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freehawaii · 5 years ago

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ARRESTS, CLEARING ROAD MAY NOT BE ENOUGH TO MOVE TMT PROJECT FORWARD

Honolulu Star-Advertiser - September 1, 2019

The activists blocking construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope project on Mauna Kea are using nonviolent tactics that have successfully spurred social change over the years, but in the last decade law enforcement agencies across the nation have refined their own tactics for containing and controlling such movements.

After years of Black Lives Matter and Occupy protests in major U.S. cities, many law enforcement agencies have adopted a “soft” approach to managing crowds engaged in civil disobedience and protest, a strategy that emphasizes flexibility, patience and open communication with protest leaders.

But that takes time, and TMT must decide “soon” whether it will proceed with plans to build the project in Hawaii. Gordon Squires, vice president for external relations for TMT, said in an interview Friday he can’t exactly define when “soon” might be, but TMT has a backup site in the Canary Islands.

Protesters have now been camped at the Mauna Kea Access Road for six weeks to prevent construction vehicles from reaching the summit area to begin work on the $1.4 billion TMT project, and the activists have planned for a long blockade.

As protest leader Kaho‘okahi Kanuha put it in a videotaped statement to the media on July 29, “we did not come into this thinking it would be a two-week stance. We are committed to a prolonged struggle, and the truth of the matter is, you cannot arrest this issue away.”

‘It’s time’

Without explicitly mentioning arrests or the use of force, state Sen. Lorraine Inouye pointedly told Gov. David Ige in an open letter recently that “It’s time,” adding, “We cannot pick and choose. Laws must be followed, all laws, all the time.” Other critics have been more blunt, demanding that police move in, make arrests and use force if necessary to clear the road.

Ige, who is ultimately responsible for resolving the impasse, said in an interview Thursday that “it’s more complex than people think.”

“We want to be safe, and we want to do it in as peaceful a manner as we can, so it’s about being able to listen, seek opportunities to find peaceful solutions, and then, yes, we do know that we need to enforce the law. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about,” he said.

The protesters say they will never allow TMT to be built on Mauna Kea, which many Hawaiians consider to be sacred, and there is no sign yet that discussions led by Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim to try to resolve the standoff are making any progress.

Hardy Merriman, president of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict in Washington, D.C., said that when people organize as they have on Mauna Kea to use nonviolent tactics such as strikes, boycotts and civil disobedience, those efforts have “a pretty remarkable record of success in the United States and around the world.”

He cited the examples of the U.S. civil rights movement, the women’s suffrage movement, labor organizing by the United Farm Workers and the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, or ACT UP, which pressured authorities to address the AIDS epidemic. Each of those movements relied on people who were historically disenfranchised, he said.

“When people perceive that the institutions are not going to be effective or historically haven’t been effective or sufficient to them, (and) when they see there’s a way for ordinary people to organize, unify and wield genuine political and economic power, that’s enormously powerful,” Merriman said.

Certainly the protesters on Mauna Kea are skeptical that existing political institutions have served Hawaiians well. In a speech to more than 1,000 protesters on July 28, Kanuha said the power brokers in Hawaii would “be better off without us, and they’ve done everything that they could to ensure that that happens, but they did not succeed. They will never succeed. We will always be here.”

“I know as long as we have each other, as long as we are unified and united, there is no end to the things that we can do, there is no end to our people. We will be here forever, we will fight to protect these lands, and to ensure that Hawaiians have a future in Hawaii,” Kanuha told the crowd.

That sort of talk is deeply troubling to supporters of the TMT, who worry the opponents of the project have no “exit strategy” or any plan for any sort of compromise.

Merriman, a social scientist who has studied nonviolent movements for 17 years, said the use of the word “sacred” to describe Mauna Kea suggests TMT is caught in what experts describe as an acute conflict, or one where people believe they face a fundamental or existential threat, which can include threats to “cultural survival.”

In less intense conflicts, adversaries can make deals over easier issues such as pay or working conditions, but “when people perceive themselves as being in an acute conflict, the negotiation by itself becomes very challenging,” he said.

And that may shift the focus to law enforcement....

...Squires, the TMT vice president, said a simple police sweep of the access road and the nearby camp at Puu Huluhulu cannot resolve the Mauna Kea protests, which have spread across the state and beyond Hawaii.

“This situation that we’re in in Hawaii now is clearly about issues far beyond TMT and Mauna Kea,” he said. Many of the issues the activists raise on the mountain are vast, complex and historical, including Hawaiian sovereignty and self- governance, preservation of Hawaiian language and culture, and environmental protection.

The TMT project has become a catalyst for those much bigger issues “to come to the surface and potentially be addressed, hopefully this time successfully,” Squires said. Those issues have now become the focus of community discussions including Hawaiian community leaders, Ige and Kim, he said.

“I don’t see the resolution of the current situation being simply opening that road and reestablishing access to Mauna Kea,” Squires said. “There’s a bigger component that has to be part of this.”

When asked if the larger issues raised by the protesters could possibly be resolved in time to clear the way for TMT, Squires replied that perhaps the prospect of losing a project as important as TMT will help “leadership to emerge and for people to come together to address these fundamental issues.”

“I think this is a situation that has triggered something that is almost unprecedented in Hawaii. I think that’s a fair statement, and so that’s a good thing, and maybe that now gives the impetus for leaders from everywhere to come together and address some things,” Squires said.

#protect mauna kea #we are mauna kea #mauna majority #mauna over money #mauna over military #ku kiai mauna #aloha aina #aole tmt #tmt shutdown #free hawaii #hawaiian kingdom #the world is watching

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tenerifeweekly · 2 years ago

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The PSOE of the Canary Islands defends Pedro Sánchez's policy against the "systematic boycott of the right"

The PSOE of the Canary Islands defends Pedro Sánchez’s policy against the “systematic boycott of the right”

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, July 9. (EUROPE PRESS) – The Socialist Party of the Canary Islands has defended the government action being carried out by the Executive of Pedro Sánchez against what it considers a “systematic boycott by the right, capable of even attacking the interests of the country in order to benefit electorally.” The Canarian Socialists have valued, above all, that the Government’s…

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keywestlou · 4 years ago

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COCKTAILS AT 5

Not my usual Cocktails at 7 friday nights with friend Cathy in Seattle. Yesterday was boys’ night out. Four of us at Guy deBoer’s home for drinks.

A terrific two hours.

Guy deBoer had set up the event at his home so Fred and I could meet. Fred is a labor lawyer from New York City. He has a home in Key West, also. There is a connection between Fred and I. He too writes a blog. Friday Night with Fred. Read it. You will enjoy. www.gothamnetworking.com/blogs.

Fred is a labor lawyer closing in on retirement. Seventy nine at the moment.

Fred and I have communicated via e-mail a few times. It was Guy who brought us together.

Last night was our first face to face meeting. Fred’s friend David Berger was with us also. Berger a mere 65 and already retired. A Long Island doctor. Anesthesia his specialty.

He too has a home in Key west.

Fred a Syracuse graduate. He was wearing s Syracuse T shirt last night. We were at Syracuse a brief time together. One year. Fred was an undergraduate University freshman and I a senior in the law school. We never met back then.

A lot of Syracuse talk ensued. Some of Fred’s fraternity brothers were football and basketball players. Like Ernie Davis and Dave Bing.

We spoke of Joe Biden. Another Syracuse alumnus. The law school.

David had spent some time in Syracuse as a student. Although Upstate Medical is not a part of the University, it sits right next to the campus. Doctors to be and for real ones staff the facility.

Guy’s race came up. Time was spent discussing the race. I am ashamed to admit I did not know it was such a big deal.

Called the Golden Globe Race. Not run every year. The first was 1968, the last 2018.

Guy’s race is labeled Golden Globe 2022. The race begins September 27, 2021. Ends 530 days later in 2022. The race begins somewhere in the Canary Islands. It is the longest and loneliest race in the world. Each boat is piloted by one person. No one else on the boat for company or to help.

Guy solo! All alone by the telephone as Irving Berlin once wrote. I’m not sure if even telephone service is available, however.

Buy’s boat the Tashiba. Thirty six feet long

The trip non-stop.

I thought 412 days of self-quarantine was difficult. Guy is going to do 530 on the high seas which probably will have its moments for concern.

Guy, I think you’re crazy. I wish you well, however.

Do not plan crossing the Seven Mile Bridge saturday from 6-9 in the morning. The Annual Seven Mile Bridge run will be taking place. A thousand plus will be making the run.

Read an article this morning that Trump’s donors are flocking to Florida Governor DeSantis. Now I am convinced Trump’s supporters were and are crazy.

I have for the past year pointed out how incompetent and inept DeSantis is. He is a lousy Governor, he would make a worse President. Trump constantly referred to DeSantis as the best governor in America. No wonder, DeSantis did everything the President suggested.

The title of the article referred to is “A Nicer Version of Trump.” We can do without DeSantis.

Insanity prevails in the Halls of Congress. Especially the Senate.

I cannot understand how some Senators think.

Josh Hawley was an open supporter of January 6 before it even began. Ted Cruz for all his intelligence and experience has lost it. He probably thinks his conduct will buy him the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024. Will he be surprised!

Whatever, both are targeting Major League Baseball for its position re the new Georgia voting laws. Both want Major League Baseball “to pay.” Their voices in unison with Trump who said, “I would say boycott baseball.”

Not what is happening in this country. What has happened in this country?

Ivanka Trump in the news in a good way. She got her first vaccine shot yesterday.

She reacted like most others who have or are getting their shots. Thrilled! She told the world on Twitter. Again on Instagram with a photograph of her receiving the shot.

She said in Twitter and Instagram, “I got the shot. I hope you do too.”

Republican donors and fans are upset. They view her as a turn-coat.

Virginia Torrelino and I are Facebook friends. Have been so for quite a while. She lives in the Philippines.

Loves music! Says “music is my stress removal friend.”

Recall the Three Tenors. What great singing!

A couple of weeks ago, I came across a 3 person group who sang like the Three Tenors. In fact, held themselves out as Three Tenors. Ages between 30 and 40.

I saw their video on the internet. Decided a few days later, I wanted to share it with everyone who reads my blog. The three sang that well.

When I went find it, I could not. Knowing how Virginia feels about music, I asked her to look. She is. In the meantime, Virginia sent me a video of the original Three Tenors Luciano Pavarotte, Placido Domingo, and Jose Carreras. A performance they gave in Italy in 1994.

Moving!

Enjoy your day!

COCKTAILS AT 5 was originally published on Key West Lou

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felixtheprotector · 5 years ago

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What's Happening In The Amazon And How Can We Help? Sabotage, embargoes, boycotts, international pressure and indigenous peoples are all part of the solution.

Global forest fires have been on the rise across the Canary islands, central and southern Africa and various South American countries this dry season. None, however, have become as politicised as those in the Brazilian Amazon. Some disbelief in the events was fuelled by old photographs of forest fires in other parts of the world that circulated on social media. Nevertheless, the ashes over Sao Paulo at 3 PM on 19 August as a result of the fires, although dubbed "fake news” by environment minister Ricardo Salles, was nonetheless captured and recorded by some of the city's 12 million inhabitants.

According to Brazil's Institutional Security Cabinet and retired military commander of the Amazon region, General Augusto Heleno, this year's Amazon deforestation rates published by INPE (the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research) have been manipulated.

In order to gauge the gravity of the situation, I spoke to biology professor Domingos Rodrigues from the Federal University of the Mato Grosso.

How much of what the media is saying is true and how much is false? In other words, how much do we need to worry?

“As far as deforestation is concerned, roughly 80% of what the media is saying is true" says Rodrigues. "DETER is a fast updating alert platform of changes in forest cover in the Amazon conducted by INPE. It was created to aid the IBAMA (Brazil’s Environment Ministry) in monitoring and controlling deforestation. The figures are then confirmed by a system called PRODES. So far, all the deforestation alerts this year have been confirmed by PRODES. Yes, we do need to be worried because the increase in deforestation is a reality and the Brazilian government is dismantling the relevant bodies that monitor it, such as IBAMA.”

Who's doing what?

“It’s tense here" according to indigenous activist Mayalu Txucarramãe from Mato Grosso. "Many of us are being attacked on social media and at work. Davi Kopenawa Yanomami is receiving death threats". Yanomami, a veteran indigenous activist, is this year's winner of the Right Livelihood Award. Txucarramãe and her brother Matsi Waura are both members of the Raoni Institute, a local foundation that executes projects in the Xingú indigenous territory. Matsi Waura stated that "deforestation has increased, crime has increased and the mortality rate of indigenous leaders and environmentalists has increased. We are occupying the streets in protest and some political parties and movements are making international complaints against the measures of the current government. But we need more pressure".

What can we do?

International Pressure

On August 23 the Brazilian government declared that it would send troops to assist fire brigades in the Amazon, “but only because of national and international pressure” says Matsi, “so keep demanding international intervention from your countries”.

Rodrigues: "The fires are being controlled primarily by State governments via specialised fire brigades. IBAMA is mobilising but its hands are tied because the federal government has reduced its teams in the Amazon, however the government recently requested help from the army and the national security forces to help control the fires by investigating and attempting to penalise criminal fire outbreaks. This was thanks to international pressure."

Support Local and Indigenous Groups

Mayalu: "Inside the Capot-Jarina indigenous territory, the Raoni Institute is maintaining a base on the reserve’s margins to limit the entry of trespassers and is collaborating with the State fire brigades on standby in the village of Piaraçu in order to put out accidental fires".

Raoni himself has recently been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. Winning the prize may result in much needed funding for the Raoni Institute and its projects and will help to highlight the role of indigenous people. In June this year, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro described the chief as 'unrepresentative of the Brazilian people' and during his address to the United Nations on September 24, accused him of monopolising on his activism. In the wake of this publicity, support for Raoni and indigenous people has increased but indigenous people continue to face prejudice in Brazil.

Sign the petition to support Raoni in his Nobel Peace Prize 2020 nomination.

[Raoni Metuktire. Photo: Ricardi Stuckert]

The indigenous are not the only groups you can support. Rodrigues: "You should support universities and State government fire control agencies such as IBAMA, and the State Environmental and Water Resources Secretariats. These institutions are effective in controlling fires and educating people on how to prevent them and on their negative impact on forests, the climate and humans in terms of respiratory problems."

Find and support indigenous networks in your country and abroad. Learn what their demands are and advocate for them.

Support in-country politicians who promote indigenous land rights and demand that your government put pressure on the Brazilian government to enact this type of legislation.

Apply pressure on the Brazilian government to operationalise zoning and community participation legislation.

Sabotage

Remember when Utah Phillips said “the earth is not dying. It is being killed, and those who are killing it have names and addresses”? Well the same goes for the corporations linked to the destruction of the Amazon.

The thumbnail below is taken from this well researched article that details the main companies linked to Amazon destruction. Some of these have plants all over the world, such as Brazil’s JBS S.A., the world’s largest meat company which has plants in the US.

The headquarters for each of the above companies can be found on Google maps or the companies’ websites, namely in the jobs section.

Locate worldwide headquarters of each of these companies;

Trespass and protest at company premises or outside headquarters;

Confront CEOs at their homes or at work;

In some cases, cause damage to private property (ideally to machinery related to deforestation, transportation and communications or simply to the premises) in order to pose an ongoing threat to their business.

Organise and find groups that do any or all of the above.

Note: Aggression does not equal violence. People are very quick to differentiate between violence and nonviolence and in doing so, highly underestimate the importante of aggression. Violence implies the physical abuse or potential injury of another person, unlike any of the above-mentioned forms of aggression.

DON’T Sign Mercosur

As the world’s leading exporter of beef, leather, and soybeans (these being the leading causes of Amazon forest cover loss), Brazil is highly vulnerable to trade embargoes. Brazil exported $13.6 billion in agricultural products to the EU last year.

Mercosur is a trade deal with Brazil which, among other trade deals, is not cohesive with the statements made by European politicians in the wake of the Amazon fires. France has already refused to sign Mercosur. The rest of Europe must follow suit.

Demand that your government drop Mercosur;

Organise demonstrations or join groups that campaign against it and target politicians;

Lobby the negotiators of Mercosur in your country in writing and in public confrontation.

Boycott

"In Brasil, the mining, farming and energy industries threaten our forest” says Chief Raoni. “Big land owners cut down trees in order to grow crops and spray pesticides, polluting the rivers which we drink water from. Europeans must boycott their products and eat foods produced on their own soil. I hope you will help me in this struggle”.

Single out Brazilian imports and protest at supermarkets to demand that they drop these products; namely beef and soy.

Although your purse is not a tool for change, make sure that you accompany your boycott of goods linked to deforestation with consuming home-grown foods. And if that's too expensive, should you still be eating meat if you care about the planet?

Technology

A chip containing GPS, 4G and data storage has been developed that is capable of deactivating machinery linked to deforestation upon entering protected areas. Using its GPS and caché of protected area coordinates, the system detects the exact location of vehicles and a notification is sent to the operator. If the operator advances, the vehicle can be switched off.

If enough brands and manufacturers incorporate this technology into their future products, the chip would be able to deactivate them in protected areas and halt deforestation.

Share the campaign as widely as possible

Promote it via social media

Tag brands and manufacturers; namely: Caterpillar, Komatsu, Hitachi CM, Volvo CE, Liebherr, XCMG, Doosan Infracore, Sany, John Deere and JCB.

Legal Instruments

If you haven’t done so already:

Sign the global petition to make environmental destruction a war crime.

Promote the Law of Ecocide publicly and via social media and share the petition.

Although international laws carry very little weight before governments like Brazil that wish to exercise their sovereignty over things like the Amazon, this law could condemn the actual companies as opposed to governments.

Ultimately, this is what needs to happen but it is only possible if we correctly identify those accountable for the maximum losses and attempt to hit them where it hurts. This is something we can do right now. Meanwhile we must also highlight those who are a part of the solution and demand that their rights and ability to continue providing solutions be respected and their voices heard.

#brazil #amazon #amazônia #deforestation #desmatamento #environment #bolsonaro #raoni #raoni metuktire #xingu #indigenous #boycottbrazil #boycottmeat #boycottbeef #soy #ecocide #climate crisis #climate emergency #greta thunberg

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usnewsaggregator-blog · 7 years ago

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Article 155: The ‘Nuclear Option’ That Could Let Spain Seize Catalonia

New Post has been published on http://usnewsaggregator.com/article-155-the-nuclear-option-that-could-let-spain-seize-catalonia/

Article 155: The ‘Nuclear Option’ That Could Let Spain Seize Catalonia

The article allows the government to intervene in one of Spain’s regions if its autonomous government “fails to fulfill the obligations imposed upon it by the Constitution or other laws, or acts in a way seriously prejudicing the general interests of Spain.”

It is such a broad instrument that its use has been considered only once before, in 1989, when Felipe González, the Socialist prime minister, threatened to wield it against the Canary Islands to force it to comply with tax obligations.

The second part of Article 155 calls upon the government to “issue instructions” to restore constitutional order, which is why legal experts are also now debating how Mr. Rajoy’s government could use Article 155 to seize back power in Catalonia if faced with a full-blown insurrection.

Given the lack of precedent, however, Mr. Rajoy starts with a blank canvas. He could make Article 155 as broad or narrow as he wishes, as well as keep its measures in place for as long as he deems necessary.

One option may be to use it to suspend from office Catalonia’s political leadership, starting with Mr. Puigdemont, but also including other lawmakers and to dissolve the Catalan Parliament to force early elections.

Mr. Rajoy and his government could also suspend other Catalan officials across the region’s public administration, from the leadership of the Catalan autonomous police force to the directorship of the Catalan public television and radio broadcaster.

How quickly will Article 155 be used?

Following his cabinet meeting, Mr. Rajoy must follow a parliamentary procedure that culminates in a plenary vote in the Senate. Only then will he actually be able put into force emergency measures tied to Article 155.

Continue reading the main story

The measures Mr. Rajoy proposes will be reviewed by a senate committee. Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan leader, will also be offered the opportunity to defend his stance and argue against them.

Eventually, the full Senate will vote on the measures, but such a vote is unlikely to take place before Oct. 26 or 27.

Are the measures likely to pass?

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Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy of Spain plans to use Article 155 after the Catalan leader, Carles Puigdemont, failed to withdraw his secessionist plan and warned that Catalonia’s lawmakers could declare independence. Credit Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Since late 2016, Mr. Rajoy has lead a minority government, but his Popular Party has a majority of the seats in the Senate, the upper chamber of the Spanish Parliament and the one in charge of approving Article 155.

Mr. Rajoy is therefore already guaranteed to get the Senate’s approval. In recent days, however, he has pushed for the Socialists and other parties to back his use of Article 155, as the best way to share political responsibility and to build a common front to defend Spain’s Constitution and national sovereignty.

Ciudadanos, a party that was founded to oppose Catalan secessionism, is Mr. Rajoy’s main parliamentary ally. It has been pushing for Article 155 since the crisis escalated last month.

The Socialists have also said they backed Article 155, but they have been ambiguous about how it should be used. José Luis Ábalos, a senior Socialist official, said on Thursday that the party would support Mr. Rajoy — as long as the prime minister made “very very limited” and short use of Article 155, and also somehow kept “self-government” in Catalonia.

Among Spain’s main parties, only the far-left Podemos is against using Article 155, which it considers to be a disproportionate response. Pablo Iglesias, the leader of Podemos, wants a Spanish referendum over Catalonia’s future.

Will there be new elections in Catalonia?

Almost certainly yes, but it’s not clear when and who will convene them — nor whether they would really help end the conflict.

Mr. Rajoy’s government and other party leaders in Madrid have been urging Mr. Puigdemont to hold new elections rather than push ahead with his secessionist plan — so far to no avail.

Continue reading the main story

Mr. Rajoy could perhaps use Article 155 to force new Catalan elections — probably around the end of the year or in early 2018 — after dissolving the existing Catalan Parliament.

Mr. Puigdemont, on the other hand, could try to pre-empt Mr. Rajoy’s move by himself calling new elections in Catalonia, on his own terms.

Either way, it’s unclear that elections would change Catalonia’s political landscape significantly. A new vote might only strengthen separatist parties. The Spanish government and courts could try to ban parties that advocate secession, but it is also possible that part of the Catalan electorate would boycott the vote, further muddying the waters.

Are there powers besides Article 155?

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A demonstration in Barcelona against the arrest of two Catalan separatist leaders. Credit Lluis Gene/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Íñigo Méndez de Vigo, a spokesman for the Spanish government, said on Thursday that Madrid was ready to use “all the means within its reach to restore the legality and constitutional order as soon as possible.”

Beside Article 155, Mr. Rajoy has a battery of other measures at his disposal to stop Catalan secessionism, starting with Article 116 of the Constitution, which can be used for situations of “alarm, emergency and siege (martial law).”

In 2015, Mr. Rajoy’s government also overhauled a national security law to “guarantee the defense of Spain” and its constitutional values. While Mr. Rajoy did not present the new law as a buffer against Catalan separatism, it could nonetheless be used to replace key Catalan officials very swiftly, without seeking approval from the Senate.

Whatever Mr. Rajoy’s government decides, Spain’s judiciary could also step in more forcefully and even order the arrest of Mr. Puigdemont and others for sedition. Earlier this week, a judge from Spain’s national court ordered prison without bail for two separatist leaders, pending a sedition trial.

Continue reading the main story

Original Article:

Click here

#article #catalonia #could #nuclear #option #seize #spain

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wionews · 7 years ago

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Spain on tenterhooks ahead of Catalan independence referendum

Spain is on tenterhooks as the crisis between Catalan separatist leaders and the central government reaches fever-pitch ahead of an independence referendum banned by Madrid on Sunday.

The showdown is one of Spain's biggest political crisis since the end of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco four decades ago and it has Catalonia deeply divided.

So how did the situation get so out of hand?

Catalan separatists called the referendum on September 6 despite a ban by Spain's Constitutional Court and with little debate allowed in the regional parliament.

Since then, web closures, detentions and the seizure of millions of ballots don't appear to have dampened the enthusiasm of the separatists in this wealthy northeastern region which is home to 16 percent of Spain's population.

On the subject of independence, Catalonia is divided almost down the middle... even within families

When the organisers have been fined thousands of euros, activists have raised funds.

Ballot papers seized? They have called on people to print more.

And when internet sites promoting the referendum are blocked, others re-open.

Determined to block the illegal vote, the state has deployed thousands of police to Catalonia, some of them housed in ferries in the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona. One of the boats is decorated with giant Looney Tunes cartoon characters, including Tweety.

Cue the hashtag #FreeTweety, which has become a worldwide trending topic on Twitter, the little yellow bird becoming an emblem of Catalans who want to vote.

Catexit

But the potential independence of Catalonia, roughly the size of Belgium and contributing 19 percent of Spain's economy, is no laughing matter.

The consequences are hard to predict, leading to comparisons with Britain's decision to quit the European Union, which was made at a referendum in June 2016.

"It's like the Brexit, just as stupid," says Beatriz Migens, a 43-year-old from the southern city of Seville, on the high-speed train from Madrid to Barcelona where she spends two days a week for work.

In Madrid, Rodrigo Marrero, a lawyer from the Canary Islands who works in the Spanish capital, says: "If Catalonia left, it would be like losing a limb."

"Everyone I know is dismayed, we talk of nothing else."

For his part, Ferran Mascarell, who represents the Catalan executive in Madrid, says there has long been resentment among Catalans who feel that Madrid holds them in contempt.

But the impact of Spain's economic crisis, followed by the Constitutional Court's partial cancellation in 2010 of a statute giving Catalonia greater autonomy, turned this into outright anger, he adds.

"It's the result of a revolt of the middle-class against the state, which isn't doing its job right."

But those who oppose independence, particularly the Ciudadanos party, believe it is about more than that

They claim that some politicians have used the struggle for independence as a way to divert attention from corruption cases in Catalonia and mismanagement of the region.

'We will vote'

Catalonia has its own language and culture but out of its 7.5 million inhabitants, more than half come from elsewhere, such as those whose parents or grandparents migrated from other parts of Spain.

And on the subject of independence, Catalonia is divided almost down the middle... even within families.

But more than 70 percent of Catalans want to settle the matter once and for all in a legal referendum, according to opinion polls.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, though, refuses. He has repeatedly said any such referendum would contravene the very Constitution that Catalans overwhelmingly ratified in 1978.

He is also reluctant to open a Pandora's box in a fragile decentralised Spain where regions have differing levels of autonomy.

Still, after managing to emerge from a damaging economic crisis and put a stop to attacks by Basque separatist group ETA, Spain's image has taken a hit.

For weeks, the state, its judges and police forces have pulled out the stops to stop the Catalan vote.

Protests have broken out in Barcelona and other Catalan cities -- all peaceful except that several police vans were damaged.

Firefighters, dockers, farmers and school children have shown their determination with slogans like "Votarem" (Catalan for "we will vote") or "love democracy."

Madrid has however emphasised that even if Catalans manage to vote en masse on Sunday, it will not be a referendum with any semblance of legitimacy.

There is no electoral census, the board set up to oversee the vote has been dissolved, and parties against independence have called on their followers to boycott Sunday's vote.

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projeto0038-blog · 8 years ago

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EU enlargement: The next seven

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11283616 2 September 2014

Seven countries, as well as Kosovo, are waiting in the wings to join the European Union.

Kosovo's independence is not recognised by all EU countries, but the EU nevertheless views it as a potential candidate for membership.

Croatia and Turkey started accession talks on 3 October 2005. Croatia joined on 1 July 2013. Turkey could complete negotiations in 10-15 years, but progress has been very slow, as the EU is divided over whether Turkey should join at all.

The other Balkan countries have been told they can join the EU one day, if they meet the criteria. These include democracy, the rule of law, a market economy and adherence to the EU's goals of political and economic union.

ALBANIA Applied for full membership: April 2009 Confirmed as candidate: June 2014

Albania is not expected to join the EU until 2020 at the earliest. It got candidate status in June 2014 - recognition of its progress in reforming institutions to meet EU standards. But the EU urged Albania to do more to tackle corruption and organised crime, especially crime relating to immigration and human trafficking, and drugs.

Since 15 December 2010 Albanians with biometric passports have been able to travel visa-free to the Schengen zone, which includes most EU countries.

Border controls are minimal under the Schengen accord, but the EU will keep a close watch on the flow of visitors from the Western Balkans.

The EU and Albania concluded a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA), seen as the first step towards membership, in June 2006.

The negotiations took three-and-a-half years - three times longer than they took in Croatia's and Macedonia's case.

BOSNIA-HERCEGOVINA Bosnia-Hercegovina has not yet formally applied for EU membership.

More than a decade after the 1992-5 war, it signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU in June 2008. The EU was satisfied with progress in four key areas - police reform, co-operation with the international war crimes tribunal, public broadcasting and public administration reform.

Visa-free travel to the Schengen zone began in mid-December 2010 for Bosnians with biometric passports. But in February 2014 public grievances with local politicians and the country's economic stagnation exploded, with attacks on government buildings.

The EU maintains a peacekeeping force and a police mission in Bosnia-Hercegovina, where most Serbs live in the autonomous Republika Srpska. The Bosniak-Croat federation and Republika Srpska together form Bosnia-Hercegovina. Bosnia's ethnic quarrels remain a worry for the EU, along with corruption and organised crime.

The Commission says Bosnia is still plagued by an "unstable political climate" and ethnic divisions.

In December 2011 Bosnia's Muslim, Croat and Serb leaders agreed on the formation of a central government, ending 14 months of political deadlock.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Bosnia's electoral laws discriminate against Jews and Roma (Gypsies), because only Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs are allowed to run for high office.

CROATIA Applied for full membership: February 2003 Negotiations started: October 2005 Joined EU: July 2013

Croatia is the second ex-Yugoslav country after Slovenia to join. It is also the first new EU member state since Bulgaria and Romania joined in 2007.

Croatia's accession was widely seen as a strong signal of EU commitment to a region that was ravaged by war in the 1990s. Some see it as a triumph for EU "soft power", salvaging the EU's reputation after Europe's failure to prevent atrocities in the Balkan wars.

Even after they had joined in 2007 Bulgaria and Romania fell short of EU standards, notably in their efforts to root out corruption and political interference. So the requirements for Croatia were particularly strict.

The welcome for Croatia was somewhat muted, as surveys suggested that "enlargement fatigue" and anxiety about migrant workers were widespread in Europe.

Judicial reform was among the toughest of the 33 negotiating areas, or "chapters". EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding said that "in one year they have completely reformed their judiciary system and have made it irreversible".

The highest-profile target in Croatia's crackdown on corruption was former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader. A Croatian court sentenced him to 10 years in prison for taking bribes, in November 2012. He had been arrested in Austria and extradited to Croatia. He denied wrongdoing.

He was convicted of taking millions of dollars in bribes from a Hungarian energy company and an Austrian bank. Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor replaced four ministers in the government she inherited from Mr Sanader.

A European Commission report in March 2011 said Croatia must make appointments of judges and state prosecutors more transparent, clear court backlogs, pursue high-level corruption investigations more thoroughly and do more to help disadvantaged minorities.

A border dispute with neighbouring Slovenia - an EU member - held up Croatia's accession talks until early September 2009, when Slovenia agreed to lift its veto over the talks.

Back in 2005 accession talks were delayed by seven months as Croatia struggled to convince the EU it was doing its best to find war crimes suspect Gen Ante Gotovina. He was arrested in the Canary Islands in December 2005.

On 15 April 2011 the war crimes tribunal in The Hague sentenced Gen Gotovina and another wartime Croat general, Mladen Markac, to 24 and 18 years in jail, respectively. They were found guilty of atrocities against Serbs in 1995. There was widespread anger in Croatia over the sentences.

But on 16 November 2012 both generals were released after appeals judges overturned their sentences. They were greeted as heroes on their return to Zagreb.

KOSOVO In the Balkans the breakaway territory of Kosovo is last in the queue to join the EU because the international community remains split over its 2008 declaration of independence.

The ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo has been striving for international recognition since the 1999 conflict, in which Serb forces, accused of atrocities against civilians, pulled out after heavy Nato bombing.

Many countries have recognised Kosovo. But Serbia is among those that do not - a group that includes Russia, China and five of the 27 EU member states - Spain, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Cyprus.

For more than a decade the hostility between Belgrade and the Kosovan authorities in Pristina has held up consideration of a Kosovan EU bid. Belgrade supports ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo - about 50,000 people - who refuse to be governed by Pristina.

But a landmark Serbia-Kosovo deal, brokered by the EU on 19 April 2013 after months of arduous negotiations, paves the way for both Serbia and Kosovo to make progress towards EU accession.

Both sides pledged that they would not try to block each other's EU bid.

The deal grants a high degree of autonomy to the Serb-majority areas in Kosovo, and allows them their own ethnic Serb police chief and ethnic Serb appeal court.

EU governments will now open talks with Kosovo aimed at reaching a Stabilisation and Association Agreement - a first step towards EU membership.

The Commission also proposed allowing Kosovo to participate in 22 EU programmes.

In a report the Commission praised Pristina's co-operation with the EU law-and-order mission in Kosovo, called Eulex. It highlighted the smashing of a smuggling ring and other joint investigations into organised crime and corruption.

The report calls for further efforts to tackle human trafficking in Kosovo, and the gangs that smuggle drugs and illegal weapons.

Protection of minority rights and freedom of speech are also significant challenges that Kosovo must meet on the path to EU membership, the Commission says.

MACEDONIA Applied for full membership: March 2004 Confirmed as candidate: December 2005

The European Commission has recommended that the EU open membership talks with Macedonia.

It says the former Yugoslav republic has made "convincing progress" in police reform, tackling corruption and bolstering human rights.

Since 19 December 2009 Macedonians have not needed visas to visit most EU member states - those in the Schengen zone.

Hopes that accession talks would open in 2008 suffered a blow from election violence in June and a subsequent boycott of parliament by ethnic Albanian opposition parties.

But the June 2011 parliamentary elections were "transparent and well-administered", EU governments said. A bitter dispute with Greece over Macedonia's name continues to hamper the country's bids to join the EU and Nato.

Macedonia was admitted to the United Nations in 1993 using the temporary name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Fyrom).

Greece argues that the name "Macedonia" cannot be monopolised by one country, and that doing so implies a territorial claim over the northern Greek region of the same name.

In a November 2008 interview, Macedonian Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki said "it is important that 125 countries worldwide have recognised Macedonia's constitutional name," and added: "we remain firm on our stance that only the Republic of Greece has a problem with Macedonia's constitutional name".

MONTENEGRO Applied for full membership: December 2008 Confirmed as candidate: December 2010 Negotiations started: June 2012

Candidate status has boosted Montenegro's bid and the EU opened the country's accession talks on 29 June 2012. The EU says Montenegro must intensify its efforts to consolidate the rule of law, fight organised crime and corruption and protect freedom of expression.

Talks with the EU on a Stability and Association Agreement (SAA) began shortly after the country voted, in May 2006, to end its union with Serbia. The SAA was signed in October 2007.

Montenegro's Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic, has said he hopes his country will succeed in joining the EU before neighbouring Serbia or Macedonia.

Since 19 December 2009, citizens of Montenegro have not needed visas to visit most EU countries - those in the Schengen zone.

SERBIA Applied for full membership: December 2009 Confirmed as candidate: March 2012

Serbia's progress towards the EU has been sluggish - it is trailing far behind its neighbour Croatia, a bitter enemy in the 1990s Balkan wars.

But EU leaders granted Serbia candidate status at a Brussels summit in March 2012.

Then in June 2013 they decided that EU accession negotiations with Serbia would go ahead, after Belgrade had clinched a landmark deal with Kosovo, allowing for a normalisation of ties. The accession talks will begin by January 2014 at the latest, the EU says.

A Commission report said the leaders of Serbia and Kosovo had shown "political courage and maturity" in tackling difficult issues jointly, as well as a commitment to better relations. Earlier Belgrade had agreed to allow Kosovo to take part in west Balkan regional meetings, despite refusing to recognise its independence. And the two sides agreed to control their volatile border jointly.

A UN resolution in September 2010, in which Serbia dropped its demand to reopen negotiations on Kosovo's status, signalled Belgrade's willingness to compromise.

Serbia's EU prospects improved after the arrest on 26 May 2011 of Europe's most wanted war crimes suspect, Gen Ratko Mladic. The former Bosnian Serb commander had been on the run for 16 years.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele said "a great obstacle on the Serbian road to the European Union has been removed".

Serbia's co-operation with the international war crimes tribunal in The Hague remains a key condition in its accession bid.

In July 2011 the last major indictee wanted in The Hague, former Croatian Serb leader Goran Hadzic, was arrested in northern Serbia and sent to The Hague for trial.

The two figures blamed the most for Bosnian Serb wartime atrocities are now on trial in The Hague - Gen Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, who was arrested in Serbia in 2008. Serbia is unlikely to join the EU until at least 2020.

Citizens of Serbia and two other former Yugoslav republics - Macedonia and Montenegro - enjoy visa-free travel to the Schengen area, which includes most of the EU. The visa waiver applies to those who hold biometric passports.

Serbia signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement (SAA) with the EU in April 2008, but only in June 2010 did EU foreign ministers agree to put it into effect.

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