The editors of the Catalan magazines have faced the veto of five publications in the municipal library of Burriana (Castellón) and have announced that they will activate the judicial process to denounce it. The president of the Association of Periodical Publications in Catalan (APPEC), Germà Capdevila, has detailed that, in addition, they will present a complaint to the European institutions and a formal complaint to the Ombudsman of the Valencian Country.
APPEC also advanced that it will facilitate subscription to publications “everywhere where censorship operates” and is studying positive discrimination measures for titles. In addition, it made a legal team available to the affected publications (Cavall Fort, Enderrock, Camacuc, El Temps and Lengua Nacional).
The event has the support of Omnium Cultural and Plataforma por la Lengua. The counselor of the Presidency, Laura Vilagrà, also attended; the president of the Parliament, Anna Erra; the Secretary of Media of the Generalitat, Oriol Duran; and number three on the Republican list in Congress in the 23-J elections, Francesc-Marc Álvaro.
APPEC prepares various measures in response to the veto in Burriana. The association has remarked that “it will do everything in its power” to respond “to each attack”.
By judicial means, Capdevila has detailed that the legal team that they have made available to the affected capitals, considering that it is a case that violates article 3.3 of the Constitution —which refers to linguistic wealth— and articles 11 and 12 of the European Charter for Minority Languages, ratified and in force in the State since 2001. Regarding the complaint before the European institutions, in a statement APPEC has detailed that it will be presented to the European Office for Minority Languages.
By institutional means, the association has asked to meet with the president of Parliament, Anna Erra; the presidents of the parliamentary groups and the ministries of Culture and the Presidency. “There are many flanks to cover and more positive discrimination and more courage are needed,” Capdevila snapped. In turn, the president of Plataforma per la Llengua, Òscar Escuder, has indicated that since 2016 the Ministry of Culture has only sent 39% of books in Catalan to libraries in Catalonia.
As for the mobilization, the association has called a rally next Monday at 7:00 p.m. in front of the Burriana municipal library. Escuder has explained that they are also looking for a municipal site to guarantee that the titles vetoed by the consistory can be read at some other point.
Besides, APPEC has also announced that it is preparing the “biggest” subscription campaign for magazines in Catalan “in history”. Capdevila has assured that they want to encourage everyone to access one of the more than 200 magazines of all subjects that are published in the territory. “We will reach all corners and we will provide all the facilities”, she has defended.
Several representatives of the publications affected by the veto in Burriana have also participated in the press conference. For her part, the director of Cavall Fort, Mònica Estruch, assured that the ban in the municipality of Castellón left them “with their mouths open”. “We will continue to publish all the magazines with the same intention, to say that we are here and that our readers deserve quality publications in Catalan,” she declared.
For his part, the leader of Òmnium Cultural, Xavier Antich, assured that it is a “new flagrant attack from the right and the extreme right” against language and culture. “They want to crumble the country,” said Antich. “It’s pure fascism,” he stressed.
From the Government, the Minister of the Presidency, Laura Vilagrà, described the veto as “aberration” and announced that next week the executive will meet with the five affected headers to articulate a “solid alliance” in relation to the language. “We want to favor Catalan and all its accents in all areas of the Catalan Countries”, said the minister.
In turn, the president of Parliament, Anna Erra, called for a “common front” in the face of the “attacks” on the language, which she considers “one of the pillars of the country.” In addition, she warned that “they can go further” depending on the results of the 23-J elections. “Perhaps it will get worse, but political persecution and in the courts we have never stopped having it,” said the president of the Catalan chamber.
