Spanish government attempts to silence pro-Catalan argument on worldwide stage

One of the big successes of the Catalan pro-independence has been to have the issue discussed on the worldwide stage.

While many Catalans have been pro-independence for years, and it is certainly true that support has never been as strong in recent years as it is at the moment, it was never something that seemed to be discussed outside the region itself.

That has all changed, with regular articles in the UK and US media following the story unfolding in Catalonia and discussing the implications for Catalonia and for Spain.

The major reason for this has undoubtedly been the Generalitat’s proactive stance on disseminating the message, including opening an office in New York to get the word out to the press there. And it has been effective.

While you might agree or disagree with Catalan independence, you cannot disagree with the right to discuss it, nor with the right of the Generalitat to take its arguments overseas.

However, the current PP government seems to have one foot firmly in its Francoist past, forgetting about the tremendous amount of progress that has been made since the post-Franco transition. The current move is to restrict what the Generalitat can do overseas, clearly an attempt to muffle the argument on the international stage.

That kind of attitude is one we might expect from the Soviet era Russia or from China, but from a country that is supposedly democratic and a member of the EU?

Tags: Independence, socialmedia