Monday 9 October 2017

Impartial BBC reporting of Catalonia reminicent of Scotland.

It  seems like a case of Déjà vu reading the  "Impartial"  reports from the BBC of the Week ends events in Catalonia where  the BBC  tells us there were

  "Huge Spain unity rally in Barcelona"

They say

 "At least 350,000 people gathered in Barcelona, capital of Catalonia, for a rally against independence from Spain.

They waved Spanish and Catalan flags and carried banners saying "Together we are stronger" and "Catalonia is Spain".
It was the largest such rally in Catalonia amid the furore over last week's disputed independence referendum."

 Pro-unity rally in Barcelona on 8 October 2017

 No mention that In Madrid, a small group of protesters rallying under the slogan “for the unity of Spain” appeared to be flashing fascist salutes in a procession led by a group aligning themselves with far-right party Falange Española‏ de las Jons, which held power during the Francoist dictatorship period of the country. 

 madrid-protest.jpg


No comparison with the size of the Pro Independence  demonstrations below



Which were more than treble the number of Saturdays Spanish "Unionist" Demos.


Josep Borrell, the former president of the European parliament, and member of Spanish Socialist Workers' Party  better known by its initials, PSOE  and very much a Unionist Party as Labour here waved a European Union flag, adding, in a reference to the banner flown by pro-independence Catalans, “this is our estelada”. For the record the PSOE have just 16 seats in the Catalan Parliament.

He attacked some of the rhetoric being used in the independence campaign. 

“Catalonia isn’t like Lithuania, Kosovo or Algeria,” he said. “It’s not an occupied or militarised territory.”
 To those who were dragged by their hair down steps by the Spanish Civil Guard for daring to vote in a democratic election and see Spanish Troops being mobalised by their border these must sem hollow words.

It does seem that the Unionist Media here are in a dilemma including the "impartial " BBC ot "Liberal" Guardian in reporting what is happing in Catalonia .

They attempt to portray calls for Independence  as the selfish moves of a rich state wishing to abandon poorer parts of Spain ,

Yes Catalonia is to rich for Independence  where Wales and Scotland are too poor.

I have yet to see any UK media pointing out that the main party promoting Independence is The Republican Left of Catalonia 


The party is a member of the European Free Alliance alongside Plaid and the SNP.


The party was founded in March 1931 as the union of the independentist Estat Català (Catalan State), led by Francesc Macià, the Catalan Republican Party, led by Lluís Companys and the L'Opinió Group of Joan Lluhí i Vallescà. In September 1932, the Spanish Republican Cortes approved the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia which, among other provisions, granted a Catalan Parliament with full legislative powers, and it was elected on 20 November 1932. The Republican Left of Catalonia won a large majority of seats.

 The party was declared illegal (along with all other participants in the Popular Front) by Francisco Franco after he came to power in 1939.

Lluís Companys i Jover  21 June 1882 – 15 October 1940) was the President of Catalonia (Spain), from 1934 and during the Spanish Civil War.

He was a lawyer and leader of the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) political party. Exiled after the war, he was captured and handed over by the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo, to the Spanish State of Francisco Franco, who had him executed by firing squad in 1940. Companys is the only incumbent democratically elected president in European history to have been executed.

As those supporting Spain Union  give the fascist salute and the "Heirs of Franco" send in the Civil Guard to prevent a democratic vote , the media here fearful that Scotland would soon follow Catalonia into independence  side with the "Heirs of Franco" against those who predecessors fought fascism.

Update: 15:44

  Retweeted
Spain's ruling party warns Catalan president may end up like Lluís Companys, arrested (1934) & executed (1940) after declaring Catalan state

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The BBC's coverage of major events such as the referendums in Scotland, Brexit and Catalonia. is synonymous with bias. They clearly reflect the hysterical, Britnat viewpoint constantly spewed out by the London based newspapers.

I regularly point this BBC bias out to friends, family and colleagues and encourage them to look at alternative sources for information on major events. In addition to social media, there are plenty of alternative foreign TV stations and newspapers that produce English language content.