An ensemble action by a very broad segment of Catalan civil society to speak out against the accusations of terrorism in the Democratic Tsunami case. More than 200 well-known names and figures of references in cultural and communication fields, with very different ideologies - such as TV3 presenter Ricard Ustrell, RAC1's Jordi Basté and Late motiv host Andreu Buenafuente - came together this Monday in Barcelona's Plaça del Rei for the reading of a manifesto entitled "Protesting is not terrorism". The text, also signed by pro-independence organizations (the ANC and Òmnium), feminists, housing activists, ecologists and trade unions such as CCOO and UGT, warns that we are seeing "a new escalation against the right to protest" and underlines that the investigation being carried out by Spanish courts in the investigation of the Democratic Tsunami protest platform "represents a direct attack on the exercise of fundamental rights, especially the right to protest and freedom of expression and freedom of information". "A new example of the extensive application of the penal code in the criminalization of protest," it asserts. In this regard, the signatories underline that "as people and organizations" who work for a "fairer society", they ask for "the necessary measures [be taken] to stop the use of justice in a new political persecution against social mobilizations and the exercise of fundamental rights", as well as demanding the withdrawal of terrorism charges.
The manifesto, which emphasizes that "protesting, mobilizing and demonstrating are fundamental rights", was read out this morning by media personalities such as Mònica Terribas, Jordi Basté and Laura Rosel - all of whom have signed and subscribed to this text. The document, in addition to making reference to Tsunami, highlights that "in recent years it has been seen how, from politics and justice, there has been a clear criminalization of protest, with serious repercussions for people who exercise their rights of assembly and demonstration, repeatedly violating the freedom of expression of singers, actors and actresses, obstructing the exercise of the right to information by information professionals, censoring theatre plays, persecuting the independence movement, the feminist movement, housing activism, anti-racism, environmentalism and attacking the right to strike and freedom of association".
"Wearing down the [Spanish] government and its parliamentary majority" with the amnesty
In relation to the 2019 protests against the sentences for the Catalan pro-independence leaders, the text recalls that it was an "unjust imprisonment", on which the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions and the Council of Europe had pronounced. With this context, they frame the Tsunami protests in "non-violent action" and emphasize that the slogan used by Tsunami throughout the whole period was "sit and talk". For this reason, they regret that the decision of the National Audience "shows a clear intention to wear down Spain's central government and its parliamentary majority through the processing of the amnesty law", which implies "interference by the judiciary with the legislature which weakens democracy and the will of the citizens who expressed themselves with their vote" at last year's Spanish general election. "Investigating a peaceful movement for terrorism with the sole objective of criminalizing protest, limiting fundamental rights and silencing political dissent is an authoritarian action that restricts the space of civil society and endangers democratic principles and the rule of law," they assert. In addition, they warn of the "deterrent effect aimed at the whole of society" because it persecutes "all kinds of groups and organizations" that defend rights and freedoms.
The list of manifesto signatories
Among the 200 figures of reference in different fields who have signed the manifesto are notable names from the world of communication such as Agnès Marquès, Ricard Ustrell, Andreu Buenafuente, Carles Porta, Cristina Fallarás, Anna Pacheco, Marc Giró, Ricard Ustrell and Txell Feixas; actors and actresses such as Aina Clotet, Alberto Sanjuan, Carlos Bardem, Carlos Cuevas, Eduard Farelo, Elena Gadel and Queco Novell; singers such as Cesk Freixas, Lluís Llach, Santi Balmes and Elèctrica Dharma and other personalities such as Bonaventura Clotet, Ada Parellada, Carla Vall, Marta Orriols and Oleguer Preses. In the case of organizations, Élite Taxi, Cruïlla Festival, Palau de la Música, DESC Observatory, Plataforma per la Léngua, Primavera Sound, SOS Racisme and Unió de Pagesos stand out.