The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) is to returns to the streets this weekend. Specifically, it is calling on supporters to set up camp in Barcelona's central square, Plaça Catalunya, for a 36-hour protest which will be the central action in its latest campaign, 'We accuse Spanish justice'. The objective is to denounce the Spanish state's ongoing judicial pursuit of the Catalan independence movement and gain public support to make the Parliament of Catalonia create a commission of inquiry into the breadth and scope of the 'lawfare' - the use of the law for repressive purposes - with the aim of taking the final report to the major international bodies.
The camp, to be held this Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th October, is open to anyone who wishes to participate, and attendance is expected to be "massive". There are still no figures that allow a firm estimate, but the organizers emphasize that more than 1,500 people have already signed up to the ANC manifesto for the campaign. The choice of the type of action is not accidental, but responds to the desire to initiate a form of protest that involves "a level of sacrifice" on the part of those attending, different from the festive mood associated with the organization's Diada mobilizations. And the location is not random either, but has been chosen for its centrality, and thus to demonstrate to the public that the independence movement "is not hiding".
A justice system which is "broken, discredited and rotten"
Since the campaign focuses directly on the repression of the independence movement, the press conference to present it was held in front of a building that has been the protagonist of this offensive for years: the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC). From here, the Assembly denounced the role of the Spanish judicial system in what is often called "the general case" against the independence movement. "We're not just talking about the Spanish courts, but also others [at lower levels] in Catalonia that are persecuting us," explained the vice-president, Jordi Pesarrodona, criticizing the "fierce" attack that has been made against thousands of independence supporters. And the ANC's national secretary, Josep Pinyol, vindicated the strategy of civil disobedience to deal with a justice system that is "broken, discredited and rotten inside". That is why he also asked for Parliament not to limit its denunciation to just a motion, but also to act as a "representative of the people" and investigate the general case before taking the results to the Council of Europe and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. The ANC's campaign will continue until January, when the organization will hold a rally in front of the Catalan chamber to deliver the signatures collected to the pro-independence parties.
Paluzie, Llach and Alba will be there
The first day of camping will start bright and early, at 9am on Saturday morning with the setting up of the camp, but it will not have its first event until midday. From 12 noon, though, Plaça Catalunya will host a series of actions and events aimed at denouncing the lawfare and repression by the Spanish state: first, a welcome, a series of talks by known speakers, the showing of some of the best documentaries on the issue on a giant screen - including the case of the CDRs charged with terrorist offences on the 23rd September 2019, and the 'Light and Freedom' action that lit up the mountain tops of Montserrat. There will also be annex tents detailing the work done by various sectors of the ANC, such as psychology.
When campers awake on Sunday morning, they and those who wish to visit will be offered a new programme from 11 am with comedian Toni Alba as master of ceremonies. Next, there will be the appearance of Josep Costa (now awaiting the verdict for the case against the 2018 Bureau of the Catalan Parliament), Pep Cruanyes and other people who have worked on the response to the state's lawfare against the independence movement. And in the afternoon a panel discussion on the internationalization of repression will be attended by the former president of the ANC Elisenda Paluzie as well as Neus Torbisco. Before the final event featuring Dolors Feliu and Jordi Pesarrodona, there will also be a session led by singer-songwriter Lluís Llach who will speak to those gathered. The organizers hope that all these attractions will be enough to pull the crowd going, and they hope to also attract the presence of some of these thousands of retaliators in person.
