Written by Violeta Camarasa
Catalan flag
In the midst of the preparations for their next national day on September 11, 2013 Catalan communities all over the world have celebrated with human chains to claim independence from Spain.
On September 11, celebrations will include the Via Catalana (Catalan Way), a human chain along Catalonia’s (Spain’s northeast region) coastline, which is meant to be the longest human chain ever made in the European Union. The chain is organized by the civic association Catalan National Assembly (CNA), in an attempt to show the increasing popular support for the option of independence and to push the regional government to start the negotiation process with the Spanish government.
More than 400,000 people who have published comments, pictures and videos on the Catalan Way can be tracked through this website and through the hashtags #11s2013 and #viacatalana.
On September 11, 2012, thousands of hundreds of Catalans took to the streets of Barcelona in the largest pro-independence rally in the region’s history, also organized by the CNA. As a result, the center-right governing coalition Convergència i Unió (CiU) decided to hold the regional elections ahead of schedule, on November 25, 2012. Voter turnout peaked at almost 70%, the highest in 30 years, and the four political parties committed to holding a referendum on self-determination (CiU-ERC-ICV-CUP) got more than twice as many seats as those defending the status quo (PSC-PP-C). Crucially, both of Catalonia’s major parties – the governing center-right CiU and socialist PSC – suffered severe setbacks.
In order to show their support and encourage participation, Catalan communities all over the world have organized human chains in different cities. Below are some of the most striking pictures and videos.
Gustau Alegret @GustauAlegret
Hold Your Hands. #ViaWDC #ViaCatalanaMon #inforac1 pic.twitter.com/eYUQtSMXLS
@Laksmiz
#ViaCatalanaSydney pic.twitter.com/3wmzQR6oMn #viaCatalanaMón #CatalanWay via @CatalanNation
@carles_noguera
Amb més de 50 persones, la cadena a Praga ha estat un èxit! #viacatalanamon pic.twitter.com/TtLqVbKZcb
@catalanassembly
Oh, là là! C’est trop jolie! 300 held their hands at the very heart of France #viacatalanamon http://catalanassembly.org/2013/09/04/the-catalan-way-in-paris/ … pic.twitter.com/hmjvLNHvTO
@AdriaAlsina
Catalans sing anthem and demand independence from Spain in New York: http://youtu.be/xkaqGyiS6QA?a via @YouTube
3:41 PM – 1 Sep 2013
@sergivicente
Video (no emès) de la cadena humana ahir a la Gran Muralla Xinesa http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpgZCLfxOfE&feature=youtu.be … #ViaCatalana
Eduard Voltas @eduardvoltas
Els catalans del món s’han tornat bojos. pic.twitter.com/jS4qUhpbZ8
lluc salellas vilar @llucsalellas
Fa efecte. Desenes d’independentistes a la Gran Muralla de la Xina #viacatalanamón via @eduardvoltas . pic.twitter.com/k5AskpNtWp”
9:11 AM – 31 Aug 2013
Cristina Figueras @cristinuti
Estic plena d’orgull!! #ViaCatalana a #BANGKOK!! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/11119847@N02/ …) #viacatalanamon pic.twitter.com/ujx9opsGKe
7:48 AM – 1 Sep 2013
Oriol Rosés i Belló @oriolroses
Nova York -@ggarolera- #ViaCatalana pic.twitter.com/8ke8HKeNNk
au Rodríguez i Ruiz @Pauroru
Cadena per la independència a #Helsinki #ViaCatalana #viacatalanamon pic.twitter.com/ki0spmvmek
Kieron Merrett @kieronam
#ViaLondres #ViaCatalana #ViaCatalanaMon pic.twitter.com/zqyfHqAjSK
Source: Global Voices
Link: http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/09/11/catalans-around-the-world-claim-independence-from-spain/