Separatism and geopoliticss
Left, right, regionalism, nationalism, globalism
Last weekend elections were held in the Basque Country. The two separatist parties PNV and Bildu won. „Historic success for the left“ writes the German platform nd Journalismus von links (Journalism from the left) and the more bourgeois Costa-Nachrichten distinguishes between the separatist Basque parties i.e. „between the moderate nationalists of the PNV (35.2%) and the nationalist left-wing party EH Bildu (32.5%).“ Bildu won 6 seats, while the PNV lost 4 seats.
In view of the terms „left“, „nationalist left party“, „moderate nationalists“, etc., I do have some questions regarding the classification in times of recognizably growing importance of global geopolitics. This doesn't just apply to the Basque Country, but to all Spanish autonomous regions with separatist movements. I've written these questions down, although I'm not familiar with the Basque Country, I'm more familiar with Catalonia and Valencia.
Disregarding the will of the people to the point of madness
Language imposition, Separatism and Democracy
Three headlines from last week shed light on the relationship between language imposition, separatism and democracy in Spain.
„Catalan Government campaign advises pediatricians not to treat children in Spanish“ (ABC.es)
Mazón (Valencian prime minister): „that dream of the Països Catalans, ..., neither has existed, nor exists nor will exist. I am the one who is not going to tolerate any more contempt to the Comunidad Valenciana on the part of the Catalan separatism. I will never tolerate it“ (elperiodic.com)
„Spanish language advocates and pancatalanists criticize new Valencian education law“ (autonomico.elconfidencialdigital.com)
PP and green nationalists in the same boat
People's initiative (ILP) failed
The day before yesterday, after two years, the Valencian Parliament finally allowed to debate and vote on the popular initiative (ILP) that respects the rights of Valencians to use their mother tongues.
In March 2022, the organisation „Hablamos Español“ submitted this popular initiative with over 40,000 signatures (four times more than necessary). This forced the Valencian parliament to debate and decide on the proposed law.
Language imposition as a means of politics
The politicization of language
In my blog, I focus on the opposition to separatist forces in Spain and the language policies of all those who serve this goal of „divide and rule“. Politicians of all stripes do not think at all about following the will of the voters, as demonstrated recently in the province of Valencia, where the two conservative election winners, the PP and VOX, broke their promises on the day they took office1 to ensure freedom of choice of languages.
Thinking out of the box shows that the same principle also applies in Germany, where federal and state governments want to enforce their woken gender language impositions against the will of the overwhelming majority of Germans. These attempts at ideological re-education have now been extended „by a linguistic gift“, as tagesschau.de, the main German news-portal, put it on February 24. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (famous for „I don't care what my German voters think“) has ordered „a small change in the German language“. „We have done what was long overdue: the spelling of your capital in the Ukrainian language.“ From now on Germans should write Kyjiw instead of the former German word Kiew.
Prof. Dr. Werner Müller, a German business economist who speaks Platt (a North German dialect/language „in between Dutch and standard German“) as well as Spanish and Russian. He has not only thoughts worth reading about the languages in „northern Germany, Catalonia and Ukraine“.2 For him, the renaming to „Kyjiw“ has a certain American touch.
UNESCO commemoration day at the request of Bangla Desh
International Mother Language Day
The exact number of people killed during this demonstration in Bangla Desh in 1952 is not known. The government (then still based in Pakistan) had decided to only allow Urdu as an official language. Not much more than during the suppression of the uprising by South Africans in Soweto, in which over 700 people were probably killed. It is also not known how many Ukrainians may have lost their lives because there is hatred of Russia and a ban on all non-Ukrainian languages (Russian, Romanian, Hungarian). We do know, however, that the Ukrainian language ban is one of the causes of the situation we see every day in the news about the war.
Of course, these circumstances are nowhere near as dramatic in Spain. But it is nevertheless a reason to take the day of remembrance on February 21 as an opportunity to reflect on the situation in Spain. Language imposition breeds hatred and ultimately violence. This makes it all the more incomprehensible that Spanish politicians of all stripes, whether extreme Spanish nationalist or extreme regional nationalist, are still depriving many parents of their right to choose the language of instruction for their children. The organization Hablamos Español has published some of the voices of those affected.
as feared
No fundamental change in language policy
I have just received a message from the organization Hablamos Español with the headline: „The language changes of the Valencian Ministry of Education seem lukewarm to us and discriminate against many Spanish-speaking families.“
Unfortunately, this message is not surprising and readers of this blog have already learned early on that Spain's conservative parties will not keep their promises regarding language policy.
Language policy of the Valencian PP
Spreading fear and divide
„Don't deprive your children of cultural and professional opportunities in Valencia“: Pressure on families not to choose Spanish, ABC.es judged for the new year, quoting a teacher: „Personally, I think it's a shame to deprive your children of integration and cultural opportunities in bilingual Valencian society and, of course, job opportunities.“
The Valencian President Carlos Mazón, on the other hand, only wants to free some Valencians from the language obligation and only removes: „...in Spanish-speaking areas (the obligation) to learn Valenciano“