The 'Guinean way': the last movement of the independence movement to be supported by the UN

The independence of Catalonia is becoming an arduous undertaking for sovereignty. Added to the loss of mobilization and popular interest is the fact that stages have been burned and national and international doors have been closed to materialize it.. What seems to be a last cartridge is to appeal to the so-called Guinean way, now sponsored by some Catalan circles. The objective is to reach the UN and provoke its mediation. One of the basic premises is that in transnational instances it is considered that the territory has an ethnic or national minority in order to document an alleged aggression by Spain against it.. With those credentials, the intention is to be considered as a colony.

The Guinean way theory makes sense. It is about taking the issue to the C-24 commission of the UN, the same one that supervised the independence of Equatorial Guinea in the 60s of the last century, hence its name.. The theory has been cooked up for the last year, although it has been publicly exposed in the so-called University of the Institut Nova Història. It is a conference delivered by Jordi Castellà, councilor of Canet de Mar for the list of Improve Canet Primaries, sponsored by circles close to the ANC. Castellà himself, a former Canet Basketball Club player, had been founder and treasurer of the local section of ERC, founder of the Asociación Republicana del Maresme and coordinator of the territory of the ANC, as well as a member of Òmnium Cultural. An official in the IT and telecommunications services of the Generalitat, he defines himself as “nationalist, believer, republican, progressive and pro-independence”.

In a restricted conference last October, Castellà presented the theory to a packed audience. “The Guinean way is a legal, peaceful and democratic way to make independence effective, without deaths, destruction and reprisals,” he said.. To support this theory, the independence movement praises Francisco Franco's initiative to hold a referendum in Equatorial Guinea, although he stresses that he did so by the UN, after the decolonization committee was created in 1961.. What's more: treat that referendum as a role model.

a missed opportunity

He affirms that, at first, Franco granted the rank of autonomy to Guinea, but the UN rejected it and declared it a colony, for which reason he had to hold a referendum, which is now set as an example by the independentistas. It is about taking advantage of a theory amassed in recent months: “For a fictitious autonomy, Franco was shot in the year 63. And, due to this fictitious autonomy, Guinea is independent. That is why we have to make gestures”, is the conclusion to equate the current Catalonia to the Guinea of 60 years ago. The question lies in making the United Nations believe that there is no local government and that everything is decided in Madrid: this is what happened with Guinea and what they say is happening now with Catalonia, a parallelism that defies the laws of history and of rationality. The Constitutional Conference of Guinea was held in Madrid. It was decided agreed with the autonomous Government of Guinea. And the referendum was promoted by the Spanish State. The result was 65% in favor of independence and 35% against.. It is what we Catalans want, the indissoluble brotherhood with the Spanish people. We do not want to be subjects”, recounted the councilor. So much so that, at the end of the presentation, he commented: “Here we need firm politicians who ask for a well-done referendum, as was done in Equatorial Guinea”.

Castellà affirms that the Catalan political leaders lost a great historical opportunity to achieve independence after the Second World War: in 1945, 75,000 signatures were collected “in the American colony of America” in favor of independence, but this did not lead to the UN. What's more: he blames the then president of the Generalitat in exile, Josep Irla (from ERC), for making Catalonia subject “to the recovery of the Spanish Republic and the Statute of Autonomy”. He blames it on the fact that the Generalitat had no money and that the one who financed it in exile was the Government of the Republic, “which took the money to Mexico”. In 1961, after the UN special committee for decolonization was created, Catalonia did not ask for independence. It is that committee before which the independence movement now intends to bring its allegations.

The dubious coincidences

The sovereignist leader says that there are many points in common between Catalonia and Guinea: both were “annexed to Spain in the same century: Catalonia, with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1714 and Guinea, with an international agreement with Portugal in 1777-1778. Both were annexed by force. In addition, both Guinea and Catalonia were provinces (sic) of Spain and then autonomy”.

This dubious fact is contradicted by other exhibitions by Castellà, which seem to show that Catalonia was already part of Spain before.. “The day we go to the UN to demand an independent state, we can say that Catalonia has gained independence from Spain five times since 1640.. Approximately every 76 years, Catalonia declared itself independent in 1640 with the War of the Reapers, which lasted 19 years; in the War of Succession, from 1701 to 1714, Catalonia was an independent State; then, Francesc Macià's statement in 1931 lasted three days, and Companys's in 1934 lasted one day. Lastly, the Puigdemont one seems to have lasted a few seconds, but it is ongoing”, the councilor sums up the history of Catalonia. And he concludes: “Before the UN, that means that Catalonia always wanted to reaffirm its spirit of freedom, and Spain has always prevented it by force. This is a very important precedent.”.

Castellà stresses that the suppression of the rupture laws of September 2017, the annulment of the referendum and the declaration of independence, the supposed repression of the State and the flight into exile of some leaders are “acts typical of a regime of colonial oppression”. And how can we prove it? First, we have the 2006 Statute, cut and laminated despite having the endorsement of Parliament, Congress and the referendum. Second, we have the finances seized.

The controller of the Generalitat is from the time of Montoro and has to report directly to the general intervention of the State. All the expenses of the Generalitat are sent directly to Madrid and there they are audited. Therefore, we have a controlled economy. Third, we have politicians disqualified for having achieved independence and for having represented the majority will of the people.. Besides, we have exiled and persecuted politicians abroad. And, fifth, the Spanish State continues to practice espionage and infiltration of organized civil society.

This is also a demonstration of a colonial, authoritarian, oppressive country that wants to prevent us from being independent.. All this has to be brought to the UN well reasoned and well explained so that they understand it and support us. There is a lot of documentation about it.”.

The cheat referendum

The roadmap is to take the decolonization petition to the C-24 committee, which meets every year, so that Catalonia is incorporated into the list of territories to be decolonized, such as the Malvinas Islands, Bermuda Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat Island , Anguilla, Samoa, Virgin Antilles, New Caledonia or Saint Helena. The question is how to request it: it can be through the Government, the Parliament, the republican government in exile, a referendum promoted by organized civil society, by collecting signatures or by a UN member country requesting it. be friend. The bad thing is that there are no friendly countries.

What's more, the only territories that recognized the independence of Catalonia in 2017, according to Castellà, were “the independent republics of Ukraine, Donetsk and Donbas, although they did so without anyone asking them to”. And if the Catalan institutions do not ask the UN? “Well, then, we have to change our representatives”, is the answer to this possibility.

Once a UN declaration has been achieved, independence will be a fact, according to the pro-independence supporters: the EU will have no choice but to recognize it and Spain has one trump card: then call a full-fledged referendum. “But they will promise us the Moon, as the United Kingdom did with Scotland. They will promise us a referendum with all the trappings they can. But we have to be smart and tough, and hold a referendum that will lead us to independence.”. In this regard, he stated that “the Canadians cheated to win the referendum in Quebec: they massively nationalized the Chinese and thus they massively voted against”.

During the appeal process before the UN, the independence movement must, however, be capable of mobilizing people in the streets. “The countries of the world have to see that, behind the request made by institutions or politicians, there is a people. Pedagogy must be carried out and this fictitious autonomy unmasked”. In addition, he maintains that “those who promise you that independence will be possible with disobedience and nothing else are kidding you. Catalonia needs international recognition. Without it, there will be no independence.”

The culmination of this story is that the independence movement dreams of a positive reception of its initiative in principle. Because? “We have an advantage: many C-24 countries are decolonized countries,” argues the councilor from Canet to imply that the Catalan case can generate sympathy among committee members.