We enclose a statement from the FIEC on the occasion of the celebration of the International Day of Outer Catalonia:
In order to remember the hundreds of thousands of Catalans who live abroad, next Sunday, day 27 d’abril, celebrates the International Day of Catalonia Exterior 2014. This Day is an initiative of the International Federation of Catalan Entities (FIEC), which groups a large number of centers, Catalan clubs and associations abroad. Casals Catalans in the meeting of the Southern Cone of America, Celebrated on 1997 in the Argentine city of Mendoza, the FIEC presented the proposal to institute this day. The proposal was approved by a majority, both for the Catalan communities of America and for those of Europe and the rest of the world. He 1998 the International Day of Outer Catalonia was celebrated for the first time.
He 4 March 1999, the Parliament of Catalonia approved a resolution declaring the Diada official, with the following text: “The Parliament of Catalonia urges the Government to officially establish the celebration of the International Day of Outer Catalonia for Sant Jordi, or the first Sunday after St. George, if not this day falls on Sunday, and in the framework of its powers, to give public prominence to this celebration”. In this way, the Government of Catalonia, at their meeting of the day 6 April of the same year 1999, adopted the agreement official statement on this Day.
Since the creation of the International Day of Outer Catalonia, the FIEC publishes an annual commemorative poster. This year, the poster is the work of Flor de Maria Coto de Lemus, member of the Casal Català in El Salvador. To FIEC is a matter of legitimate pride that great artists like Tàpies, Eaves Casamada, Guinovart, Mariscal, Roser Capdevila and others have given in, over the years, designs at the FIEC for the Diada poster as a way to express their solidarity and respect for Outer Catalonia.
For FIEC, year, the International Day of Outer Catalonia is clearly marked by:
Improving the quality of democracy for Catalans living abroad. The FIEC has multiplied its initiatives to promote a reform of the LOREG (Organic law of general electoral system) ending disasters in electoral participation and restriction of democratic rights as in the last elections to the Parliament of Catalonia where only the 6,72% of Catalans living abroad were able to cast their vote. We welcome the agreement of the previous Congress of Deputies 11 of March that initiates the reform of the LOREG and the suppression of the denominated one ‘rogue vote‘, with the support of all the Catalan deputies in Madrid. Unfortunately, this reform does not come in time for the next European Parliament elections 25 of May in which 175.401 Catalans abroad have the right to vote. The FIEC has published one guide to facilitate voting.
In the same line of improving democratic quality, the FIEC has urged the parliamentary groups in the Parliament of Catalonia to modify the draft under discussion on the Law of non-referendum consultations so that Catalans abroad can vote in a possible consultation promoted by the Catalan Government and to take into account the Catalans from abroad in the discussion of the Electoral Law of Catalonia with the adoption of electronic voting and the possibility of creating a constituency of Outer Catalonia (with two deputies) in the new seat allocation.
The FIEC will provide all possible logistical and political support so that the Voluntary Register of Catalans Residing Abroad, which will soon be set up by the Catalan Government in order to improve statistical information on Catalans residing abroad, is a success i, if so, will give its full support so that this register can serve as an external electoral census in a possible consultation convened by the Catalan Government within its own legal framework.
To improve orientation, and foster opportunities for thousands of Catalans who are marching outwards. About 52.000 Catalans have left Catalonia since the beginning of the crisis (in the absence of final official data from 2013). Catalan communities abroad are becoming, mainly in Europe, in reception and information points for many of these Catalans. Late is beginning to be understood, from Catalonia, the importance of the phenomenon and initiatives are beginning to be taken to support this whole structure of voluntary reception that has had to be set up from many Catalan communities abroad.. This is the case of the Migration Plan 2013-2016 which includes the ‘emigration’ dimension’ for the first time and the line of grants for open reception activities from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The departure of Catalans abroad is a situation destined to last and no euphemisms (voluntary mobility, short stays to improve languages, etc.) it will not change its nature or the difficulties that the difficult decision to emigrate always entails, especially for the group that does so with low qualifications and in a situation of exhaustion of social rights in Catalonia. The FIEC has published a Guide ‘Emigrated from Catalonia‘.
This new emigration has increased the weight of the younger age groups (under 18 years) which already represent near the 20% of the Catalan population living abroad and who are demanding a specific action to support the teaching of the Catalan language in these large children’s communities, improving the didactic availability and the teachers trained for this task abroad.
The financial difficulties faced by many Catalan communities abroad due to the sharp cuts (reduction in a 66% of funds available at 2010) in the budgets of support to the entities and to the fact that the subsidies of the year 2013 they have not yet been paid.
The first of May 2014 two years have passed since the unfortunate decision of the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation to close TV3CAT broadcasts. None of the alleged measures to open alternative channels for the reception of Catalan satellite TV abroad has been implemented and the reception by existing channels (laptops, tablets, etc.) it remains very poor and unstable in most parts of the world. For the FIEC it continues to be a claim that the satellite signal of TV3CAT can be recovered as soon as economic circumstances allow. Not only in the interest of Catalans abroad but also for the benefit of the projection of the image of Catalonia by normal television media, at a key moment in our history.
We understand, finally, that Catalan communities abroad need a new regulatory framework for relations with the Catalan Government than the Law 18/1996 relations with Catalan communities abroad no longer complies. This law must be profoundly modified to meet the new realities mentioned above and must be complied with. (which has never been the case with the law 18/1996, except for a few aspects).
