Declaration of the Independence of the Catalan Republic, Friday October 27, 2017

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Below is our unofficial translation of excerpts from the Declaration of Independence of Catalonia, 27 October 2017. Comments in brackets. The Catalan excerpts follow it, as does the entire declaration. Although we could not find the Catalan original on a government web site, the content and document (see images below), which were found elsewhere online, appear authentic. Photos are official photos from the Generalitat web site.

“DECLARATION OF THE REPRESENTATIVES OF CATALONIA

To the people of Catalonia and of all the peoples of the world.

Justice and instrinsic individual and collective human rights, inalienable foundations that give meaning to the historical legitimacy and to the legal and institutional tradition of Catalonia, are the foundation of the constitution of the Catalan Republic.

The Catalan nation, its language and its culture have a thousand years of history. For centuries, Catalonia has been endowed with and enjoyed its own institutions that have exercised self-government in full, with the Generalitat as the greatest expression of the historic rights of Catalonia. Parliamentarism has been, during periods of freedom, the column upon which these institutions have been sustained, channeled through the Catalan Parliaments [Corts Catalanes] and crystallized in the Constitutions of Catalonia.

Catalonia restores today its full sovereignty, lost and long yearned for, after decades of trying, honestly and legally, institutional coexistence with the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula …

Drawing upon the demands of a large majority of citizens of Catalonia, Parliament, the Government and civil society have repeatedly called for an agreement to hold a referendum on self-determination.

Before the constatation that the institutions of the [Spanish] State have rejected all negotiation, have violated the principle of democracy and autonomy, and have ignored the legal mechanisms available in the Constitution, the Generalitat of Catalonia called for a referendum to exercise the right to self-determination recognized in international law.

The organization and voting of the referendum has led to the suspension of the self-government of Catalonia and the de facto application of a state of emergency ….

The brutal police operation of a military type and style orchestrated by the Spanish state against Catalan citizens has violated, on many and repeated occasions, their civil and political liberties and the principles of Human Rights and has contravened the international agreements signed and ratified by the Spanish State.

Thousands of people, including hundreds of elected and institutional officials and professionals linked to the communication sector, administration and civil society, have been investigated, detained, prosecuted, interrogated and threatened with harsh prison sentences…

The Catalan Republic is an opportunity to correct the current democratic and social deficits and build a society which is more prosperous, more just, more secure, more sustainable and more mutually supportive.

By virtue of all that has just been exposed, we, democratic representatives of the people of Catalonia, in the free exercise of the right to self-determination, and in accordance with the mandate received from the citizens of Catalonia,

WE CONSTITUTE the Catalan Republic, as an independent and sovereign State, of law, democratic and social …. [1]

The Parliament of Catalonia expresses its rejection of the agreement of the Council of Ministers of the Spanish State proposing to the Senate of the Spanish State the measures to concretise that which is at their disposal in article 155 of the Spanish Constitution. The measures proposed, at the margin of its own current legal estate, entail the elimination of the self-government of Catalonia. They also place the Government of the Spanish State as the substitute for the Government of the Generalitat [Catalon Government] and censor of the Parliament of Catalonia, a measure that not only can not be accepted, but is an attack on democracy without precedent in the last 40 years. [i.e. since Franco’s dictatorship]

We have offered negotiation and dialogue and they have responded with article 155 of the Constitution and the elimination of self-government: the response has been of a political force similar to the use of [police] force on October 1 …”

Note [1] for “of law” see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rechtsstaat
https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estat_de_dret
They appear to have forgotten that Portugal is on the Iberian peninsula with Spain, unless they meant an earlier time.

“DECLARACIÓ DELS REPRESENTANTS DE CATALUNYA

Al poble de Catalunya i a tots els pobles del món.

La justícia i els drets humans individuals i col·lectius intrínsecs, fonaments irrenunciables que donen sentit a la legitimitat històrica i a la tradició Jurídica i institucional de Catalunya, són la base de la constitució de la República catalana.

La nació catalana, la seva llengua i la seva cultura tenen mil anys d’història. Durant segles, Catalunya s’ha dotat i ha gaudit d’institucions pròpies que han exercit l’autogovern amb plenitud, amb la Generalitat com a màxima expressió dels drets històrics de Catalunya. El parlamentarisme ha estat, durant els períodes de llibertat, la columna sobre la qual s’han sustentat aquestes institucions, s’ha canalitzat a través de les Corts Catalanes i i ha cristal·litzat en les Constitucions de Catalunya.

Catalunya restaura avui la seva plena sobirania, perduda i llargament anhelada, després de dècades d’intentar, honestament i Ileialment, la convivència institucional amb els pobles de la península ibèrica….

Recollint les demandes d’una gran majoria de ciutadans de Catalunya, el Parlament, el Govern i la societat civil han demanat repetidament acordar la celebració d’un referèndum d’autodeterminació.

Davant la constatació que les institucions de l’Estat han rebutjat tota negociació, han violentat el principi de democràcia i autonomia, i han ignorat els mecanismes legals disponibles a la Constitució, la Generalitat de Catalunya ha convocat un referèndum per a l’exercici del dret a l’autodeterminació reconegut en el dret internacional.

L’organització i celebració del referèndum ha comportat la suspensió de l’autogovern de Catalunya i l’aplicació de facto de l’estat d’excepció….

La brutal operació policial de caire i estil militar orquestrada per l’estat espanyol contra ciutadans catalans ha vulnerat, en moltes i repetides ocasions, les seves llibertats civils i polítiques i els principis dels Drets Humans, i ha contravingui els acords internacionals signats i ratificats per r Estat espanyol.

Milers de persones, entre les quals hi ha centenars de càrrecs electes i institucionals i professionals vinculats al sector de la comunicació, l’administració i la societat civil, han estat investigades, detingudes, querellades, interrogades i amenaçades amb dures penes de presó….

La República catalana és una oportunitat per corregir els actuals dèficits democràtics i socials i bastir una societat més pròspera, més justa, més segura, més sostenible i més solidària.

En virtut de tot el que s’acaba d’exposar, nosaltres, representants democràtics del poble de Catalunya, en el lliure exercici del dret d’autodeterminació, i d’acord amb el mandat rebut de la ciutadania de Catalunya,

CONSTITUÏM la República catalana, com a Estat independent i sobirà, de dret, democràtic i social….

El Parlament de Catalunya expressa el seu rebuig a l’acord del Consell de Ministres de l’Estat espanyol proposant al Senat de l’Estat Espanyol les mesures per a concretar el que disposa l’article 155 de la Constitució Espanyola. Les mesures proposades, al marge del propi estament jurídic actual, suposen l’eliminació de l’autogovern de Catalunya. Alhora situen al Govern de l’Estat espanyol com a substitut del Govern de la Generalitat i censor del Parlament de Catalunya, una mesura que no tan sols no es pot acceptar sinó que és un atac a la democràcia sense precedents en els darrers 40 anys.

Hem ofert negociació i diàleg i ens han contestat amb l’article 155 de la Constitució i l’eliminació de l’autogovern: la resposta ha estat d’una contundència política similar a l’ús de la força del dia 1 d’octubre….”
Text and all photos are ©Generalitat de Catalunya

This appears to be the authentic text but was taken from a Spanish newspaper which appears anti-Catalan Independence and thus the authenticity is not guaranteed. However, the content looks authentic. If you need it for any official purposes, however, we recommend that you see if one has been posted on the Generalitat web site, if it still exists by then, or request a copy from the Government, if they have not been thrown in jail by Spain. How and why a copy could not be found on the Catalan web sites but only on Spanish media web sites remains perplexing. Some Catalan sites may have it by now, but we downloaded it late on Friday, Barcelona time.

There is a text which we found here later, but have not compared: https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaració_d%27Independència_de_Catalunya