Friday 26 January 2007

Spanish democracy? Don't make me laugh

The Spanish state tries to portray itself as a modern democracy, where human rights are respected and where freedom of speech is tolerated barely 30 years after Franco's death.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Spain is not a democracy in the liberal, western sense of the word. Just a quick review of a couple of issues that are in the news these days:

+ETA prisoner kept in prison because of newspaper articles

Iñaki de Juana Chaos is a ETA prisoner. He is on a hunger strike and his medical condition has deteriorated substantially. The Procurator applied for him to be given conditional release, which means that he will go home but will be under 24/7 surveillance.
The Judges of the Tribunal Supremo (a High Court set up by Franco which was not disbanded after his death) have decreed that he is to remain in prison. Investigating this case further, one discovers that this man is due for release as he has served the maximum term under Spanish law. However, he is being kept in prison under a provisional judgement, which found him guilty of sponsoring and appearing to give support to political acts of violence (apology of terrorism). He wrote two articles in newspapers attacking some of the Spanish dogmas (unity, etc) and supporting the democratic right of self-determination of stateless nations. His pending release was reviewed after that. The newspapers have not been prosecuted though.
All this and more is explained in this eye-opening editorial article of Vilaweb, the Catalan news portal.

+ Prosecutor pursues case against satirical actor who questioned the holy unity of Spain

Then we have the case of Pepe Rubianes. (Previous post)
Now the Spanish Prosecution Service is soliciting a fine of 21,600 euros for actor Pepe Rubianes for an alleged "ultraje a España" (Insulting Spain). Apart from Turkey, Spain is the only country either in the EU or trying to get in, with this kind of thought crime still being punished by the authorities. Can anyone imagine the CPS (Crime Prosecution Service) in the UK pursuing a similar case?

Yet, the Spanish Prosecution Service does not pursue similar cases when rabid Spanish nationalists like radio network COPE, or Libertad Digital, El Mundo, etc, promulgate their agenda of hatred and racism against Catalans or Basques or immigrants. In a normal European country, the COPE network would have its licensed withdrawn and its main journalists being prosecuted for hate crimes. Alas, they are Spanish nationalists, so it is a free for all. Very much like General Galindo, condemned and sentenced to prison after being found guilty of killing several civilians while being Chief Commander of the Spanish Guardia Civil, but released only after a couple of years. It is one law if you are a dogmatic Spanish nationalist, and a different one for Basques and Catalans.

Spain, far from being a democracy, is a place where thought crime is actively punished by the authorities, and freedom of speech severely curtailed by an establishment that is heir to the Spanish nationalism and protofascist dogmas of Franco and his followers.

I give my full support and backing to Pepe Rubianes and all the journalists who write under the menacing monitoring of Spanish nationalist groups, judges, policeman, military and prosecutors.

I too think this dogmatic obsession with the unity of Spain is bollocks and fascist bullshit. Moreover, I can tell the Tribunal Supremo, the Spanish Governent, the protofascist COPE, Libertad Digital, Fundación para la Defensa de la Nación Española and all the rest of scummy fascist bastards that they can stick their fucking Spain up their tight arses. I think Spain, the Spanish Constitution and the Tribunal Supremo and the Tribunal Constitucional are all fucking shite, bullshit and horseshit of the highest order. Up yours.

Loose Spanish translation for the pleasure of Spanish police, judges, politicians and other authorities reading this humble blog. I am looking forward to your extradition proceedings notice….

Me cago en la puta Unidad de España de los cojones. Os podéis meter la puta Unidad de España por donde os quepa, panda de hijos de puta fascistas. Me cago en la puta Constitución Española, en la puta Unidad de España, en la puta imposición del idioma español para todos y por cojones, en el puto Gobierno Español, el Tribunal Supremo y en la Audiencia Nacional. Me cago en el puto Rey Juan Carlos I, heredero del cabrón de Franco, que lo puso a dedo, y en toda su putrefacta familia de subnormales y vividores que son los Borbones de mierda. Y me cago en la puta Monarquía y en la institución del Jefe del Estado y en vuestro puto Ejercito Español de mierda y me cago en la Nación Española y sus defensores de mierda. Sois una panda de hijos de puta todos vosotros y vuestras sacrosantas instituciones y dogmas de mierda me dan arcadas. Os mando a todos a tomar por culo, porque no sois más que puta mierda, basura, caca de la vaca y vuestros dogmas de mierda me los paso por el culo. Ahora, si tenéis cojones, me buscáis la IP y contactáis con el Consulado Español en Edimburgo y pedís la extradición si tenéis cojones, hijos de puta, españolitos de mierda.

In the above paragraph in Spanish I more or less express my feelings for the Spanish Constitution and the concept of the Unity of Spain. I also encourage the Spanish authorities to locate my IP and launch extradition proceedings. After all, they are prosecuting Rubianes for much, much less than this.

Rubianes was having a laugh; he’s a comedy actor after all. However, I am dead serious. I honestly think that Spanish Unity and the fucking Spanish Constitution is pure horseshit.

Now you tell me if writing, saying or thinking the above is a crime that should be punished in a normal democracy.
Answers in a postcard to:
Juzgado de Primera Instancia/Instrucción nº5
C/ Dalt, 10-12
08980 Sant Feliu de Llobregat
BARCELONA
(Spain)

The above court will hold the preliminary hearing on this case.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Moreover.

The Foundation that complained Mr. Rubianes has, among other members, Mr. Sabino Frenández Campo as one of the honour patrons:

http://www.nacionespanola.org/patronato.asp

And who is he? The former head of the Spanish Bourbon Royal House. Other than a Franco's Falangist volunteer while Spanish Civil War.

http://www.portalin.com/personajes.php?IdPersonaje=15

Has John Charles I anything to say about his relation with this subject?

Anonymous said...

Et dono el meu complet suport

Anonymous said...

Tu ets una mica nazi, no?A vore si et fiquen una bomba per fill de puta i a tots els que son com tú!Visca Catalunya i vica Espanya!

Rab said...

And in the third comment by anonymous we have in a nutshell the ethos of Spanish democracy: a cheap insult with no basis and the threat that if you disagree with me, I hope you die. Written in Catalan as if to sound less threatening. No arguments, no rationale and definitely no substance other than the morale of the Spanish Inquisition: if I cannot win you over, I will destroy you.

It is so enlightening.

Anonymous said...

For all the people who read this blog... A blog of a nationalist who is in favor of the murder of the people who do not think like him:

This is the TRUE story about the HERO Iñaki de Juana Chaos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I%C3%B1aki_de_Juana_Chaos).

He was convicted of killing 25 people in 1987 and was originally sentenced to 3,000 years in prison. While in prison he sent letters celebrating further ETA terrorist attacks and murders, and asked the prison guards to serve him champagne and shrimp to celebrate the assassination by ETA of a Seville councilman and his wife.

On August 2, 2008 De Juana Chaos was released from prison after serving 21 years.This is how it works, the "Spanish democracy", too soft don't you think?.

And you said "the ETA prisoner kept in prison because of newspaper articles"...

I hope someday one crazy terrorist kill all your family and friends, in the name of some nationalist shit. Go to hell with de Juana, you are the same crap supporting those killers of ETA.

Why don't you explain that Catalonia and the Basque Country has been the regions more benefitting and with more aid during the time of Franco?

You need to be in prison.

Rab said...

Anonymous:

You are a liar and anyone reading this blog will know that I am not in favour of the murder of anybody, least of all of anybody that do not think like me, which includes most of my family.

We all know the story of De Juana chaos, and I also link to the Wiki biography in one of my articles.

Whether we like or not, this man served the sentence that was imposed on him, and was freed accordingly. That’s the application of the law. After writing two newspaper articles, which can be found in English in this post, he was imprisoned again.

The truth of the matter is that this man served his sentence, was released, and it is now being chased for anything. Anything will do to put him back in prison as you suggest. But this has nothing to do with justice and all to do with revenge.

I am not getting into the argument whether his sentence was fair or too short. What I am getting at is that this is the State going after a man using any excuse to put him back in jail. Who will be next?

The newspaper articles written by this convicted killer do not merit a prison sentence more than the editorials in Libertad Digital or El Mundo, or the articles found in many Spanish neo-nazi website and publications longing for the return of Franco's fascist rule. It is called freedom of expression. Sometimes it is not nice or conducive to social cohesion. What happens is that in Spain people have freedom of expression for some things and not for others. There exists in Spain an asymmetrical implementation of freedom of expression laws.

As for your wish, it reveals what kind of person you are: a revengeful, bitter and, most of all, a narrow-minded bigoted fascist braindead moron incapable of reading what I write. You wish for me to go to hell but you are already in the worst hell of all: hatred-filled bigoted ignorance. I am sorry for you.

Anyway, why do I need to be in prison? Because I have a different point of view? Are Franco supporters in prison? Your argument falls at the first hurdle.

Thus, once again, you have provided another example of the basic premise of the original post: that Spanish democracy is a farce, an asymmetric, half-baked democracy inherited from Franco’s regime.

As for your last sentence, once again you reveal your ignorance: Catalonia and the Basque country did not benefit from any “aid” from Franco. It is called economic development and trade. And it was done in spite of a revengeful regime that prohibited our culture and political identity.

Anonymous said...

Rab. Nowdays everybody, all over the world, knows the truth about Spain and your dear Catalonia. Everybody knows how threatd is catalan in Spain (nothing at all, of curse). Everbody knows who looks down on democracy in Spain (your dear CAC, a kind of organism creatd in catalonia to regulate the audivisual market). And everybody knows history, and knows how Franco powered the industry in Catalonia and Basque Country in order to mantain closed mounth while the rest of Spain almost died without nothing to eat. Continue saying lies, that everybody knows the truth.

Rab said...

Anon,

Everybody knows that the Spanish state is going the same way as Serbia in the late 80s. Everybody knows that the Spanish Constitution grants the Army the power to attack civilians, and that it enforces every citizen in Spain to learn Spanish –or else.

Franco did not “power” Catalonia and the Basque Country. The Industrial Revolution took place in these nations well before Franco. Read a bit more, ignorant twat.

Anonymous said...

vamos a ver chaval, puedes decir lo que quieras y pensar como quieras pero que no sepas expresarte con mas educación solo dice lo que eres y aunque tengas razón, que la tienes, la pierdes por las formas, en fin, no eres el único que piensa asi, yo soy de Madrid y pienso que España, Cataluña (si lo prefieres) etc...es una mierda liada en un trapo sucio. Aqui no se salva nadie de los pirineos hacia abajo de ser un Torrente, magrebí, gitano y judio...eso es lo que nos han dejado nuestros antepasados y eso incluye a Cataluña entera porque nos guste o no tenemos mas de 1000 años de cultura común...El ser español no es pertenecer a un territorio concreto dentro de la peninsula iberica, el ser español significa ser un mierda un amoral un chusma, como se divida el mapa da igual y por mucho que los catalanes etc...se independicen, tendremos que cargar con la lacra de ser "ibericos" y eso a mi también me jode.Asi que en vez de enfadarte, ladrar, gruñir, frustarte como si nunca te hubieras ido de putas, empieza a ser persona e intenta mejorarte tu porqe lo demás no lo podemos arreglar.

Anonymous said...

You blogger couldn't be any wronger... You are just sick man... I feel sorry for you.