Tabarnia: A no longer-so-humorous joke on Catalan democracy

The December 21 election in Catalonia produced some inserting results and accentuated the deepening polarisation within the station. Within the center of what the expert-independence camp known as a « Spanish occupation », with the station’s autonomy nearly repealed, the Catalan President Carles Puigdemont compelled into self-exile in Belgium and a few Catalan legislators despatched to penal complex, other folks that beef up Catalonia’s independence from Spain unruffled managed to preserve a slim majority within the regional parliament after the snap election.

The unionists in Catalonia, on the opposite hand, did no longer settle for defeat gracefully. The expert-union Voters Occasion obtained the huge majority of votes across the station, but did no longer win the major majority to both govern by myself or in a talented-Spain coalition. Additionally, anti-secessionist parties obtained an even higher proportion of the votes in each and each the province of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, and within the neighbouring province of Tarragona. All this fuelled the unionists’ frustration and offered them with an opportunity to milk the problem – they determined, it looks, to charm to a no longer-so-humorous joke in issue in confidence to argue their case and delegitimise the opposition’s major electoral victory. 

A no longer-so-humorous joke 

In June 2017, an obscure political « circulate » known as Platform for Barcelona’s Autonomy came up with the timeframe « Tabarnia », to elaborate Tarragona and Barcelona, the 2 provinces of Catalonia in which the beef up for the independence circulate is lower when put next with the leisure of the station, and started arguing that if Catalonia finally declares independence from Spain, the fictional station of Tabarnia have to unruffled shatter free the leisure of Catalonia and remain Spanish. 

The premise did no longer attract worthy consideration in the beginning, as all americans used to be centered on the ongoing political disaster. Nonetheless after the election in December, « Tabarnia » turned a prominent unionist speaking point. Even some mainstream anti-secessionist politicians started relating to this fictional station in an strive to belittle the independence circulate they did no longer defeat within the election. 

« Tabarnia reflects the contradictions interior the independence circulate and demonstrates the fragility of their arguments, » Ines Arimadas, the chief of the Voters Occasion, talked about in a tweet. « It’s some distance major the blueprint it made every other folks very fearful. »

Unionists worship Arimadas claim that this « joke » demonstrates the supposed fragility of the independence circulate, in consequence of it forces proponents of Catalonia’s secession from Spain to contradict themselves. If Catalonia secedes from Spain, they bid, essentially based totally on the latest secessionist discourse, Tabarnia have to unruffled moreover be allowed to rob its have referendum and separate itself from the new converse of Catalonia. After claiming they acquire a legitimate to rob a referendum to interrupt free Spain, they seek files from, would Catalan secessionists dare snarl the same just correct to « Tabarnians »?

Tabarnia is clearly a provocation, and no longer even a in fact shining one at that. It trivialises the idea of identity, treating it as if it is one thing as pedestrian as altering garments. The thought of the Catalan nation and the Catalan identity emerged as end result of a fancy historic, political and cultural course of and the Catalan independence circulate grew over many years (if no longer centuries) of debates, tensions and conflicts. Therefore, the Catalan fight for independence can no longer, under any instances, be equated to a satirical circulate concocted by a diminutive neighborhood of different folks with ties to some distance-just correct organisations. 

The circulate for Tabarnia’s independence, certainly, has some very controversial names amongst its supporters. As an instance, the circulate’s spokesman, journalist Jaume Vives, is eminent for posting on twitter phrases worship « Islam and Gender Ideology are the major instruments of Devil in our cases. » 

Vives’ beef up for the circulate have to unruffled no longer reach as a surprise to anybody who is accustomed to the history of the Platform for Barcelona’s Autonomy. This circulate used to be born out of the association Societat Civil Catalana (SCC), a unionist organisation with shut ties to the Spanish some distance just correct, along side parties claiming to be the heirs of Total Francisco Franco, equivalent to the Spanish Falange de las JONS. Demonstrations organised by the SCC are incessantly crowded with illegal Francoist and Fascist symbols. 

Hiding repression within the help of satire

Up to now, the central govt in Madrid dilapidated all political and judicial instruments at its disposal to repress the Catalan independence circulate. It jailed the Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras, as properly as political and social leaders equivalent to Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Cuixart. It levied riot and sedition charges upon Puigdemont to forestall him from returning to his nation and taking help the presidency – a submit for which he used to be once extra elected by the Catalan other folks in December. Meanwhile, the European Fee remained quiet about the political violence experienced all the blueprint by the October 2017 referendum, the enactment of the article a hundred and fifty five and the imprisonment of Catalan MPs who did nothing but represent the need of their constituents. The Fee has moreover no longer addressed the truth that the legitimate chief of Catalonia is unruffled in exile. If Puigdemont returns to Catalonia he’ll positively be arrested and as his criminal expert Jaume Alonso-Cuevillas acknowledged, there might be no guarantee that he might also get a comely trial. 

Even within the face of all these blatant rights abuses and crimes in opposition to democracy, unionists and their supporters across Europe unruffled squawk that they are merely attempting « to defend democracy ». And now, it looks, they are stooping so low as to preserve a check at and hide their hypocrisy within the help of a no longer-so-humorous joke.

Contradictory positions and opposing point of views are approved in a democracy, but the attempts to repress and delegitimise the comely requires of an independence circulate clearly demonstrates the undemocratic personality of Spanish unionism. The utilization of Tabarnia, unionists are attempting to argue that the secessionist circulate in Catalonia is selling the division of no longer finest Spain, but moreover the Catalan society. Genuinely, on the opposite hand, the unionists are the obliging ones attempting to silence Catalan voices. If and when Catalonia secedes from Spain, the legitimate requires of all peoples of Catalonia will likely be listened to. As an instance, the diminutive station of the Val d’Aran (Aran Valley) in Catalonia the set the inhabitants issue Aranese (a dialect of Occitan), will acquire the suited, if the inhabitants wishes, to interrupt free Catalonia and to remain part of Spain. Therefore, other folks the utilization of the instance of Tabarnia to delegitimise the Catalan independence circulate are no longer in fact struggling with for democracy, but rather twisting truth in an strive to subvert democracy to their very have goals.

Additionally, it is refined to set any legitimacy to the account imposed by the defenders of Tabarnia, as they are accurate same other folks who supported the violent repression of the Catalan independence referendum in October 2017 – the second the set every Catalan had the likelihood to create their set of dwelling on independence certain.

Within the cease, the ideas for a unexcited resolution to the Catalan allege in which the huge majority of the folk will likely be revered are scarce whereas stress within the station grows. And the « jokes » about a fictitious station are no longer helping anybody.

The views expressed listed below are the creator’s have and attain no longer essentially mediate Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.