The citizens of Catalonia have been called to cast their ballot in a referendum on self-determination this coming October 1st, in order to decide their political future. This vote has been declared illegal by the Spanish state, which has tried to suppress it with all the means at its disposal. Those of us working in media loyal to the Catalan institutions have been harassed judicially and politically, and our most basic rights and freedoms abrogated, simply for allowing pro-referendum publicity to appear in our publications.
This has been condemned by the Catalan Ombudsman, who has brought the complaints of hundreds of media, represented by the associations to which they belong, to the attention of the institutions of the European Union. We journalists have demonstrated on the streets of Barcelona, and we have received support from many diverse sectors of Catalan society. UN human rights experts have warned the Spanish authorities about the violations of such rights that are taking place here, due to the attempts to impede democratic expression through the referendum.
As far as our own publication is concerned, several journalists were obliged to show identification at our Barcelona offices by officers of the paramilitary Civil Guard. In its 21 years of existence, NacióDigital has enjoyed a wide readership among the people of this country, reporting on sport, culture, popular festivals, social movements and current affairs in general. And as we wish to continue doing so in a normal fashion, we ask free journalists around the world to please be aware of what is happening in Catalonia. We are the heirs of a long journalistic tradition of freethinking which, in the terrible ups and downs of the 20th century, was always on the side of democracy and opposed to totalitarianism. And we are not about to stop now.
Today, the future of democracy and the European project is also threatened in Barcelona and Catalonia as a whole. The ideals of freedom of expression in the media and the right of citizens to reliable information must be allowed to continue to exist. No matter how much they are menaced and attacked. Our tools are the digital networks on the internet which have been decisive when mobilising millions of people over the last seven years. We are therefore appealing to the consciences of information professionals around the world in the hope that they will show us support during these difficult hours, which will be the prelude to the definitive freedom of a thousand year old nation.
Here at NacióDigital we wish to repeat yet again that we are on the side of the government of Catalonia, of its president Carles Puigdemont and the vice-president Oriol Junqueras, and of the parliamentary majority which wants to turn the wish of a majority of Catalans to decide their own future, into reality. And we ask the people of Catalonia to vote and to vote Yes, to achieve a free and sovereign Catalonia, that will be socially just, and a friend to all the peoples of the world.
This has been condemned by the Catalan Ombudsman, who has brought the complaints of hundreds of media, represented by the associations to which they belong, to the attention of the institutions of the European Union. We journalists have demonstrated on the streets of Barcelona, and we have received support from many diverse sectors of Catalan society. UN human rights experts have warned the Spanish authorities about the violations of such rights that are taking place here, due to the attempts to impede democratic expression through the referendum.
As far as our own publication is concerned, several journalists were obliged to show identification at our Barcelona offices by officers of the paramilitary Civil Guard. In its 21 years of existence, NacióDigital has enjoyed a wide readership among the people of this country, reporting on sport, culture, popular festivals, social movements and current affairs in general. And as we wish to continue doing so in a normal fashion, we ask free journalists around the world to please be aware of what is happening in Catalonia. We are the heirs of a long journalistic tradition of freethinking which, in the terrible ups and downs of the 20th century, was always on the side of democracy and opposed to totalitarianism. And we are not about to stop now.
Today, the future of democracy and the European project is also threatened in Barcelona and Catalonia as a whole. The ideals of freedom of expression in the media and the right of citizens to reliable information must be allowed to continue to exist. No matter how much they are menaced and attacked. Our tools are the digital networks on the internet which have been decisive when mobilising millions of people over the last seven years. We are therefore appealing to the consciences of information professionals around the world in the hope that they will show us support during these difficult hours, which will be the prelude to the definitive freedom of a thousand year old nation.
Here at NacióDigital we wish to repeat yet again that we are on the side of the government of Catalonia, of its president Carles Puigdemont and the vice-president Oriol Junqueras, and of the parliamentary majority which wants to turn the wish of a majority of Catalans to decide their own future, into reality. And we ask the people of Catalonia to vote and to vote Yes, to achieve a free and sovereign Catalonia, that will be socially just, and a friend to all the peoples of the world.
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