The Catalan National Assembly (ANC) has launched its international campaign to shine a spotlight on the independence trial due to start in Madrid on Tuesday. This Saturday has seen the first of the demonstrations which the pro-independence civil group has organized in 28 cities in Europe and three in the Americas.
This morning, rallies were held in seven centres in Germany and Corsica. Dozens of people took part in mobilizations in Hamburg, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Cologne in Germany, as well as in Ajaccio and Bastia on the island of Corsica.
The ANC is undertaking this international campaign to inform the European public of the "persecution and repression" being carried out by the Spanish state "against Catalonia and its citizens" purely for having exercised the right to self-determination. The campaign will hold demonstrations in European cities, as well as erecting banners and billboards and other graphic material, and distributing audiovisual content.
In Corsica, there were protests in Ajaccio and Bastia in front of the government prefectures. Yellow ribbons, showing solidarity with those pursued by the Spanish authorities, were hung on the government buildings along with a banner demanding the release of the Catalan prisoners.
#SulidaritàCorsicaCatalunya
— Partitu Femu a Corsica (@Partitu_FemuAC) 9 de febrer de 2019
Prima mubilizazione di sustegnu sta mane in Aiacciu.
Marti u 12 di ferraghju cumincia u prucessu è ci saranu altri evenimenti durante 3 mesi.
A sulidarità deve cresce ! #LlibertatPresosPolitics #MakeaMove #VotarNoEsCapDelicte pic.twitter.com/Xyn99ZSXnS
Rassemblement ce matin en #Corse à Aiacciu devant la préfecture en solidarité avec le peuple et les prisonniers politiques catalans. #Solidaritat #Llibertat pic.twitter.com/84dn9QTCvx
— Romain Colonna (@Romain_Colonna) 9 de febrer de 2019
Marie-Pascale Castelli, spokesperson for the Corsica-Catalonia Solidarity Committee, emphasised that in Catalonia, "civil society had been repressed by police with atypical violence" and that the major charges which the pro-independence leaders are facing, such as rebellion, which refer to "the use of violence, are a lie."
In Frankfurt, the rally began at 4pm at the Brockhaus-Brunnen fountain. Several dozen people took part in a protest which displayed a banner calling for "Freedom for the Catalan political prisoners", while a stand with information about the ANC's Make a Move campaign was also set up.
Protestversammlung gegen die Kriminalisierung der katalanischen Unabhaengigkeitbewegung #makeamove #ANC #Frankfurt pic.twitter.com/xCge5cVyiD
— ANC Frankfurt 🎗 (@ANCFrankfurt) 9 de febrer de 2019
Infostand in Karlsruhe zur Verteidigungdes Rechts auf Selbstbestimmung#Katalonien #makeamove pic.twitter.com/hlujcoGZls
— Anna_mnesia (@Anna_mnesia) 9 de febrer de 2019
In Hamburg, during the day a panel was installed on the Jungfernstieg promenade, graphically reproducing the police repression of the 1st October referendum.
— ANC Hamburg 🎗 (@ANCHamburg) 9 de febrer de 2019
In Munich, a spotlight was also put on Catalonia's right to decide its future and the political prisoners issue. The ANC called a protest at 12 noon at the city's Marienplatz and fifty people attended to draw public attention to "the politicized justice of the Spanish state" on the eve of the Catalan independence trial.
Heute haben wir uns in #Muenchen getroffen, um für #Katalonien.s Unabhängigkeit und für die Freiheit der katalanischen Politischen Gefangenen zu demonstrieren, und um #Spanien.s politisierte Justiz und Schauprozesse anzuklagen. Selbstbestimmung ist ein Recht, kein Verbrechen! pic.twitter.com/vlG8n6vDhH
— ANC - Munic (@ANC_Munic) 9 de febrer de 2019
Meanwhile, ANC president Elisenda Paluzie participated in the presentation of the documentary "The ANC, a Catalan civic assembly" in the French city of Toulouse, where she met with several representatives of the Occitan-speaking Languedoc region to discuss the current situation in Catalonia and the independence movement's principles.
⬛⬜Suite de la visite à #Toulouse et #Tournefeuille de Mme @epaluzie, Présidente de @assemblea. Rencontre avec les représentants de l'historique #CasalCatala toulousain. pic.twitter.com/baAI8xrMB5
— ANC International 🚩 (@assemblea_int) 9 de febrer de 2019
International mobilizations will continue next weekend in other European cities. In addition to protests called in Mexico City and Washington DC, there will be rallies in Brussels, London, Geneva, Bilbao and Edinburgh, among other cities.
The interactive map below shows the cities, time and location of each planned rally: