The motif chosen by Òmnium, the ANC and the AMI (1) for the Barcelona city rally on Catalonia’s National Day might seem preposterous: a human face with a stroke of red pen across the mouth and the word “democracy” written underneath. It might seem preposterous, but it wasn’t. The demonstration on September 11 in support of Catalonia’s referendum law and the government’s order calling an independence vote on October 1 was actually a rally for the civil liberties that define a democracy, which are clearly being threatened. In the last few weeks we have heard that this is not about independence, but democracy. And it is true.
1. Giorgio Agamben, the philosopher, has argued for years that a state of exception is not an exception to the rule of law, but the norm. From Agamben’s writings, some have frivolously formulated a sweeping hyperbole: the notion that any change that makes the existing laws more restrictive in western democracies is akin to declaring a state of exception, no matter how provisional the changes might be.
It is true that, following 9/11 and amid the freedom vs. security debate, some countries have brought in certain restrictions on some aspects of basic rights. From that, a certain opinion has taken hold which, while not unanimous, it is held by a majority and endorses such restrictions for the sake of security and protecting our lives. But calling those measures a state of exception is nothing but hyperbole.
2. With the excuse of fighting Basque terror group ETA, in the last few decades Spain has seen widespread use of measures which, in many instances, have questioned or even explicitly violated the foundations of the rule of law, which has led to the widely-held opinion that Spanish democracy has major shortcomings.
This is what happened with the GAL’s state-sanctioned killings in the Basque Country, the arbitrary arrest and torture of Catalan separatists in 1992, the banning of Herri Batasuna —the Basque separatist party— in 2002 and Egunkaria, the Basque language newspaper that was shut down in 2003. In all those cases the Spanish State repeatedly crossed the red line that necessarily protects civil liberties in a democracy. But even then it would be an exaggeration to regard those measures are a state of exception, even though many of us denounced them and pointed out that their extreme gravity meant that Spain’s was one of the poorest democracies in the west.
3. Nevertheless, today we find ourselves in an altogether different place. All the instruments of the Spanish State, from the government to the Constitutional Court and the Attorney General have come together to implement a number of measures which are collectively equivalent to a state of exception, not by accident but in essence, even if this has not been openly declared as such. Therefore, the Spanish State has begun to systematically suspend some basic liberties, without which you can no longer speak of a rule of law. Of course, I refer to the measures that we have learnt about in the last few days and hours:
The Constitutional Court has told the general managers of Catalonia’s public TV and radio networks what they may and may not report. At the same time, the Attorney General has instructed Catalonia’s High Court to do the same with the directors of private news outlets. This is a violation of the freedom of press, an inalienable pillar of any free society in a democratic system.
The DA has ordered the Commissioner of the Catalan police to prevent the referendum from being held, even though the Catalan parliament —which represents the people of Catalonia— approved it in a legitimate exercise of its functions. Furthermore, the Catalan police have been ordered to seize ballot boxes and any other items that might be used in the vote, while threatening “officials, civil servants and private individuals” over “any actions” in connection with the referendum.
A Madrid court has banned a public event in support of the Catalan ballot which was scheduled for Sunday and had been authorised by the city hall, which is a violation of the freedom of assembly and free speech, which are also fundamental in a free, democratic system. It would be incomprehensible if Madrid mayor Manuela de Madre and her government accepted the ban and for her party, Podemos, to allow such an outrageous violation of basic rights. What will happen tonight with the Yes campaign’s kick-off rally in Tarragona? Will they dare to cancel and ban it?
On Wednesday the Attorney General instructed the district offices to summon “for questioning” and “accompanied by their legal counsel” seven hundred and twelve (!) Catalan mayors who have expressed their desire to help the Catalan government to organise the referendum. The Catalan police are under explicit orders to arrest them if the mayors skip their court date.
There is only one precedent when equally grave steps where taken in Spain’s democracy: the state of exception declared by General Milans del Bosch in Valencia in February 1981, during the failed military coup. Political parties were banned from holding private and public events, as well as meetings, while media were being monitored by the National Police.
Today the Spanish State has not declared a state of exception as per Act 4/1981, but it is applying articles 16, 21, 22, 26 and 29 with no guarantees and no oversight, as one can easily notice. The Spanish authorities are leading the political repression and persecution against their political opponents and elected officials, civil servants and even the editors of public and private news outlets, effectively suspending the right to information, freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. In the light of all this, one should expect a general clamour against the totalitarian delirium of the Spanish State, asking the international community to come to our defence.
This is truly not about independence, but democracy and basic rights. Nowadays the rule of law in Spain is an exception.
______________
Translator’s note:
(1) Òmnium Cultural and the Catalan National Assembly (ANC in Catalan) are the main pro-independence grassroots groups in Catalonia. The Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) brings together all the local governments in Catalonia that support secession from Spain.
