Sat, Oct 07, 2017 page14

• Catalonia! 加泰隆尼亞

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  Although Spain was united in the 16th century, there was little assimilation or homogenization of the nation, and it remained a collection of diverse regions each with their own defined historical, political, linguistic and cultural traditions. Modern Spain remains a highly decentralized state, composed of 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities, each with their own devolved powers.

  Article 2 of the Spanish constitution, written in 1978, mentions “historical nationalities,” which are not explicitly identified but were widely understood to refer to the autonomous communities of Galicia in the far north-west, the Basque Country in the middle of the north coast and Catalonia in the far north-east. The term historical nationality implies a recognition of a region’s strong sense of historical and cultural identity.

  Many in the Basque region have been calling for independence, as have those from Catalonia and Andalusia in the south. On Sunday, the Catalonian government held a plebiscite with the question, “Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?”, despite a constitutional court ruling against the legality of the referendum.

  

  People attend a demonstration against a referendum on independence for Catalonia on Oct. 1 in Madrid. 群眾在馬德里參加本月一日的示威活動，反對加泰隆尼亞獨立公投。

  Photo: AFP
  圖：法新社

  According to Catalan officials, there was a 42.3 percent turnout for the vote, in spite of police attempts to stop the process, with almost 90 percent of the votes supporting independence. Article 155 of the constitution allows the central government to suspend Catalan autonomy and intervene in the autonomous region’s running.

  The Catalan government is understood to be discussing its response to Thursday’s constitutional court ruling suspending Monday’s regional parliament session, in which the referendum results were due to be discussed. The suspension was ordered to prevent the Catalan government from making a unilateral declaration of independence.

  The EU’s budget commissioner Gunther Oettinger, commenting on the possibility of an independence declaration, said “The situation is very, very disturbing. A civil war is planned in the middle of Europe.”

  

  People clash with Spanish Guardia Civil guards outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis, where the Catalan president was supposed to vote, on Oct. 1, the day of a referendum on independence for Catalonia banned by Madrid. 本月一日加泰隆尼亞獨立公投日當天，群眾與西班牙國民警衛隊在聖胡利安-德拉米斯的一個投票所外發生衝突。該處為加泰隆尼亞自治區主席原預定前往之投票所。本次公投為馬德里當局所禁止。

  Photo: AFP
  圖：法新社

  (Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)

  雖然西班牙在十六世紀統一成一個國家，但其內部幾乎沒有同化，仍像是一個不同地區的集合體，各地區擁有自己定義的歷史、政治、語言和文化傳統。現代西班牙仍然是一個高度分權的國家，由十七個自治區和兩個自治城市組成，各自擁有中央賦予的權力。

  一九七八年制訂的西班牙憲法第二條提到了「歷史國籍」，雖無明確指出，但一般認為是指西班牙西北部的加利西亞自治區、北部中央濱海的巴斯克地區，以及東北角的加泰隆尼亞。歷史國籍一詞意味著對地方強烈的歷史及文化認同感加以承認。

  

  A demonstrator with a Catalonian independence flag and a ballot paper during the demonstration in favor of the right to decide in Catalonia held at the Puerta Sol in Madrid, Spain on Oct. 1. 本月一日在西班牙馬德里太陽門廣場所舉行的聲援加泰隆尼亞人民自決的示威遊行中，一名示威者手持加泰隆尼亞旗幟及選票。

  Photo: EPA
  圖：歐新社

  巴斯克地區有許多人一直呼籲獨立，加泰隆尼亞和南部的安達盧西亞亦是如此。加泰隆尼亞政府在上週日舉行的公民投票所要決定的問題是：「你是否同意加泰隆尼亞以共和國的形式成為獨立國家？」儘管憲法法院裁定該公投不具合法性。

  據加泰隆尼亞官員表示，儘管警方企圖阻止投票之進行，該公投仍有百分之四十二點三的投票率，且幾乎有百分之九十的票數支持獨立。西班牙憲法第一百五十五條允許中央政府中止加泰隆尼亞的自治，且可介入自治區的運作。

  西班牙憲法法院週四裁定，中止加泰隆尼亞自治區議會將於下週一舉行的會議，該會議原定將討論公投結果。憲法法院此舉為防止加泰羅尼亞政府片面宣布獨立。據了解，加泰隆尼亞政府將討論如何因應此裁決。

  

  Members of a Catalonian family embrace each other after voting in the “1-O Referendum” at a Sports Center in Sant Julia de Ramis, Girona, northeastern Spain on Oct. 1. Spanish National Police officers and Guardia Civil guards have been deployed to prevent the people from entering polling centers to vote in the Catalan independence referendum that has been banned by the Spanish Constitutional Court, although many people have managed to do it. 在西班牙東北赫羅納省聖胡利安-德拉米斯的一座體育館參加「十月一日公投」的一個加泰隆尼亞家庭，於投票後相互擁抱。西班牙憲法法院已禁止加泰隆尼亞舉行獨立公投，因此西班牙國家警察及國民警衛隊進行部署，以禁止人民進入投票所，然而已有許多人設法進入投下了票。

  Photo: EPA
  圖：歐新社

  歐盟預算專員鈞特‧厄廷格在談到加泰隆尼亞可能宣布獨立時說：「情況非常令人不安，有人想在歐洲引發內戰。」

  （台北時報編譯林俐凱譯）
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