers and projectiles increases the likelihood of them causing serious harm. Rubber balls used by the National Police and the Civil Guard in Spain are intrinsically imprecise and cannot be used safely or in line with international standards on human rights and thus they must be prohibited.

Jan Pro Wieland FoubergThe organization has also received accounts and has seen images showing that officers used riot control equipment and excessive force against people who had gathered in the vicinity of certain schools, such as Escuela Mediterrània in the Barceloneta district of Barcelona. Images in the media show how, outside this polling station, police officers beat defenceless people who posed no apparent threat. For example, one officer beat a woman around the neck and face on at least two occasions, without any apparent provocation. In the same footage, another National Police officer can be seen punching a man in the face. Similarly, images filmed in Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, Barcelona, show a Civil Guard officer hitting demonstrators in the face with his rubber truncheon as they surrounded the polling station.

The organization has also received accounts and has seen images showing that officers used riot control equipment and excessive force against people who had gathered in the vicinity of certain schools, such as Escuela Mediterrània in the Barceloneta district of Barcelona. Images in the media show how, outside this polling station, police officers beat defenceless people who posed no apparent threat. For example, one officer beat a woman around the neck and face on at least two occasions, without any apparent provocation. In the same footage, another National Police officer can be seen punching a man in the face. Similarly, images filmed in Sant Joan de Vilatorrada, Barcelona, show a Civil Guard officer hitting demonstrators in the face with his rubber truncheon as they surrounded the polling station.

This conduct is contrary to international standards which stipulate that truncheons and other devices having a similar impact should not be used against people who are not behaving in a threatening or aggressive manner. Where their use is absolutely necessary, officers should avoid causing serious injuries; they should refrain from hitting people with truncheons on the head, neck, throat, spine, lower back, solar plexus, knees, ankles or vital parts of the body.

Finally, Amnesty International recalls that as long as the participants of a meeting or demonstration do not violently resist the police, officers should not use force. When demonstrators are merely passively resisting achievement of the police objective, only minimal force should be used and, in any case, should be proportional to the objective sought. In the opinion of the organization, footage of demonstrators being removed from Instituto Pau Claris secondary school on Passeig Lluís Companys in Barcelona shows how some of the people gathered there were violently beaten and shoved by police officers, even in cases where there did not appear to be any resistance.

These acts should be investigated and those responsible brought to justice. These kinds of incidents should never happen again

Esteban Beltrán, Amnesty International, Spain

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“The National Police and Civil Guard were clearly obstructed in performing their duties at numerous polling stations, however, there is a great deal of information available showing that police officers used excessive and disproportionate force. Those acts should be investigated and those responsible brought to justice. These kinds of incidents should never happen again,” said Esteban Beltrán, Director of Amnesty International in Spain.

Amnesty International is calling on the Spanish authorities urgently launch a thorough, immediate and impartial investigation into the excessive and disproportionate use of force by members of the National Police and Civil Guard. Any use of force by law enforcement officials should be in compliance with international law and standards, and be subject to review. If the investigation concludes that excessive force was used, those responsible should be subjected to the appropriate criminal or disciplinary procedures. The misuse of force by law enforcement officers must be treated as a crime.

POINT 2 - ECONOMICALLYCatalonia’s economics

BBC News, October, 2017BBC News, “Could Catalonia make a success of independence,” BBC News, October 10, 2017, accessed December 1, 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41474674

"Madrid nos roba" is a popular secessionist slogan - "Madrid is robbing us." The received wisdom is that comparatively wealthy Catalonia pays in more than it gets out of the Spanish state.

Catalonia is certainly rich compared with other parts of Spain. It is home to just 16% of the Spanish population, but 19% of its GDP and more than a quarter of Spain's foreign exports.

It punches above its weight in terms of tourism too - 18 million of Spain's 75 million tourists chose Catalonia as their primary destination last year, easily the most visited region.Tarragona has one of Europe's largest chemical hubs.

Barcelona is one of the EU's top 20 ports by weight of goods handled.

About a third of the working population has some form of tertiary education.

It's also true that Catalans pay more in taxes than is spent on their region.

In 2014, the last year the Spanish government has figures for, Catalans paid nearly €10bn (£8.9bn) more in taxes than reached their region in public spending. Would an independent Catalonia get the difference back?

Jan Pro Wieland FoubergSome have argued that even if Catalonia gained a tax boost from independence, that might get swallowed up by having to create new public institutions and run them without the same economies of scale.

And some argue that it makes sense for the state to redistribute money from richer to poorer regions in this way.

A harder reckoning

Perhaps of greater concern is Catalonia's public debt.

The Catalan government owes €77bn (£68bn) at the last count, or 35.4% of Catalonia's GDP. Of that, €52bn is owed to the Spanish government.In 2012, the Spanish government set up a special fund to provide cash to the regions, who were unable to borrow money on the international markets after the financial crisis. Catalonia has been by far the biggest beneficiary of this scheme, taking €67bn since it began.

Not only would Catalonia lose access to that scheme, but it would raise the question of how much debt Catalonia would be willing to repay after independence.

That question would surely cast a shadow over any negotiations. And on top of the sum owed by the regional government - would Madrid expect Barcelona to shoulder a share of the Spanish national debt?

A giant EU flag is unfurled over Gaudi's La Pedrera building in Barcelona

Many Catalans are proud to be EU citizens - that might be tricky to maintain after independence

Involuntary Catalexit?

The economic uncertainty created by the prospect of independence has already led to two banks deciding to move their head offices out of the region.

At least part of that uncertainty is over Catalonia's relationship with Europe.

Two-thirds of Catalonia's foreign exports go to the EU. It would need to reapply to become a member if it seceded from Spain - it wouldn't get in automatically or immediately.And it would require all EU members to agree - including Spain.

Some in the pro-independence camp feel that Catalonia could settle for single-market membership without joining the EU. Catalans may well be happy to pay for access, and continue to accept free movement of EU citizens across the region's borders.

But if Spain chose to, it could make life difficult for an independent Catalonia.

There is also the question of currency.

In 2015, the governor of the Bank of Spain warned Catalans independence would cause the region to drop out of the euro automatically, losing access to the European Central Bank.Normally, new EU member states must apply to join the euro.

They have to meet certain criteria, such as their debt not being too large a percentage of their gross domestic product (GDP).

Even if they meet those criteria, a qualified majority of eurozone countries has to approve their entry.In theory, that means even if Catalonia became a new EU member state, it may well take time to rejoin the eurozone - and Spain and its allies could block that.

In practice, we just don't know what would happen.

Nobody has ever declared independence from a member of the eurozone then asked to rejoin as a new country.Could Catalonia use the euro without joining the eurozone? It does happen.

Some countries such as San Marino and Vatican City do so with the eurozone's blessing, since they're too small to ever become EU member states.

Others, such as Kosovo and Montenegro, use the euro without the EU's blessing, and so don't have access to the European Central Bank.

Again, whether either solution would be practical in Catalonia remains to be seen.

Jan Pro Wieland FoubergCatalans protesting

The Associated Press, and the Washington Post, Dec. 3The Associated Press, and the Washington Post, “The Latest: Pro-Spain Pol Urges Big Turnout in Catalonia,” December 3, 2017, 8:30p.m., accessed December 4, 2017, https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/the-latest-catalan-politicians-seek-jail-release-in-madrid/2017/12/04/8056adb4-d8d2-11e7-a241-0848315642d0_story.html?utm_term=.6f7a2435d929

Thousands of Catalan separatists are rallying in town squares across the northeastern Spanish region to protest for the release of the four remaining leaders of the secession movement still in prison.Several protesters held up signs saying “Freedom for Political Prisoners.”

The latest protest by Catalan separatists comes hours after a judge granted bail to six former members of Catalonia’s regional Cabinet on Monday. They were released from prisons near Madrid since being jailed in early November after depositing 100,000-euro ($118,000) in bail.

However, the same Supreme Court judge continued to deny bail to four others, including the Catalan ex-vice president, the former regional interior minister and two activists.

The separatist leaders were jailed as part of an investigation into their role in Catalonia’s secession movement which culminated in an illegal declaration of independence on Oct. 27

Catalan independence crucial to protecting poor and making their own economic decisions

The Guardian December 9, 2017Stephen Burgen – Barcelona correspondent for The Guardian “Separatists squabble as ‘healing’ election leaves Catalonia even more divided” The Guardian December 9, 2017 online at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/10/catalonia-healing-election-separatists-squabble

They are the elections that many believe could shape Spain’s future by paving the way for Catalan independence. But divisions are emerging among the separatists – and the leader of the leftwing party ahead in the polls is floundering as she comes under scrutiny.

As campaigning for the 21 December elections reaches a climax, political leaders are ignoring their traditional focus on issues such as the economy and have turned this month’s contest into a race between two blocs – secessionists and constitutionalists.

Attempts by Xavier Domènech, leader of the leftwing Catalunya en Comú, to gain traction on issues such as health and education floundered as last Thursday night’s crucial first television debate involving all the main parties rarely strayed far from the national question.

Noticeably absent among the seven leaders was Marta Rovira, general secretary of the leftist-nationalist Esquerra Repúblicana Catalunya (ERC), currently ahead by a slim margin in the polls. The ERC leader and former Catalan vice-president Oriol Junqueras is being held in Madrid for his role in the unilateral declaration of independence in October and anointed Rovira to campaign in his name.

Politicians do not come more staunchly pro-independence than Rovira but Junqueras may live to regret his choice. She has been described as a tough scrapper with a glass jaw – and she is proving a liability when she leaves the comfort zone of the pro-independence media.

Part of the problem is language. Although Spanish is the mother tongue of more than half of Catalans, Rovira is clearly uncomfortable in anything but Catalan. This was evidently a factor in her one-on-one TV debate with Inés Arrimadas, leader of the centrist party Ciutadans, who was the clear winner.

Just days later she suffered the same fate in another debate, this time with Esquerra candidate Raül Romeva, who speaks several languages.

Her deputy stood in for Rovira in Thursday’s debate as she was elsewhere. The next day she cancelled a press conference, claiming to be unwell, although she recovered sufficiently to speak at a party rally the same evening.

The secessionist camp is not quite the united front it was. Its deposed president and erstwhile leader, Carles Puigdemont, currently in self-imposed exile in Brussels, shows no sign of contrition for a campaign that virtually everyone agrees has led to deep divisions in Catalan society.

Meanwhile, Junqueras, his rival for the presidency, has renounced unilateralism as an “error” and is seeking dialogue with Madrid instead. However, according to Rovira: “There never was a unilateral way, that was something invented by the Spanish state.” Eyebrows were also raised when she claimed that on the eve of UDI Madrid told the Catalan government there would be “blood on the streets, real bullets and not just rubber ones” if they did not desist. This was denied by the interlocutors at the time, the archbishop of Barcelona among them, and Rovira has never been able to substantiate the claim.

Her party, the ERC, is one of the oldest in Catalonia. It was founded in 1931 and the following year the Spanish republic accepted the Catalan statute of autonomy. The party was declared illegal after the fascist victory in 1939 and in 1940 its leader Lluís Companys was executed by firing squad.

In recent years its leftwing credentials have suffered after it formed alliances with the centre-right nationalists led by Artur Mas and now Puigdemont, and over the past five years the national question has taken prominence over social issues. The first 12 pages of its manifesto are devoted to the question of sovereignty before going on to call for the “increased productivity and competitiveness of the Catalan economy”.

Jan Pro Wieland FoubergIf social issues are taking a back seat it is largely because secessionists, including many ERC members, argue that until Catalonia is independent there is no point in pushing for social change because Madrid simply uses the courts to overrule the Catalan parliament when it makes decisions that are not to its liking.

“Catalonia voted to guarantee that the poorest families wouldn’t have to go without heat and electricity and the constitutional court overruled it,” says Rosa Marcús, a schoolteacher in Sitges. “It approved imposing taxes on empty properties and turning them over to public housing and it was overruled. It voted to ban fracking and it was overruled, it banned bullfighting, the same thing happened. There’s a long list.”“Can we really go on analysing politics from a left and right perspective?” asks Gemma Pauné Xuriguera, a Catalan civil servant. “I think it’s obsolete. Where would you place Ciutadans? Where would you place Putin? Things are complex and it’s not enough now to talk in terms of left and right.” Whether nominally left or right, the election is expected to produce an awkward and possibly unstable coalition of either secessionists or so-called constitutionalists – that is, everyone else.

When Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister, imposed direct rule at the end of October and called the regional election, he said the aim was to restore normality in Catalonia. But there is little normal about an election in which the former president and vice-president are campaigning respectively from Brussels and prison.

One unintended outcome is that Catalonia may elect its first woman president. While Rovira is running in Junqueras’s stead, Elsa Artadi is fronting Puigdemont’s campaign in his absence, and Arrimadas is the Ciutadans candidate. The only man likely to become president is the socialist leader Miquel Iceta.

Catalonia’s economy very different from Spain, breaking away would benefit Europe, they will be let into EU

Jon Henley The Guardian 2012Jon Henley - European affairs correspondent “Catalonia independence for business lights is best economic option all round” The Guardian November 22, 2012 online at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/blog/2012/nov/22/catalonia-independence-business-economy-spain

Albert Macia is on the board of an IT multinational. Joan Cabanas is an industrial engineer doing project management in the electrical insulation sector.

After a long career working for assorted multinationals, Joan Canadell is now a consultant. And Ramir de Porrate runs a successful radio frequency systems startup.

The four are leading lights in the Catalan Business Circle, an employers organisation uniting 700 small and medium-sized firms who argue – with figures to back it up – that independence is now the region's best and only option.

They cite, first, the stats: Catalonia represents 8% of Spain's territory, 16% of its population, 20% of its GDP, 25% of its tax revenues, and 35% of its exports (and 45% of high-tech exports). In return, it receives (in theory; the real figure may be much less) 11% of government investment.

Beyond the figures, says Cabanas, "the real problem is that our economic model is so different to Spain's. Catalonia's companies tend to be small, innovative, export-oriented. Spain's model is big, listed companies, often once state-owned, and still with strong connections to the state. So Madrid's economic policies are just not suited to us."Worse, says Amacia, central government policies are not suited to Spain either. "They don't know about competitiveness, they don't know about profitability," he says. "They don't invest productively or sensibly. For 35 years we've been waiting for a freight rail link from Valencia and Tarragona up to the rest of Europe. Instead they build high-speed trains to Galicia."

Over the past 10 years, the businessmen claim, Catalonia has paid nearly twice as much into Spanish coffers as the EU. "It's not that we don't want to contribute," says Canadell. "But we don't want to contribute to a model that doesn't work, and that is counter-productive to our model."

The Catalan economy, says De Porrate, is "compressed – cramped by the fiscal deficit with Spain, the lack of infrastructure, the fact that

everything Madrid spends is invested politically, like bailing out Bankia, rather than economically. Profitability is not a word Madrid understands."

Freed of these shackles, the men argue, an independent Catalonia could afford to promote economic growth by investing properly in infrastructure, cutting corporate taxes (and high company social security

Jan Pro Wieland Foubergcontributions) and kick-starting currently non-existent lending to small and medium-sized businesses.The credit ratings agencies would see it meant business. What's more, says De Porrete, it should attract a high score from the outset: with a GDP of €200bn and a total debt (combining the autonomous Catalan government's own debt with a proportional chunk of the Spanish state's, which realistically an independent Catalonia would have to assume) of €160bn, its debt ratio would be around 80%: below the EU average.

"An independent Catalonia would have a reasonable debt level, and with income higher than debt it would have the capacity to repay," he says. "Who would not lend to it?"

Perhaps more controversially, the group believes independence would be good not only for Catalonia but, longer term, for Spain and for the EU. "As soon as Spain doesn't have the Catalonian powerhouse, it will have to change," says De Porrete. "It will have to set about serious reforms, become efficient, think about productivity and profitability. You can't build an economy on tourism and the construction sector."

THE GUARDIAN 12/22/17 PRO-IND. PARTIES GOT MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT

Fri 22 Dec ‘17 03.18 ESTFirst published on Thu 21 Dec ‘17 16.50 EST

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2017/dec/21/catalonia-election-full-results

On Thursday night pro-independence parties secured a renewed majority in the Catalan parliament. Although the pro-union centre-right Citizens were the largest party, the result is a blow to Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy’s hopes of defusing the constitutional crisis in Catalonia.Seats are awarded by a list system in four provinces. Barcelona's is by the far the biggest by population and has most of the seats in parliament, although it is slightly under-represented. It is also the least independence-minded part of the region.Report: Sam Jones and Stephen Burgen in BarcelonaCatalan pro-independence parties have held their absolute majority in snap regional elections, dealing a severe blow to the Spanish government, which had called the polls in the hope of heading off the secessionist push.The three separatist parties won a total of 70 seats in the 135-seat regional parliament even though the centre-right, pro-unionist Citizens party was the single biggest winner, taking 36 seats.Together for Catalonia – the party led by deposed Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont – took 34 seats, the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) took 32 and the far-left, anti-capitalist Popular Unity Candidacy took four. On Thursday night, a jubilant Puigdemont termed the results a victory for “the Catalan republic”.Between them, the three parties will have enough seats to reassemble the parliamentary majority that put them into office after the 2015 elections if they can agree a new coalition.

INDEPENDENT EV ON SUCCESS ALONE

Hamish Mcrae, Independent, October 27, 2017http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/catalonia-spain-independence-vote-economy-population-location-trade-currency-a8025051.html

It is not for foreign economists to take positions on the independence of Catalonia, for that is for the people of Catalonia and Spain to decide. What can be said, though, is that if Catalonia were to become a fully independent country there is no reason why it should not – after a period of disruption – be an extremely successful economy. There are a number of reasons why this is likely to be so. For a start, it has a population of 7.5 million. There is no right or wrong size as such, for there are successful countries that are very small: Luxembourg, with a population of just under 600,000, is the richest country in the world in terms of GDP per person.

Jan Pro Wieland Fouberg(Monaco probably comes in higher, but it is a special case.) And of course the three largest countries in terms of population – China, India and the US – are also success stories in their own ways. But there does seem to be a sweet spot in the 5 million to 15 million bracket, where countries are big enough to offer their citizens a full range of services but are also small enough to be socially cohesive. This includes Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. Catalonia would naturally join that group. That argument leads to a second condition for success: location. Countries cannot choose their location, and have to make the best of what they have. But if your neighbours are doing well, unless you deliberately cut yourself off from them, you will tend to be pulled along too. Catalonia, in that sense, is lucky in several ways. It has prosperous neighbours, France and the rest of Spain (though relations with the latter would be difficult for a while). It has a coastline, and a Mediterranean one at that. Barcelona and Tarragona, a little to the south, are Spain’s two largest ports. Third, it has an established economic base. It is a manufacturing centre, has two top-ranking business schools, and the usual array of service industries. Separatists have noted that though Catalonia has about 18 per cent of Spain’s population, it generates more than 20 per cent of its GDP. Were it to be fully independent, with Barcelona and its 1.6 million people, it would have one of the glitziest capital cities on earth. A final point: Catalonia has brand recognition. Brand is an intangible advantage, but can be deployed to leverage other economic advantages. Ireland is a fine example of that, using its brand (and its educated workforce) to make it a base for high-tech American companies seeking to enter the European market. On its own, Catalonia could be nimble in attracting business, and consequently creating jobs, than it has been as part of Spain. But these advantages are general ones, formidable in the medium and long run, but less helpful in the short. To get from here to there is difficult, and political disruption leads to economic disruption. Unlike the separation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, if this is to be a divorce, it will not be a velvet one. There are a string of practical questions. What currency would Catalonia use? It would probably have to establish its own, as it would be difficult to continue to use the euro, even informally. In the long run, a separate currency might well to be the country’s benefit, for the inflexibility that the euro has imposed on Spain is one of the reasons why it has such high unemployment. But in the immediate days and months after independence, this would be very disruptive. It would be difficult for the banks based there, some of which have said they would relocate their legal headquarters. It would also be difficult for business and tourism. My guess is that an independent Catalonia would be welcomed into the EU if it still wanted to rejoin, but that could take a decade. In the meantime we are seeing hostility from the EU. As for the other major countries, while their present stance of not recognising Catalonia is quite understandable and correct, if and when the country became truly independent, they have no option but to accept reality. But – and this is important – there is a considerable economic cost to political disruption on this scale. The call for calm by Catalonia’s sacked leader Carles Puigdemont is sensible and strikes a helpful tone. Let’s see what happens. But if the end does turn out to be a new European country, then in another decade it is likely to be a prosperous one

Jan Pro Wieland Fouberg