Parliament approves giving support to the referendums of April 25

Originally published in directe.cat on 3 March 2010
By a resolution of ERC • With votes in favor from the Republicans and CiU, the abstention of ICV, and votes against from PSC, PP, and C's

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The committee on Institutional Affairs of Parliament approved today a bill presented by Esquerra on the right to self-determination and about the recognition of the popular referendums on independence. The bill, that in the end contained a few amendments from CiU, had votes in favor from Convergència and ERC, abstention from Iniciativa, and votes against from PSC, PP and Ciutadans

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The spokesperson for Esquerra in Parliament, Anna Simó, denied the declarations of some opposing parties that "this does not trivialize self-determination, just the contrary. We believe that the exercise of democracy is not trivial and the desire of the people to participate politically that has been demonstrated by the referendums is not either."

"Achieving a state of its own for Catalonia"
The approved text states: "On December 13, 2009, 166 municipalities of Catalonia were host to the celebration of popular referendums, organized by local civic organizations, in which citizens of these communities were asked their opinion on the constitution of Catalonia as an independent, democratic, social state, integrated into the European Union.

"These activities, in accord with the existing rules, were able to achieve a resounding effect and high turnout, given the fact that out of 700,000 people called to participate, close to 200,000 actually did. This is an important result given the non-offical nature of these referendums, the fact that they were organized by grassroots, civic organizations and not by the government, and their non-binding status.

"In addition, the fact that participation was open to youths between 16 and 18 years of age and to people who did not have the right to vote in other electoral contests shows the will of incorporating all of the citizenry in a civic, democratic, and inclusive process.

"The wide participation and majority vote in favor of independence among the participants shows that a growing part of Catalan society desires the constitution of an independent state for Catalonia. Additionally, these referendums that have been organized by the grassroots are a remarkable exercise in civic participation and demonstrate a profound interest in the questions that affect all of our citizenry.

"This process should encourage our public institutions to reflect on the future of our national liberties, the reach of democracy, and the participation of our citizens in public affairs."

Having presented these thoughts, the text approved by Parliament establishes:

1. The Parliament of Catalonia confirms once more the validity of Resolution 98/III, on the right to self-determination of the Catalan Nation, adopted on 12 December 1989, as well as Resolution 679/V, adopted on 1 October 1998, which ratified the previous one.

2. The Parliament of Catalonia declares its recognition of the referendums celebrated on 13 December 2009 and 28 February 2010 in more than 250 municipalities as an expression of the will of the citizenry to participate politically in the configuration of the future of Catalonia and in the reaffirmation of its national reality, and is grateful for the work of volunteers in those municipalities in which referendums have been organized and to all those who participated.

3. The Parliament of Catalonia encourages the grassroots organizations, the local officials and the individual citizens in the municipalities which will hold referendums on April 25 and June 20 of 2010 to work together so that they can again count on the sizable participation of the people.

4. The Parliament of Catalonia supports the will of using all of the judicial and political tools available in order that the people of Catalonia may exercise their right to decide.

The first point also received a favorable vote from Iniciativa and an abstention from PSC.