Venice
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Giustizia Veneta (Venetian Justice) |
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Eminenza Reverendissima Italian Version |
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Brand new book on Venetic Justice |
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Social structure of ancient Veneti and customary law in Medieval Venice |
The Republic of Venice
is the most famous of all the States founded by the Veneti
Dr. Jožko Šavli
According to archaeological research, the bearers of the Urnfield culture (after 1200 BC), whose migration waves were directed into all parts of Europe, also occupied the large Po Valley and the Venetian Plains in northern Italy. Here, after 800 BC, together with the participation of the ancient substrate, several regional cultures developed. One of them was the Este culture, spread in the present-day provinces of Veneto and Friuli.
When after 400 BC the Celts conquered the Po Valley, they failed to occupy the territory of the Este culture. Later, the Celts took Etruria (Tuscany) and threatened Rome. But in 225 BC, they were defeated by the Romans near Telamon at the Tyrrhenian Coast. In the following decades, the Romans began their march of conquest toward north. They occupied Etruria and invaded the Po Valley. They marched through the territory of their allies, who were the people of the Este culture, until they reached present-day Aquileia, and founded there a great military camp, in 183 BC.
Rialto - Venedig (source: Berliner Morgenpost)
The people of the Este culture joined the Roman Empire. It became an autonomous Roman province called Venetia. This name is a document, which bears witness of the fact, that the people of this area preserved their primary Venetic name and identity. In the Roman period, the Venetian province adopted the characteristics of the Roman administrative system, which was the basis of the city and its surrounding area. As a result, the autonomy of Venetia in that period was expressed by the fact, that Venetian towns, like Verona, Padua, Vicenza, Treviso, Atinum and others, enjoyed great privilegies as municipia in sense of the Roman law.
The Latin language spread soon throughout Venetian towns and plains. In the nearby mountain area and in the fisher villages on the lagoon islands, however, the ancient Venetic language has remained intact during the Roman period. The study of numerous names leads us to this conclusion. Their meaning is easy to identify on hand of modern Slovenian, which descends from the ancient Venetian. - In the book about the Veneti (English edition, 1996), I gathered and published a lot of these names. On the other hand, the Slovenian linguist and writer, Matej Bor, published in the same book many decipherments of Venetic inscriptions (ca. 5th century BC), found in the area of the Este culture. His decipherments, too, were carried out with help of the Slovenian language.
Venice
Rialto with its picturesque bridge over the Canal Grande is one of the most known places of Venice
In the 5th century AD, the Roman Empire was more and more subjected to barbarian invasions. Therefore, the majority of the Venetic people from the mainland took refuge on the lagoon islands. In this way, plain fisher settlements on the islands began to expand. In 421 BC a great wave of refugees settled on the lagoon called Rivus Altus, the present-day Rialto, which makes up a quarter of Venice. Therefore, this year is considered the year of the foundation of Venice.
I suppose, at that time one still spoke the ancient Venetic language in the fisher villages. But it was soon superposed by the Romanic one (a derivation of Latin), which was the mother tongue of many newcomers. Gradually, this Romanic language developed into a new Venetic, i.e., to a modern Venetian language, in whose vocabulary a great number of ancient Venetic etymons were preserved. These etymons are related to the Slovenian and the Slav ones. But they were ignored by linguists, who considered such a possibility as impossible.
Through vivacious connections of the Venetian overseas trade, the modern Venetian language was spread in all directions of the Mediterranean. Nevertheless, this language did not become a sign of Venetian national identity. This identity was due to the same Republic with its political, historical, cultural and social structure. It was a matter of free choice to speak the language. Like in other countries of Europe, the Republic's laws and official documents were published in Latin. - Today, the modern Venetian language is still spoken by the people of Venice and of the Veneto province. But in Italy, people at the political and official level, as well as linguists, consider this language only as one of the Italian dialects.
The Republic of Venice
In 476 AD, when the people of Herules occupied Italy, the Western Roman Empire declined. Soon after, Italy was occupied by the Ostrogoths. During that time, out of need for protection from the barbarian people on the continent, Venice leant on Byzantium, i.e., it joined the Eastern Roman Empire. In this way, the eastern territories were open for commerce, too.
In concern to Venice on the continent, in 568, the New Kingdom of the Lombards was established. About two hundred years later, it was superseded by the empire of the Franks, the bearers of the feudal order, which soon extended all over Europe. In contrast to this, the social and political regulation of Venice was and remained republican, and developed to one of the most interesting political and state formations in world history.
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Doge's Horn (corno del doge) is called the head-covering, the symbol of the Doge's power. There are several stories concerning its origin, but in general it is believed, that it descended from the one-time fishers' cap.
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The basis of the Venetian republican structure were the organs, which descended from the ancient Venetic social organization. The highest organ was the parliament called Maxor Consejo (great council). It united the representatives of all Venetian territories, also those from overseas. The organ of the controlling competence centre was the Minor Consejo (minor council). This organ controlled the executive power, which pertained above all to the Doge. He was elected and represented the Republic. His elections were carried out in a complicated way, as to prevent the usurpation of the power. - These three organs were similar to the organs of the Venetic villages, and they were preserved in Central Europe until the 20th century.
It is my believe, that this social organization survived in the villages of the ancient Venetic territory throughout the Roman Empire, and it still existed in small fisher settlements on the lagoons at the founding of Venice. Other republican organs like the Consejo de pregai or Senado (senate), Signoria, further the Quarantia (the board of forty), Consejo de diese (the council of the ten) and others, as well as the Patriciate, were formed according to the administrative organization of the one-time Roman municipia, or they could have been also typical Venetian.
Dogenpalast (Venedig)
Serenissima
Out of great respect for Venice, the State used to be called the "Serenissima Republica" (Most Serene Republic). The title "serenissimo" was an epithet for princes. In Venice, it was on account of the Doge and the republican organs. The same Doge, who appeared with an uncovered head before parliament, addressed the representatives with the following words:
"Serenissimo Maxor Consejo, paròn de la Repubblica e paròn nostro…" (Master of the Republic and our Master). Soon, all over Europe the epithet "Serenissima" was in general use for the Republic of Venice.
The epithet Serenissima, which offered protection and freedom, attracted not only many artists and creative people, but also entrepreneurs, ship-owners, and bankers from everywhere. A mixed crowed of people moved to Venice. There were Greeks, Dalmatians, Jewish, Armenians, and even Turks established their own quarters. Venice became a very large city with a steadily increasing number of inhabitants, amounting to ca. 190,000 at the end of the 16th century
Markusplatz (Venedig)
During the centuries, Venice gathered a wealth of economic, cultural, artistic, religious and spiritual values. If compared with the richness of various other imperial regimes all over the world and the splendour of their courts, the only difference between them and Venice is the fact, that the Venetian richness derived from the labour and commercial activity of its own people. The wealth of Venice was produced and earned in honesty, and was not a consequence of exploitation of the masses.
(source: Berliner Morgenpost)
The people of the Republic were free. Everyone was entitled to develop his abilities according to his capacities. Therefore, the Republic enjoyed a great reputation and admiration. It was a great honour to serve the State. For example, the Venetian representatives abroad, lived within their means and behaved as a role model of their country.
The Venetian cultural and artistic abundance of wealth is described in numerous books. Today, people from all over the world come to admire the "city on the water", and ask themselves, how such powerful palaces could have been built on such a place. The names of Venetian painters like Tiziano, Tintoretto… are a world-wide conception of top-level artists…
Venice, St. Marcus square with the tower, the Dom Cathedral and the Doge's Palace
Another famous name for the Venetian State was Republica de San Marco (St. Marcus' Republic). St. Marcus Evangelist was the patron of Venice. His symbol, a winged lion, is still today depicted on the Venetian flag. The Venetian dome cathedral of St. Marcus is located close to the Doge Palace in the centre of Venice. It was constructed after the Byzantine example, and is filled with artistic richness and splendour… Less known is the fact, that the Republic was put under the protection of St. Mary. On pictures, Mary's figure frequently appears behind the Doge.
Gondeln (Venedig)
Venice has also other splendid churches, bearing witness of the great religiosity of the Venetian people. For example, the majestic church of S. Zanipolo (St. John and St. Paul), the church of S. Maria Gloriosa de' Frari (St. Mary at the Francescans) with the famous image of Assumption (Tiziano) in the chief altar, or the church of S. Redentòr on the Zueca (Giudecca) island, constructed in 1576, in gratitude for the salvation from the plague, or the first seat of the patriarch, the church of S. Piero in the quarter Castelo…
Due to various interests, Venice entered more then once into a quarrel with the Pope's State, and the Pope threatened the Venetians with excommunication. Nevertheless, in such cases the Catholic faith of the Venetian people was never put into question.
Overseas and the Mainland
In some pictures the St. Marcus lion is positioned so, that he stands with his fore paws on the mainland, and with his hind paws in the sea. This symbolically described the power of Venice on both geographical spheres. But it is interesting, that the first territories, which associated with the Republic, were from overseas.
The present-day appearance of the flag of the Republic of Venice.
From the top left to right - the arms of its one-time overseas territories:
Istria, Zadar (Zara), Dalmatia, Kotor (Cattaro)
Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante,
Crete and Cyprus
So, already in the 2nd half of the 13th century the towns alongside the coast of Istria and their hinterland were placed into Serenissima's hand. Since 1204, the great island of Crete also belonged to it (until 1670). After 1358, many towns of Dalmatia associated with Venice. For example, the city of Zadar (Zara) was under its administration since 1217. The city of Kotor (Cattaro) pertained to Venice from 1420 to 1757.
The islands in the Ionian Sea, too, joined with Venice. Thus, the island of Corfu became Venetian in 1386, the islands of Zante and Cephalonia went under its administration in 1205, and later became also a territory of the Republic. At first Cyprus was a kingdom, ruled by members of the Lusignan family. The consort of James II, the last descendant of this family, was Catherine Cornaro. After her husband's, she handed Cyprus over to Venice, in 1489. But in 1571, the Turks with their great fleet succeeded to occupy the island. Nevertheless, in the same year, the united fleet of Venice and Spain, under the command of John of Austria, son of Carl V, ruinously defeated the Turkish fleet in the battle near Lepanto (Nafpaktos), in the area of Patras (Greece).
The arms of the towns and the provinces of Venetia (Veneto) from left to right:
Treviso, Verona, Vicenza, Belluno
Friuli, Padova and Polesine (Rovigo)
They represented the Venetic territory of the mainland, i.e. the ancient and modern province of Veneto
The cities and their territory on the continent in front of Venice, only some kilometres on the other side of the lagoon, associated with the Republic relatively late. At first, they were free communities, but then they were ruled by some feudal families, descending from the patriciates: De la Scala, Carrara, Visconti, Da Romano… The first town, that associated with Venice, was Treviso, in 1338. Sixty years later followed Vicenza in 1404, Verona and Padua in 1405, Belluno in 1420, the territory of Friuli in 1420, and of Polesine (Rovigo) in 1484. In the neighbouring Lombardy, the communities of Brescia and of Bergamo also joined the Republic of St. Marcus.
Street in Venice
Venice flourished until 1797, when French troops under Napoleon invaded North Italy, and occupied first Piemont, and then the Venetian territory. The city of Venice was besieged and had to surrender. Napoleon let pillage its richness. After the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna never again restored the Republic of Venice to its unique former State. Its territory was incorporated into the Kingdom of Lombardy and Venetia into the Austrian Empire. In 1866, Venice was annexed to the new constituted Italy, under the rule of the Savoy family.
Hof in Venedig
From the political and economical point of view, the Republic of Venice was the most successful among the States of the Veneti (Vends), that were preserved till nowadays' - Carantania (Austria), Abodritia (Mecklenburg), Pomerania, Sweden. Still today its democratic tradition, the respect for freedom and honesty, could be an example for a civilized coexistence and collaboration between the neighbouring nations.
Venetia
The Venetian language has been officially recognized
Viva San Marco!
The Flag of Venice is that of St. Mark
On March 31, 2007, the Regional Council of Venetia (Veneto), Italy, issued a decree recognizing the Venetian language, which until now had the status of a cultural dialect, as the official language of the State. Moreover, the Province of Venetia assigned 250,000 Euro each year to promote the official spelling and use of the language in communities and schools, as well as to restore the Venetian toponomastics…
Kanal (Venedig)
To achieve this goal, the Province of Veneto, besides teaching the language, will establish workshops in local libraries, which will issue special publications; there will be educational radio and TV programs, and artistic works of inspiring Venetian-style will be promoted. As to give recognition to the Venetian consciousness, April 25th, the Day of St. Mark and protector of Venice, has been declared as "Feast Day of the Venetian people".
The Carantha editorial staff, like in the case of Quebec, supports the achievement of Venetia (Veneto) and is extending its congratulations to its citizens, who now are considered a proud nation in front of the world. Even though Italy is a democratic country, this political achievement has not been so easy. The main obstacle represented the centralism of Rome, controlled by the Masonic circles. The situation was similar to that of ex-Yugoslavia and its Belgrade centralism. Its centralist policy and its great-Serbian and communist violence led to the destruction of the state.
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The present-day Province of Venetia (Veneto) inside of Italy. It is the remainder of the Republic of Venice. The republic was destroyed (and plundered) by Napoleon's army.
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When Slovenia separated from Yugoslavia (great-Serbia), the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gianni de Michelis (*Venice 1940), an evident adherent of the masonry, was the chief opponent of Slovenia: "You will never achieve international recognition!" were his famous words to the then Slovenian politicians. He was afraid, that in future years several Italian provinces could take after the example of Slovenia and declare their independence. He was backed up by the centralist Masonic circles, which preserved centralism and were trying to prevent federalism. Not only in Italy, but elsewhere in Europe.
Pigeons (Venice)
We have to repeat that this political achievement concerning the Venetian language was not an easy one. In the province of Venetia, it is the masonry, which controls the large industry, banks, television and press. They have always been contrary to the Venetian identity. The Venetian language was only spoken but not written. Venetia and Venice, it is true, have a great history in the Republic of Venice, but concerning the language, one used Latin. After they came under Italy, Italian was the official language taught in schools, and used by the media, in assemblies, etc. This lasted until this very day!
Some years ago, the awakening of the Venetian consciousness alarmed the Masonic circles. We still remember, that one of the large savings banks bought a Napoleon statue to place it on San Marco Square in Venice. It was about a provocation, because they would erect the statue of a man, who first defeated and then plundered the Serenissima, as the Republic of Venice was called. The bad intentions of the savings bank (owned by mason circles) awoke even more resistance and pride among the Venetian people.
Indeed, Europe is walking against a great community of historical peoples. Whatever they do, they cannot stop the historical development.
The Napoleon Trial
Vignette cartoon, which was disseminated in Venice before the start of the posthumous trial for Napolenon.
Dr. Jožko Šavli
English Version:
Indeed, a posthumous trial will be conducted for Napoleon. The trial will be carried out in Venice and will begin in April 2003. It will consist of three phases:The initial phase has been set for April 12 (accusation), and will be continued on May 10 (advocacy), the final phase has been scheduled for June 7 (sentence). We were told that all seats in the public gallery of the court room were booked out months ago. The majority of visitors are journalists, who are extremely interested in the case. What's the matter?
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The disputable Napoleon statue, which was destined to be exhibited again on San Marco Square in Venice, provoked the posthumous Napoleon Trial. |
It began as such: On the 24th of January 2002, the Commune of Venice bought a Napoleon statue from the New York branch of the auction-house Sotheby's for 353.750 Euro, an increase of nearly a triple its initial value (US$ 120.000 to 160.000). The project was financed by the Venetian bank "Cassa di Risparmio di Venezia" and the "Comité Français pour la Sauveguarde de Venise". The original intention was to place the statue on the first floor of the Correr Museum, located on San Marco Square.
Such initiative provoked a decisive resistance among the Venice inhabitants. Why? - On the outbreak of the Napoleonic wars, in 1793, the Venetian Republic had decided on a strategy of total neutrality. In 1796, Bonapart won several battles in Lombardy. The invasion of French troops on Venetian territory, forced the Venetian Maggior Consiglio (parliament) and the Doge to abdicate their seats on the 12th of May 1797, in favour of a civil government, preferred by the French. This condition was imposed upon them, if the city was to be saved from destruction and retain a minimum of autonomy.
But in 1806 new military victories enabled France to take charge once again of the lagoon city. During the much-hated French occupation the following treasures were in one way or another plundered or destroyed. There were at least thirty thousand works of art originating from churches, convents, schools of arts and crafts, and from the headquarters of the Venetian magistrate. Further twenty five thousand pictures, including masterpieces such as entire cycles of works by Carpaccio, Tiziano, Veronese, Pordenone, Mantegna and others; an incalculable number of wood and stone sculptures, among them the sculpture of Saint Mark; works of art in gold and silver, furnishings, altars, ornaments, decorated well fittings...
The most part of the treasure of Saint Mark - sacred to Venetians - was melted down to pay a colossal war indemnity for a war, which Venice in fact never declared or fought. The Doge's coats of arms and the Golden Book of the Elders of the Venetian Republic (Patrizi) were burned in San Marco Square; so were the wooden pews and rostrums, which had been constructed for the Doge and the Magistrates in the chambers of the Doge's Palace; also thousands of ancient manuscripts, early printed books and other printed documents, book of paintings, drawings, musical manuscripts; and some extremely rare codices originating from the library of Saint Mark's, from private Venetian collections or from monasteries; and candlesticks, spears, staffs, lamps, crucifixes, basins, all of gold and silver; pearls, diamonds and other precious stones; and very large numbers of relics and reliquaries of Saints.
Statues with the lion of Saint Mark were destroyed in nearly all Venetian towns. The Bucintoro - ceremonial ship representing the Venetian State, which was decorated with allegorical figures - was first hacked to pieces then burned in order to melt down the parts that were made of gold. Furthermore, the city experienced radical changes in urban planning and architecture, such as: the demolition of seventy churches and over sixty other buildings, among which was a beautiful palace at St. Mark's (Magazzini di Frumento), in order to create the "Royal Gardens" (giardini reali)... the profanation and transformation of numerous places of worship into barracks, gunpowder magazines and pill-boxes; the transformation into barracks of the islands surrounding Venice; the destruction of most of the houses of the Lido and Malamocco, in order to increase visibility for the cannons at the Lido fort....
The merchant navy fleet was destroyed. The suppression of over four hundred schools of arts and crafts, and about fifty monasteries and the cruel taxation of milling and grinding... Also the confiscation of the currency deposits belonging to the State and to its citizens, the suppression of the State bank (Banco Giro), the claiming of forty million lire in gold coins... At the end of the Napoleonic era, the Republic of Venice, once one of the richest states in the world, was in ruin.
The statue in question was already exhibited in 1811 in San Marco Square, in front of the Doge's Palace, in order to further humiliate the already tormented city. Austrians, who in 1814 occupied the city, ordered to remove the monument, because of the fury of Venetians. The statue, which now provokes Venetians anew, is very probably one of several copies made in the Napoleonic era. The same original was in "Roman style", and it is presumably a work by Domenico Banti, who can considered as a minor sculptor of the 19th century.
It seems, that the purpose to place the Napoleon statue in the centre of Venice, was an attempt of circles connected with the centralistic national ideologies, which should dominate over local historical traditions. The Commune of Venice, after a general public protest, declared that it was not their intention to offend the sentiments of the Venice citizens. Anyway, the posthumous trial for Napoleon is now under way.
Napoleon condemned!
Veneta Corte al Criminal (the Venetian Criminal Court), in the process of the "post mortem" against Napoleon, who on March 11, 2003 was accused of criminal deeds against the Republic of Venice, declared him guilty of the following crimes: guilty of the attack on a neutral State (Republic of Venice) without a war declaration, guilty of having killed people outside the war engagements, guilty of devastation and appropriation of artistic goods. - This evaluation has been juridical and non-historical. - The sentence was pronounced in the hall of the Doge's Palace in Venice and is referred to the one-time territory of the Republic of Venice.
Italian Version:
Amici della Storia e della Giustizia (ASG) associazione culturale
Cannaregio 4050
30131 Venezia
Tel. 3280167124, fax 0412415450
L'ASG rende noti i capi di imputazione contestati dagli Avogadori de comun (pubblica accusa) a Napoleone Bonaparte.
La prima udienza del processo si terrà sabato 12 aprile alle 09.30 presso la sala consiliare della Provincia di Venezia (Ca' Corner della Ca' Granda, San Marco 2262).
(Avvertenza: la vocatio in iudicium segue la lingua impiegata normalmente nei tribunali, infarcita però di qualche termine scritto secondo la grafia in uso alla fine del Settecento a Venezia).
Si allegano anche la copia della locandina del processo e un comunicato stampa precedente in cui si presente l'iniziativa.
Vocatio in judicium
Gli Avogadori di Comun, Iseppo Frigo e Lorenzo Fogliata, concluse le indagini relative al procedimento n. 12-05/97, Registro General Avogaria, nei confronti di
Napoleone Bonaparte, nato ad Aiaccio, il 15 agosto 1769, attualmente domiciliato in Francia, Parigi, Les Invalides,
imputato, in concorso con numerosi altri sodali, francesi, italiani e veneti,
di innumerevoli delitti, sotto specificati, sempre perpetrati in concorso con altri cittadini francesi, italiani e veneti collaborazionisti, con dolo intenzionale, ovvero diretto, ovvero eventuale, con condotta attiva ed omissiva (art. 40, co. 2 c.p.) perché, quale generale in capite della c.d. Armata d'Italia, parte dell'esercito di uno Stato rivoluzionario - la Francia - non riconosciuto da alcuna delle principali potenze europee (ma, paradossalmente, riconosciuto proprio dalla Repubblica Veneta) irrompeva nei territori della Serenissima Repubblica di Venezia - Stato neutrale, assolutamente non belligerante - nel maggio del 1796, all'inseguimento delle armate austriache, protestando la più assoluta neutralità fino al maggio del 1797 quando, per la prima volta, dopo aver di fatto illegalmente occupato l'intero Stato da Tera, sottoposto incessantemente a vessazioni, saccheggi, stragi, rapine, incendi e violenze d'ogni sorta, pretestuosamente dichiarava lo stato di belligeranza, il primo maggio, senza mai ottenere la dichiarazione di guerra da parte del Direttorio, dettando esiziali condizioni, tra le quali l'abdicazione della compagine di governo, così determinando il tracollo economico, sociale e, infine, politico della secolare Repubblica il 12 maggio 1797; dappoi dava vita ad un governo fittizio, "protetto" dalle baionette francesi, la Municipalità, rimasta sempre Provvisoria, anche per il tramite del quale continuò a perpetrare saccheggi, devastazioni, estorsioni, furti e delitti contro le persone; ingannava sinanco i suoi correi municipalisti, poiché, dopo aver fraudolentemente promesso libertà ed indipendenza, attuò, prima con i preliminari di Leoben, del 17 aprile 1797, ed infine con il trattato di Campoformido, del 17 ottobre 1797, la cessione all'Austria del Veneto, sino all'Adige ed al Po, dell'Istria e della Dalmazia; infine, ritornava dal 1806 al 1814 in veste di Imperatore dei francesi e, dopo aver instaurato il c.d. Regno d'Italia, compiva, per il tramite della propria vessante amministrazione, le ultime devastanti operazioni di ruberie, illegali requisizioni, reclutamenti forzati, folli tassazioni e le ultime stragi contro cittadini veneti insorti all'occupazione straniera. In particolare:
1) art. 241 c.p., per aver commesso i fatti di cui sopra diretti a sottoporre il territorio della Veneta Repubblica alla sovranità di uno stato straniero e a menomarne per sempre l'indipendenza;
2) artt. 253 e 428 c.p., per aver distrutto o reso inservibili navi, stabilimenti, depositi ed altre opere militari adibite al servizio delle forze armate venete in tutti i territori occupati e, in particolare, per aver devastato l'Arsenale di Venezia nel quale, tra il 16 maggio 1797 ed il 18 gennaio 1798, fu distrutto tutto ciò che non era asportabile, segando le chiglie delle navi, rompendo i puntelli che le mantenevano diritte sugli scali, affondando quelle ormeggiate nelle darsene con fori praticati nell'opera viva, distruggendo il 9 gennaio 1798 i due Peatoni Dogali, con l'appiccarvi il fuoco, ed il Bucintoro, rara opera d'arte nautica e scultorea, asportandovi e sminuzzandone tutti gli intagli per poi appiccarvi il fuoco nell'isola di San Giorgio, fuoco che perdurò tre giorni interi e le cui ceneri furono incassate, spedite ed a lui personalmente recapitate in Milano; per avere comunque cagionato il naufragio e la sommersione di numerose navi venete, tra le quali, oltre a quelle, testè citate, ormeggiate all'interno dell'Arsenale di Venezia, il vascello di primo rango Vittoria, affondato nel canale della Giudecca ove trovavasi alla fonda nel 1797;
3) art. 260 c.p., per aver introdotto clandestinamente o con l'inganno i proprii armati in luoghi in cui era vietato l'accesso nell'interesse militare dello Stato, come nelle fortezze illegalmente occupate di Crema, Brescia, Bergamo, Verona, Palmanova e Peschiera, dal maggio 1796 al maggio 1797, e come a Corfù, allorquando, con l'artifizio ed il raggiro consistito nel fare esporre il paviglione della Veneta Repubblica, già caduta, ai bastimenti della flotta d'occupazione inviata da Venezia, così ingannando il Provveditore Generale da Mar N.H. Carlo Aurelio Widman, introdusse con l'inganno le proprie forze armate occupando le possenti fortificazioni corfiote il 28 ed il 29 giugno del 1797; come ancora in Venezia, allorquando spinse il comandante di un legno armato, tale Laugier, a tentare di forzare clandestinamente il Porto di Venezia, all'altezza del Forte di Sant'Andrea, ancorché impedito dalla risoluta reazione della Pubblica Autorità rappresentata dal N.H. Domenico Pizzamano, comandante del Forte;
4) artt. 266, 272, 302 e 415 c.p., per avere istigato i militari veneti a disobbedire alle leggi ed a violare il giuramento dato ed i doveri della disciplina militare e per aver fatto ai suddetti militari apologia di fatti contrari alle leggi venete, al giuramento, alla disciplina ed agli altri doveri militari, con l'aggravante di essere avvenuto il fatto pubblicamente con il mezzo della stampa e con altri mezzi di propaganda e, in particolare, già dal febbraio del 1797 faceva giungere nei territori veneti giornali francesi con inviti all'eversione nei confronti dello Stato Veneto, come nel Moniteur del 27 febbraio; nella primavera del 1797 in Verona incitava la fanteria italiana e gli Schiavoni alla rivolta e ciò facendo con pubblici manifesti e pubbliche ingiunzioni, quali quelli emessi dal generale La Hoz il 27 e 28 aprile 1797 e diretti rispettivamente ai cittadini ed ai militari delle città e territori di Vicenza e Padova; e per avere, con i medesimi mezzi, fatto propaganda per il sovvertimento violento degli ordinamenti economici e sociali costituiti nella Veneta Repubblica e per la distruzione di ogni ordinamento politico e giuridico della società veneta e comunque istigato a commettere i precitati delitti e, pubblicamente, a disobbedire alle leggi di ordine pubblico;
5) artt. 270, 305 e 306 c.p., per avere, in tutte le città del dominio veneto, a cominciare da Bergamo e Brescia, e nella stessa Dominante, promosso, costituito ed organizzato, anche per il tramite dell'opera segreta di spionaggio e sobillazione politica del generale Jean Landrieux, dirigente della polizia politica e del servizio segreto dell'Armata, associazioni dirette a sopprimere violentemente la classe di governo e comunque a sovvertire violentemente gli ordinamenti economici e sociali costituiti nello Stato Veneto ed a sopprimere violentemente ogni ordinamento politico e giuridico della società; per essersi associato, con sodali e collaborazionisti locali, in qualità di promotore, costitutore ed organizzatore, al fine di commettere i delitti sin qui enucleati e per avere, al medesimo fine, formato bande armate; dal maggio del 1796 al maggio del 1797;
6) art. 282 c.p., per avere, dal maggio del 1796 al maggio del 1797, commesso tutti i fatti compresi nei presenti capi di imputazione per mutare la costituzione dello Stato e la forma di governo con mezzi non consentiti dall'ordinamento costituzionale dello Stato;
7) art. 284 c.p., anche in relazione ai reati associativi di cui sopra, per avere promosso, ut supra, un'insurrezione armata contro i poteri dello Stato, a tal fine costituendo bande armate di briganti collaborazionisti, sorrette dalle truppe francesi, che attaccarono Salò, Bergamo, Brescia, Crema, Verona e Vicenza, le valli Trompia, Sabbia, Camonica e Seriana tra il marzo e l'aprile del 1797;
8) art. 285 c.p., per avere, allo scopo di attentare alla sicurezza dello Stato, commesso fatti diretti a portare la devastazione, il saccheggio e la strage nel territorio dello Stato Veneto, nel Bergamasco, Bresciano e Veronese, già dal luglio del 1796 e particolarmente nelle valli Seriana, Trompia, Sabbia e Camonica nell'aprile del 1797 ed in Verona nel medesimo mese d'aprile;
9) art. 286 c.p., per avere nei luoghi e tempi sin qui indicati, commesso i fatti suesposti per suscitare la guerra civile nel territorio dello Stato Veneto;
10) art. 287 c.p., per avere usurpato i poteri politici dei legittimi rappresentanti del Veneto Stato in tutte le città occupate e, poi, nella stessa Venezia, con i modi e nei tempi sin qui enunciati, siccome a Bergamo, Brescia, e, particolarmente, a Crema, dove il podestà Giovanni Battista Contarini fu cacciato da duecento dragoni francesi del generale La Hoz similmente entrati in Vicenza; a Verona, dove i soldati del generale Balland, prima cannoneggiavano la città dai castelli della stessa e poi reprimevano nel sangue la sollevazione popolare; a Padova, dove il generale La Hoz piazzò i cannoni agli angoli delle strade; a Treviso, dove l'instaurarsi della Municipalità fu attuato con le truppe del generale Baraguey d'Hilliers alle porte della città; a Venezia, dove l'abdicazione del Maggior Consiglio fu ottenuta con lo schieramento dell'Armata sul limitare della laguna e con la minaccia di guerra ad uno Stato neutrale, dopo che, a Leoben, aveva già trattato la cessione e lo smembramento dei Veneti Territori;
11) art. 288 c.p., per avere nel territorio dello Stato e senza approvazione del governo veneto, arruolato ed armato cittadini perché militassero al servizio ed a favore dell'occupante francese, nei tempi e nei modi di cui sopra, soprattutto in relazione all'armamento di bande di nobili e borghesi bresciani e bergamaschi, come quelle ripetutamente sbaragliate dai cittadini fedeli alla Repubblica nel salodiano e nel veronese nel marzo-aprile del 1797;
12) artt. 291 e 293 c.p., per avere sistematicamente vilipeso la nazione veneta, sino a negarne il diritto d'esistenza, e la bandiera veneta, dandola ovunque alle fiamme (come a Corfù ai primi di luglio del 1797) oltre ad aver vilipeso in ogni forma possibile l'emblema dello Stato Veneto, il Leone di San Marco, distrutto ed atterrato, ovvero fatto distruggere ed atterrare, ovunque, dal territorio veneto (a Verona, sin dal 25 aprile 1797) all'eptaneso veneziano;
13) art. 338 c.p., per avere usato sistematicamente violenza e minaccia ai Corpi politici, amministrativi e giudiziari della Repubblica ed alle loro rappresentanze per impedirne del tutto l'attività, delitto apicalmente perpetrato, pur perdurando lo stato di assoluta neutralità della Repubblica e l'assenza di uno stato di belligeranza con i gallici rivoluzionari, con le veementi minacce di guerra contenute nel dispaccio inviato da Judemburg il 9 aprile 1797; con quelle proferite verbalmente alle Eccellenze deputati Francesco Donà e Lunardo Zustinian, in Gradisca il 28 aprile 1797, consistite nell'affermare ho ottantamila uomini e venti barche cannoniere, io non voglio più Inquisizione, non voglio Senato, sarò un Attila per lo Stato Veneto (...) non voglio alleanze con Voi, non voglio progetti, voglio dar io la legge (...) il Governo (...) è vecchio, deve cessare; ed ancora con la dichiarazione dello stato di belligeranza, mai ratificata dal Direttorio al quale era formalmente riservata, del 1 maggio 1797, sulla base di quindici pretestuosi capi d'accusa rivolti alla Repubblica;
14) art. 407 c.p., per avere sistematicamente, nell'ambito del programma di saccheggio attuato prima e dopo il 12 maggio 1797, violato tombe, sepolcri ed urne nelle chiese, monasteri, conventi e cimiteri di tutto lo Stato, ciò aggravando e reiterando con l'editto del 1806 che costituiva cimiteri municipali, in tal modo portando a compimento la devastazione ed il furto ai danni dei sacelli di cui sopra;
15) art. 416 c.p., per avere, oltre a quanto previsto nel capo sub 5), promosso, costituito ed organizzato associazioni, con sodali e collaborazionisti, per commettere tutti i delitti compresi nei presenti capi di imputazione, con l'aggravante di avere gli associati scorso in armi le campagne e le pubbliche vie;
16) art. 421 c.p., per avere sistematicamente minacciato di commettere delitti contro la pubblica incolumità e fatti di devastazione e di saccheggio, come specificato nel capo sub 12) e come avvenuto in tutta la terraferma veneta ed, in particolare, nelle valli Sabbia, Trompia, Seriana e Camonica (con proclami a stampa che minacciavano impiccagioni ed incendi di paesi) nel marzo-aprile 1797, in Verona per ottenere la c.d. capitolazione della città il 24 e 25 aprile 1797 ed in Vicenza per sedare le insurrezioni del 1805 e del 1809;
17) art. 422 c.p., per avere ripetutamente compiuto, al fine di uccidere, atti di strage , ovverossia tali da porre in pericolo la pubblica incolumità, derivandone la morte di più persone, e, in particolare, nell'aprile del 1797 nelle valli Sabbia, Trompia, Seriana e Camonica, soffocando nel sangue con impiccagioni, fucilazioni ed incendi di abitazioni la rivolta dei valligiani insorti contro le requisizioni, le vessazioni, i saccheggi, gli stupri e le violenze d'ogni tipo; il 17 aprile 1797 in Verona, cannoneggiando barbaramente la città dal Castello di San Pietro così cagionando la morte di alcuni abitanti; successivamente al 25 aprile 1797 in Verona, con la sanguinosa repressione delle "Pasque Veronesi" e nella notte del 3 novembre 1805 in Vicenza, cannoneggiando inutilmente la città contro l'esercito austriaco in fuga così cagionando la morte di due cittadini;
18) art. 423 c.p., per avere cagionato sistematicamente incendi, nelle circostanze di cui sopra, particolarmente nelle circostanze di cui al capo 16) ed al capo 2) quest'ultimo in relazione alla sorte del glorioso Bucintoro;
19) art. 575 c.p., per avere cagionato la morte di migliaia di veneti, sia durante i fatti del 1796/97, sia per mano delle corree Municipalità, sia quale imperatore dei francesi e responsabile del c.d. Regno d'Italia; tra gli innumerevoli omicidi, quelli seguiti alla repressione dell'insorgenza della Val Sabbia, del Salodiano e della Riviera quali, tra i tanti, quelli di Lorenzo Bonetti ed Angelo Scalmana di Vobarno, uccisi sul monte Cingolo, Giuseppe Tiboni, a Pompegnano, Giorgio Rizzardini, infermo, ucciso a Clibbio, poi decapitato e gettato dalla finestra col capo mozzo, nell'aprile del 1797, don Giuseppe Cattazzi, parroco di Vobarno, fucilato il 30 maggio 1797 a Salò dove operava un criminale, sedicente, Tribunale di guerra, ed ancora, nel medesimo tempo, don Antonio Usbli, parroco di Gardone, Antonio Abati o Albani, buono e ricco signore di Gavardo, Giovanni Speciali di Manerba, Marcantonio Turrini di Teglie, sindaco di Vobarno, Giacomo Peli detto Pizzaguerra, il milanese Carlo Corio, cavalleggero del veneto esercito (reo di essere entrato alla testa di numerosa truppa in Palazzolo con sciabola nuda in mano gridando Viva San Marco) ed altri; quelli seguiti alla repressione delle insorgenze c.d. delle Pasque Veronesi, quali, tra i tanti, quelli di padre Malenza, fucilato a San Martino poco prima della resa di Verona, del valorosissimo e mai sufficientemente lodato conte Francesco Emilei, provveditore reo di aver difeso la Patria Veneta alla testa delle sue milizie Italiane e Schiavone, del conte Augusto Verità, del giovane appartenente alle cernide Giovanni Battista Malenza, fratello del sopracitato religioso, il 16 maggio 1797 (il medesimo giorno dell'irruzione delle truppe di Baraguey d'Hilliers in Venezia) del parrucchiere Stefano Lanzetta, del calzettaio Pietro Sauro, del cavatore di pietre Andrea Pomari, dal sobborgo di Avesa, dell'oste Agostino Bianchi, dell'anziano cappuccino padre Luigi Maria da Verona (al secolo Domenico Frangini, reo di aver denunciato in una lettera il saccheggio dei francesi nel borgo Santa Lucia) tra l'8 ed il 18 giugno 1797; quelli seguiti alle repressioni dei moti di Vicenza succedutisi tra il 1809 ed il 1811, quali quelli, tra i centinaia di uccisi, per ghigliottina, di Giuseppe Meneghini settantaduenne di Arsiero, il 26 luglio 1809, di Giuseppe Beretta trentaquattrenne padre di famiglia di Schio il 28 luglio 1809, Giovanbattista Andrioli ventottenne di Sovizzo il 27 luglio 1809, don Giuseppe Marini ventinovenne di Carrè ed Pietro Nicoletti trentanovenne di Ospedaletto Valsugana il 14 agosto 1809, Antoni Luchini quarantasettenne padre di otto figli di S. Orso, Gaetano Lazzarini ventunenne di Arquà e Paolo Maffron ventiduenne di Tribano il 24 agosto 1809, Michele Rovere ventiduenne di Nanto e Gerolamo Guerra ventenne di Tribano il 26 agosto 1809, Giovanni Marini quarantaduenne di Ospedaletto e Pasquale Bellotto ventitreenne di Tramonti il 30 agosto 1809 e Pietro Smaniotto ventisettenne di Torreglia il 3 settembre 1809; per aver poi, introducendo la coscrizione obbligatoria in tutti i territori della ex Repubblica, condotto, tra il 1806 ed il 1814, migliaia di veneti, lombardi, friulani, istriani e dalmati a morire nei campi di battaglia di tutta Europa, sino alla disastrosa battaglia della Beresina, per uno Stato straniero ed un principe che avevano prima devastato ed atterrato la loro Patria e poi smembrato e ceduto buona parte della medesima all'Austria, così conculcandone per sempre l'indipendenza;
20) artt. 605 e 630 c.p., per avere effettuato od imposto l'arresto e la detenzione illegale di migliaia di cittadini e soldati veneti, colpevoli unicamente di aver difeso la veneta Patria; in apicibus si ricordano i tre Inquisitori di Stato, i NN.HH. Agostino Barbarigo, Angelo Maria Gabriel e Cattarin Corner, ed il comandante del Forte di Sant'Andrea il N.H. Domenico Pizzamano, arrestati il 4 maggio 1797 (per ordine dell'imputato, il quale minacciava orrende conseguenze in caso di non ottemperanza alla richiesta) e posti in libertà l'8 ottobre, i primi, ed il 23 ottobre, il secondo; nel caso degli Inquisitori, poi, il sequestro proseguì allo,scopo di ottenere ingiusto profitto quale prezzo della liberazione, posto che furono costretti, per ottenere la libertà, a cedere metà dell'intero loro patrimonio;
21) artt. 610 e 612 c.p., per avere costretto, a fronte di violenze e minacce d'ogni sorta, le Autorità Venete di tutto lo Stato ed i privati cittadini del medesimo a fare, tollerare od omettere qualsivoglia attività o prestazione a piacimento dell'imputato e della sua truppa di occupazione e per aver minacciato i medesimi soggetti passivi ingiusti mali d'ogni tipologia e specie, come anche risulta dalla congerie dei qui esposti capi di imputazione; nei territori della Repubblica, dal maggio del 1796 al gennaio del 1798; a titolo di esempio, basti qui ricordare il provvedimento del correo Comitato di Salute pubblica, con relatore il "cittadino" Giuliani, uno dei più grandi criminali della Municipalità, che comminava la pena di morte a chiunque griderà viva san Marco ed a chiunque diffonderà stemmi di san Marco;
22) art. 614 c.p., per avere, con o per il tramite dei soliti correi, sistematicamente violato il domicilio dei soggetti passivi di cui al precedente capo, introducendosi nelle abitazioni altrui ed in altri luoghi di privata dimora contro la volontà espressa o tacita dei titolari del diritto di esclusione, ovvero ivi introducendosi clandestinamente o con l'inganno; come nel caso del generale Baraguay d'Hilliers che, dopo il 16 maggio 1797, elesse a propria dimora il palazzo Pisani di San Stefano, uno dei più sontuosi di Venezia;
23) artt. 624, 624 bis, 625, nn. 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 e 61, n.7, 628 e 629 c.p., per essersi, al fine di trarre profitto, con ogni mezzo impossessato di cose mobili altrui sottraendole ai legittimi detentori; per avere, nella maggior parte dei casi, compiuto lo spossessamento testè citato con minacce o violenze alle persone; per avere altrettanto frequentemente ottenuto lo spossessamento altrui con consegne forzate quali conseguenze di violenza o minaccia derivante dall'uso delle armi o dall'esercizio di poteri usurpati alla legittima Autorità, in tal modo depredando immensi patrimonii pubblici e privati; l'elenco delle cose sottratte per l'appunto con furti, rapine ed estorsioni è quasi senza fine e molto è stato pubblicato; si richiama a tal fine, quale parte integrante del presente capo di imputazione, quanto descritto ed analiticamente documentato nell'opera Venezia scomparsa del N.H. Alvise Zorzi; a titolo puramente esemplificativo ed indicativo, preme qui ricordare la completa spoliazione dell'
apparato militare:
l'imputato si è violentemente impossessato dell'intera flotta militare della Repubblica, ancora forte di:
- 10 vascelli di linea da 70 cannoni
- 11 vascelli di linea da 66 cannoni
- 1 vascello di linea da 55 cannoni
- 13 fregate da 42 e 44 cannoni
- 2 fregate da 32 cannoni
- 3 brick da 10 cannoni
- 2 cotter da 10 cannoni
- 1 goletta da 16 cannoni
- 1 bombarda da 5 cannoni
- 16 cannoniere con un pezzo da 40 e 4 da 6
- 31 obusiere con 2 obici da 40 e 4 pezzi da 6
- 10 galleggianti con 2 cannoni da 30
- 1 batteria galleggiante con 7 pezzi da 50 sul perno
- 40 passi armati con un pezzo da 20 e 4 da 6
- 23 galere
- 7 galeotte da 30 a 40 remi
- 7 sciambecchi
- 5 feluche
per un totale di 184 legni da guerra. Di essi, piace qui ricordare i bastimenti varati nell'Arsenale di Venezia, rapinati od estorti dall'imputato e suoi correi dopo il 16 maggio 1797, i vascelli di primo rango Eolo, San Giorgio, Vulcano e Medea, il vascello di secondo rango Fama, le fregate leggere Palma, Bellona, Medusa e Cerere e la fregata grossa Gloria Veneta. Questa la vera e propria flotta.
Ma solamente a difesa della laguna di Venezia vi erano 37 legni tra galere, sciambecchi, galeotte e feluche ed oltre 168 tra barche, cannoniere, obusiere, passi galleggianti, bragozzi e piedighi, per un totale di ben 205 imbarcazioni da difesa.
Inoltre, l'occupante trafugò, varandoli o finendo di allestirli, i seguenti legni veneziani costruiti dalla Repubblica in Arsenale, da subito gallicamente battezzati:
- vascello di 1° rango La Harpe,
- vascelli di 2° rango Stingel e Beraud
- fregate Carrier e Muiron.
Dalle vecchie sale d'armi dell'Arsenale furono asportate armi sufficienti per 20.000 uomini.
Dalle nuove sale d'armi furono asportati fucili, archibugi, pistole, con relativo munizionamento, ed armi bianche sufficienti per armare 30.000 uomini.
Dal Reparto d'Artiglieria furono asportate 5293 bocche da fuoco, delle quali 2518 in bronzo ed il rimanente in ferro. Altre migliaia di bocche da fuoco furono asportate in tutta la Repubblica, da ogni fortezza, castello e città (si pensi che nella sola laguna di Venezia erano operativi altri 750 pezzi d'artiglieria, tra colombine, cannoni, falconetti, petriere ed obusiere e che le truppe francesi sbarcarono anche nelle munitissime fortezze delle isole ionie, da Corfù a Cerigo, da Zante a Cefalonia)
Dal Parco delle Bombarde ( detto il Giardin di Ferro) fu asportata l'intera raccolta di munizionamento per l'artiglieria.
Furono trafugati pece, sevo, fanali, cavi, sartiami, vele, telame, ferramenta, legno frassino e faggio, chiodi, remi, ancore, catene per ostruzione porti, stoppa, balle di canape, carbone, strumenti nautici, raffineria e magazzini salnitro, fonderia piombo, paranchi, officina di falegnameria, modelli navali (molti oggi al Musée de Marine di Parigi), oltre a sartiami, alberi, pennoni, cannoni e proiettili per allestire ed armare 12 vascelli da 74 cannoni. Furono persino asportati gli enormi calderoni per l'ebollizione della pece.
La cassaforte dell'Arsenale fu sfondata e vuotata.
Più di duemila fucili erano già stati estorti, nel veronese e nella Lombardia veneta, sin dal maggio del 1796.
Tutto l'esercito veneto fu disarmato e l'imputato si impossessò dei relativi armamenti;
viveri e sostentamento dell'esercito occupante
Sin dal maggio del 1796 le requisizioni e le richieste estorsive di approvvigionamenti furono enormi. Per avere un'idea basti pensare che già dal luglio 1796 la città di Verona dovette provvedere ad ingentissime quantità di farine ed acquaviti, centoventimila razioni di biscotto, tre-quattrocento bovi, carri e cavalli da fornirsi in due giorni.
A questo ritmo vertiginoso, l'esercito francese fu mantenuto fino al gennaio del 1798;
opere d'arte
Immenso è il numero delle opere d'arte di grande qualità trafugate dai territori della Repubblica.
Dopo il 25 aprile del 1797 a Verona furono asportati dipinti, argenti, bronzi, manoscritti ed incunaboli e così avvenne in tutte le città dello Stato Veneto.
Basti pensare che, nel c.d. "trattato di pace" che l'imputato stilò con l' "amica" Municipalità veneziana il 16 maggio 1797, tra gli articoli segreti ve ne era uno che riservava all'imputato la scelta discrezionale di venti dipinti e cinquecento manoscritti.
Trafugati furono il Tesoro di San Marco, Le Nozze di Cana di Paolo Veronese, quasi tutti i dipinti e gli arredi religiosi di centosessanta chiese veneziane, migliaia di oggetti in argento, metallo o legno di rilevante valore artistico, migliaia di dipinti ed oggetti d'arte delle scuole veneziane.
Moltissimi, poi, tra i pezzi di artiglieria dell'Arsenale erano, invero, delle magnifiche opere d'arte, delle quali si è perduta ogni traccia;
altre sottrazioni
Dalla Zecca Veneta fu sottratta l'enorme somma di oltre quaranta milioni di lire venete in oro, sotto forma di zecchini o di monete.
Vittorio Bazzoni ha calcolato che l'importo delle spoliazioni francesi in Venezia nel 1797 può essere comunque valutato nella cifra astronomica di 40 milioni di ducati.
24) art. 633 c.p., per avere sistematicamente praticato l'invasione arbitraria di terreni e di edifici altrui, tanto pubblici che privati, al fine di occuparli o di trarne altrimenti profitto, con l'aggravante di essere stato il fatto commesso da più di cinque persone palesemente armate; nei tempi, nei luoghi e nei modi sin qui indicati;
25) art. 635 c.p., per avere sistematicamente praticato il danneggiamento, distruggendo, disperdendo, deteriorando ovvero rendendo in tutto od in parte inservibili le cose mobili ed immobili altrui; come per i capi sub 14) e 23), l'elenco degli incalcolabili danni subiti dal patrimonio veneto è pressoché infinito ed anche qui, per la sola Venezia ed a titolo meramente esemplificativo, si rinvia all'opera del N.H. Alvise Zorzi sopra citata; si vuol sommariamente ricordare il devastante saccheggio posto in essere nell'Arsenale di Venezia dal 26 dicembre 1797 al 18 gennaio 1798, attuato come specificato sub capo 2); basti pensare che nell'Arsenale furono distrutte persino le sontuose decorazioni stucchive che abbellivano la sala dei modelli nautici; furono atterrati migliaia di leoni di San Marco in tutti i luoghi calpestati dagli armati dell'imputato (comprese le isole ionie) alcuni dei quali costituivano vere e proprie opere d'arte (si pensi a tutte le rappresentazioni del San Marco in forma di lion di Piazza San Marco); furono distrutte tutte le insegne ducali; furono danneggiati o distrutti, nella sola Venezia, 92 chiese cittadine (si pensi alle stupende chiese di San Geminiano, opera del Sansovino, dei Servi, magnifica cattedrale gotica, di Sant'Antonio di Castello, la chiesa dei marinai della Repubblica, e così via) e 15 nelle isole, 30 monasteri, 4 oratori, 5 ospitali e ben 103 Scuole d'arte o di devozione; incalcolabili, inoltre, tutti i danni apportati all'intero Stato Veneto, sin dall'ingresso delle truppe nel maggio del 1796;
26) artt. 640 e 61 n. 7 c.p., per avere sistematicamente e metodologicamente truffato i propri interlocutori giacché, dapprima, con artifizi e raggiri consistiti nell'assicurare costantemente il veneto governo della più assoluta neutralità e della volontà di rispetto dei diritti della Serenissima e nell'approntare un apparato esteriore che rendesse credibile tale menzognera impostazione induceva in errore i governanti veneti sulle proprie reali intenzioni, compromettendo inesorabilmente l'adozione tempestiva di provvidenze difensive, così procurandosi l'ingiusto profitto dell'enorme arricchimento economico che ne seguì, con l'immenso corrispettivo danno economico dei Veneziani oltre all'incalcolabile perdita del proprio Stato; dappoi, con gli artifizi e raggiri consistiti nel costituire un fittizio Stato democratico e rivoluzionato, asseritamente indipendente, e nell'approntare a tal fine un complesso apparato scenico ed amministrativo, induceva in errore sulle proprie reali intenzioni i rappresentanti della Municipalità democratica di Venezia, procurandosene consenso e collaborazione, così procurandosi l'ingiusto profitto della definitiva spoliazione economica di Venezia e degli acquisti territoriali, con corrispondente immenso danno alle persone offese oltre alla perdita dell'indipendenza, poiché li vendette all'Austria con il trattato di Campoformido dell'ottobre del 1797;
27) art. 646 c.p., per essersi, nei tempi, luoghi e modi di cui sopra indebitamente appropriato le cose mobili altrui di cui per accidente ebbe lo sciagurato possesso;
28) art. 648 c.p., per avere ricevuto o comunque occultato migliaia di cose mobili provenienti dai delitti sopra specificati, nei rari casi in cui di tali delitti non potesse essere ritenuto responsabile (come, ad esempio, nel caso dell'ignobile razzia compiuta nelle case dei condannati a morte di Verona, Francesco Emilei, Augusto Verità e Giobatta Malenza, successivamente ai barbari omicidi, parte del cui bottino gli fu personalmente recapitata; il delitto di ricettazione, infine, può considerarsi perpetrato in concorso con la Nazione Francese, che ancor oggi trattiene, presso i propri musei, un immenso patrimonio, frutto dei delitti perpetrati dall'imputato nei tempi, luoghi e modi qui complessivamente indicati e specificati.
Individuate le persone offese in:
Popolo Veneto dello Stato da Tera e dello Stato da Mar, in tutte le sue articolazioni territoriali ed istituzionali
Dispongono
La citazione dell'imputato avanti la Veneta Corte al Criminal
In Venezia, Ca' Corner della Ca' Granda,
alle ore 10.00 del 12 aprile 2003, per rispondere dei reati di cui sopra.
L'imputato starà comunque validamente in giudizio con il ministero dei già nominati difensori, gli Illustrissimi signori Advocati Vito Quaranta e Christian Serpelloni, del Foro Veneto, i quali pure s'intendono citati a comparire nelli medesimi luogo et tempo ut supra individuati.
Il fascicolo relativo alle indagini è costituito dalla copiosa bibliografia esistente in materia, parte della quale si indicherà specificamente alla prima udienza quale prova documentale.
Dato dall'Avogaria di Comun li 11. marzo 2003
Iseppo Frigo Avogador di Comun
Lorenzo Fogliata Avogador di Comun
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IL PROCESSO A NAPOLEONE BONAPARTE
Fu vera gloria? Ai posteri
l'ardua sentenza
(Alessandro Manzoni, Il Cinque Maggio)
Così si esprimeva 180 anni fa un poeta parlando di Napoleone. Ecco che questo oneroso giudizio sta per essere emesso in un processo che si terrà tra aprile e giugno.
Quando le armate napoleoniche scesero in Italia nel 1797 ponendo fine alla Repubblica Veneta privandola dell'indipendenza causarono al Veneto (allora una delle regioni più ricche d'Europa) un dissesto tale da essersi risollevato appena in questi ultimi venti anni. E precipitarono Venezia in una decadenza dalla quale ancora oggi non riesce a emergere, progressivamente riducendosi da città a contenitore di eventi culturali e servizi turistici.
L'invasione francese, lungi dall'essere stata il primo momento della libertà d'Italia (come vuole la storiografia ufficiale), ne ha significato piuttosto la fine, sopprimendo l'unico grande stato indipendente rimasto nella penisola. Quale libertà è toccata all'Italia che in seguito alla venuta di Bonaparte era posta sotto il controllo di potenze straniere, direttamente o attraverso stati burattini della politica transalpina? È stata piuttosto munta e spogliata di tutte le risorse economiche e finanziarie, e perfino decimata nei suoi stessi cittadini, coscritti e mandati per l'Europa a combattere le guerre del generale còrso, sacrificati per soddisfarne la volontà di imperio e di potenza (si calcola che le guerre napoleoniche abbiano causato in totale 8 milioni di morti).
Eppure Napoleone viene giudicato con simpatia dalle autorità cittadine di Venezia, che oltre un anno fa ne hanno fatto acquistare un monumento che gli stessi Veneziani avevano sfregiato e rimosso appena si erano sciolti dal giogo napoleonico. E nella polemica seguita a questo incauto acquisto, molti tra coloro che meglio degli altri dovrebbero conoscere le malefatte di Bonaparte (cioè alcuni dirigenti di prestigiose istituzioni culturali di Venezia) hanno dimostrato la propria ammirazione nei confronti dell'imperatore dei Francesi.
Il passaggio di Napoleone nel Veneto è dunque un momento storico visto con superficialità che merita di essere approfondito. Per dare all'opinione pubblica l'opportunità di meglio valutare quei fatti l'associazione culturale Amici della storia e della giustizia (ASG) organizza il Processo a Napoleone Bonaparte, evento che dà alla ricostruzione storica un taglio diverso da quello cui si è normalmente abituati.
Dopo un approfondito dibattimento e un equo processo (in cui la difesa dell'imputato sarà garantita dall'Associazione Napoleonica d'Italia) i posteri potranno forse, finalmente, emanare l'ardua sentenza da tanto tempo attesa.
Il processo, la cui prima udienza si terrà a Venezia il 12 aprile 2002 alle ore 09.30 presso la sala del Consiglio Provinciale (Ca' Corner della Ca' Granda, San Marco 2262), è articolato in tre giornate: nella prima ci saranno la lettura dei capi di imputazione, la richiesta di acquisizione delle prove, la costituzione delle parti civili, l'esposizione introduttiva; nella seconda (10 maggio) il dibattimento e le audizioni dei testimoni; nella terza (7 giugno) dopo le arringhe sarà emanata sentenza.
In ideale continuazione con la realtà statuale della Repubblica veneta, il processo sarà tenuto da organi giudiziari del popolo veneto: l'inquirente (l'Avogaria di Comun) istruisce un procedimento che un giudice (la Veneta Corte al criminal) celebra nei confronti di un uomo (il generale Bonaparte) accusato di delitti comuni.
L'oggetto dunque non è una vertenza tra stati (la cui soluzione del resto spetterebbe a organi politici, non giudiziari) e non si vuole processare la nazione francese, come a Norimberga non si è giudicata la Germania ma i gerarchi nazisti, come all'Aia non si inquisisce la ex Jugoslavia ma Milosevic. Nel nostro caso non ci sono una corte internazionale o una entità terza che giudica tra due contendenti, ma un inquirente e un giudice veneti: gli avodadori e gli advocati del reo.
Per queste ragioni si adotteranno la procedura e il diritto sostanziale attualmente vigenti nei tribunali italiani, secondo la legge del luogo e del tempo del processo che vuole si segua il rito in vigore al momento dell'azione giudiziaria.
Questa scelta è avvalorata da alcune considerazioni ulteriori: le condotte contestate sono sempre state delitti (tanto per il diritto veneto allora vigente, quanto per il diritto naturale) e oggi sono meglio dettagliate; le sanzioni attualmente comminate sono più lievi di quelle allora in uso. Il diritto odierno, quindi, è la legge più favorevole all'imputato per principio di legalità e maggior favore sanzionatorio.
I partecipanti
Collegio giudicante (Veneta Corte al criminal):
* cons. dott. Francesco Mario AGNOLI, giudice presso la Corte di Appello di Bologna;
* avv. Alvise BRAGADIN del foro di Venezia;
* avv. Ivone CACCIAVILLANI del foro di Venezia;
* cons. dott. Antonio FOJADELLI, Procuratore della Repubblica presso il tribunale di Vicenza;
* dott. Michele MATURI, Sostituto Procuratore della Repubblica presso il tribunale di Venezia;
Pubblica accusa (Avogaria di Comun):
* avv. prof. Giuseppe FRIGO del foro di Brescia, già presidente dell'Unione delle camere penali italiane;
* avv. Renzo FOGLIATA del foro di Venezia.
Difesa (su incarico dell'Associazione Napoleonica d'Italia):
* avv. Vito QUARANTA del foro di Verona;
* avv. Christian SERPELLONI del foro di Verona.
Parti civili:
* dott. Abbondio DAL BON di Verona per il Territorio Veronese e la Lombardia Veneta (su incarico del Comitato per la celebrazione delle Pasque Veronesi);
* avv. Paolo DORIA del foro di Vicenza, membro del consiglio direttivo della Scuola di formazione forense di Vicenza, per il Territorio Vicentino (su incarico dell'Associazione Leone Trionfante);
* avv. Giovanni FABRIS del foro di Venezia per lo Stato da Mar (su incarico di alcuni esuli istriani e dalmati);
La prima udienza è stata organizzata insieme al gruppo consiliare della Liga Fronte Veneto presso il Consiglio Provinciale di Venezia. Grazie a questa collaborazione (ringraziamo particolarmente il capogruppo Giorgio BAZZI) si è potuto avere a disposizione la prestigiosa sala del consiglio, a Ca' Corner della Ca' Granda presso cui si aprirà il processo. Le sedi per le udienze successive non sono ancora state individuate.
All'iniziativa parteciperanno anche il Reggimento Veneto Real e il Reparto dei Schiavoni, gruppi storici con le divise dell'esercito veneto del Settecento.
Per informazioni e chiarimenti si prega di contattare Andrea BUCELLA, portavoce dell'associazione, reperibile presso:
· amstoriaegiustizia@libero.it;
· tel. 3280167124;
· fax 0412415450.
Trial Update - April 12, 2003
The following is a public notice announcing the charge against Napoleon, which has been released by the criminal court of Venice.
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Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité? |
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La Vendée |
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A French département with historical burden |
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| A nation killed by French revolutionists |
Masonic France wants to cover up the genocide in its history and on its territory
Vendée is a department in west central France, on the Atlantic Ocean. In the Vendée, 31 members, elected through universal suffrage, govern the affairs of the department, with 28 members on the right-wing and 3 members on the left-wing. This assembly is headed by Philippe de Villiers. The Prefect represents the French State in the department.The department is crossed by four rivers: the Sèvre Nantaise (135 km), the Vendée (70 km), the Lay (110 km) and the Sèvre Niortaise (150 km).
The Vendée has been cited as the most economically dynamic department in France by L'Express magazine in a 2006 survey. Its economy is characterized by a low rate of unemployment (around 7% in late 2006 against over 9% nationally) and a very high proportion of small and medium sized enterprises (one business for every 14 inhabitants).
The name Vendée is taken from the Vendée river, which runs through the south-eastern part of the department. – That is not true, in fact, the name derives from the Vends (Veneti), who, in Roman times, had settled in this region and also in nearby Brittany, known in ancient times as Armorica. In the spring of 57 BC, when Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, his Roman commander Marcus Licinius Crassus defeated the Vends in the area of today's Brittany and Vendée.
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| Today, La Vendée is a French département |
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History
Towards the end of the Roman empire, the Vends of Armorica resisted courageously the Roman occupation. Only after fierce fighting they were finally defeated and forced to retreat. In consequence, the Romans killed and led away almost the entire male population of the country. A nation was destroyed. Then, the Celtic people from the British Isles arrived in Armorica. It became a Celtic province and adopted the name Brittany. Only some names bear witness of the ancient Vends (Veneti).
In the nearby province, what is today Vendée, the inhabitants offered no resistance. They evidently preserved their original Vendic (Venetic) culture and identity still for a long time until they were Romanized, or better said Frenchified in the Early Middle Ages.
The area today called the Vendée is part of the former province of Poitou. In the south-east corner, the village of Nieul-sur-l'Autise is believed to be the birthplace of Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122 - 1204) and was part of her Kingdom. Eleanor's son, Richard I of England (the Lionheart) often based himself in Talmont. The Hundred Years' War (1337 - 1453) turned much of the Vendée into a battleground.
Since the Vendée held a considerable number of influential Protestants, including control by Jeanne d'Albret, the region was greatly impacted by the French Wars of Religion, which broke out in 1562 and continued until 1598. Eventually King Henri IV issued the Edict of Nantes and the Wars came to an end. When the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685, it caused many Huguenots to flee from the Vendée.
Die Füße im Feuer
Conrad Ferdinand Meyer
(1825-1898)
Wild zuckt der Blitz. In fahlem Lichte steht ein Turm.
Der Donner rollt. Ein Reiter kämpft mit seinem Roß,
Springt ab und pocht ans Tor und lärmt. Sein Mantel saust
Im Wind. Er hält den scheuen Fuchs am Zügel fest.
Ein schmales Gitterfenster schimmert goldenhell
Und knarrend öffnet jetzt das Tor ein Edelmann ...
- "Ich bin ein Knecht des Königs, als Kurier geschickt
Nach Nîmes. Herbergt mich! Ihr kennt des Königs Rock!"
- Es stürmt. Mein Gast bist du. Dein Kleid, was kümmert's mich?
Tritt ein und wärme dich! Ich sorge für dein Tier!"
Der Reiter tritt in einen dunklen Ahnensaal,
Von eines weiten Herdes Feuer schwach erhellt,
Und je nach seines Flackerns launenhaftem Licht
Droht hier ein Hugenott im Harnisch, dort ein Weib,
Ein stolzes Edelweib aus braunem Ahnenbild ...
Der Reiter wirft sich in den Sessel vor dem Herd
Und starrt in den lebend'gen Brand. Er brütet, gafft ...
Leis sträubt sich ihm das Haar. Er kennt den Herd, den Saal ...
Die Flamme zischt. Zwei Füße zucken in der Glut.
Den Abendtisch bestellt die greise Schaffnerin
Mit Linnen blendend weiß. Das Edelmägdlein hilft.
Ein Knabe trug den Krug mit Wein. Der Kinder Blick
Hangt schreckensstarr am Gast und hangt am Herd entsetzt ...
Die Flamme zischt. Zwei Füße zucken in der Glut.
- "Verdammt! Dasselbe Wappen! Dieser selbe Saal!
Drei Jahre sind's ... Auf einer Hugenottenjagd ...
Ein fein, halsstarrig Weib ... 'Wo steckt der Junker? Sprich!'
Sie schweigt. 'Bekenn!' Sie schweigt. 'Gib ihn heraus!' Sie schweigt.
Ich werde wild. D e r Stolz! Ich zerre das Geschöpf ...
Die nackten Füße pack ich ihr und strecke sie
Tief mitten in die Glut ... 'Gib ihn heraus!' ... Sie schweigt ...
Sie windet sich ... Sahst du das Wappen nicht am Tor?
Wer hieß dich hier zu Gaste gehen, dummer Narr?
Hat er nur einen Tropfen Bluts, erwürgt er dich." -
Eintritt der Edelmann. "Du träumst! Zu Tische, Gast ..."
Der Reiter lauert aus den Augenwinkeln: "Herr,
Ihr seid ein kluger Mann und voll Besonnenheit
Und wißt, daß ich dem größten König eigen bin.
Lebt wohl! Auf Nimmerwiedersehn!"
Der andre spricht:
"Du sagst's! Dem größten König eigen! Heute ward
Sein Dienst mir schwer ... Gemordet hast Du teuflisch mir
Mein Weib! Und lebst ... Mein ist die Rache, redet Gott."
Henri de La Rochejacquelein at the Battle of Cholet in 1793
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| by Paul-Emile Boutigny, (19th C.), Musée d'art et d'histoire de Cholet, France.
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The revolt
It is also remembered as the place where the peasants revolted against the Revolutionary government in 1793. They resented the changes imposed on the Roman Catholic Church by the Civil Constitution of the Clergy (1790) and broke into open revolt in defiance of the Revolutionary government's military conscription. A guerrilla war, known as the Revolt in the Vendée, led at the outset by an underground faction called the Chouans (tawny owls), cost more than 100,000 lives (much more!) until it ended in 1796.
The Revolt in the Vendée is the subject of Ninety-Three (Quatre-vingt-treize), the last novel by the French writer Victor Hugo. In the writings of Karl Marx regarding revolutionary struggles in various countries, he uses the term "a Vendée" as meaning "a focus of persistent counter-revolutionary activities".
In the mostly rural region of the Vendée, political sentiment in 1793 was Royalist. The farmers regarded many institutions of the young republic - new taxation, general conscription, the abolition of old regional and local privileges, as a threat to them rather than as an asset. They were outraged about the execution of the king.
The National Convention, on February 24th, had decided on the conscription of 300,000 men, scheduled for March 12th 1793. On that day, preparations for the revolt were made in St. Fleurent le Vieil. The population of other places joined; the Vendean militia fought revolutionary troops; the Vendeans, in March-July, militarily, held on pretty well; they undertook offensive operations, occupied Angers on June 19th.
The Vendée insurgents were organized in a number of armies, commanded by able leaders (Charette, d'Elbee, La Rochejaquelein, Stofflet), many of whom were noblemen and had previous military experience. On August 1st the National Convention decreed the destruction of the Vendée. Kleber, commissioned with the execution of that decree, with an army of 100,000, arrived at Nantes September 6th. On Sept. 19th his forces, the Blues, were defeated by the Whites (Vendeans) in the Battle of Torfu.
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| "Monsieur Henri", the youngest general of the Christian forces in La Vendée
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The massacre
In October the Vendeans suffered several defeats; on Nov. 4th they won at Fougeres, on Dec. 12th at Le Mans. On Dec. 23rd at Savenay, the core of the Vendean army was surrounded and annihilated. The Blues (Republican side) committed massacres, first against those regarded instigators of the rebellion (priests), against prisoners of war, and then against the entire population of rebel villages, not sparing women, children and the old. Several Vendean units were still in the field; fighting was bitter and Vendeans occasionally still won victories (March 25th 1794, April 17th).
On July 28th Robespierre was executed in Paris; the terror phase of the French revolution was over. Carrier, one of the revolutionary commanders in the Vendée campaign, was executed on December 16th. Fighting ceased (Dec. 26th, 1794); on Feb. 17th, 1795, the Treaty of Junay was signed, regarded a peace treaty for the Vendée. The rebellion was resumed in 1795 and finally abandoned in 1796.
The Vendean rebellion was a climax in the history of the French Revolution. Because of the obstinate, determined resistance of the Vendeans the Jacobins escalated their policy of terror, not only sentencing individuals regarded enemies of the people, but pursuing a policy of genocide. This escalation of violence brought the downfall of Robespierre, the Jacobins, the Convention.
Many reforms the Vendeans had revolted against were still in force; but the fight had been extremely costly in human lives, over 200,000 dead. The Concordate Napoleon signed with the pope in 1801 restored the Catholic Church in France.
In 1815, when Napoleon returned from Elbe for his Hundred Days, La Vendée refused to recognize him and stayed loyal to King Louis XVIII. General Lamarque led 10,000 men into La Vendée to pacify the region. In 1850, British author, Anthony Trollope published his book La Vendée, detailing the history of the region and the war. In the preface he pays tribute to Madame de la Rochejaquelein on whose memoirs of the war he based his story.
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A French genocide
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| In 1986 Reynald Secher wrote a controversial book entitled: A French Genocide: The Vendée, in which he argued that the actions of the French republican government during the revolt in the Vendée (1793 - 1796), a popular Royalist uprising against the Republican government during the French Revolution, was the first "modern" genocide. Secher's claims, in addition to his political and religious affiliations, caused a minor uproar in France amongst scholars of modern French history, as mainstream authorities on the period – both, French and foreign - published articles refuting Secher's claims. In the rebellion, initially the Vendée rebels gained the upper hand, so on August 1, 1793, the Committee of Public Safety ordered General Jean-Baptiste Carrier to carry out a pacification of the region. The Republican army was reinforced and the Vendéan army was eventually defeated. |
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| Under orders from the Committee of Public Safety in February 1794, the Republican forces launched their final "pacification" (the Vendée-Vengé or "Vendée Avenged") - twelve columns, the colonnes infernales ("infernal columns") under Louis-Marie Turreau, were marched through the Vendée, and, according to Secher, killed, both, rebels and civilians indiscriminately. When the campaign dragged to an end in March 1796 the estimated dead, both, Republicans and Royalists, numbered between 117,000 and 500,000, out of a population of around 800,000. |
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| Insigna of the Vendean royalist insurgents. |
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| Note the French words 'Dieu Le Roi' beneath the heart-and-cross, meaning 'God (is) the king'. |
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Reaction of the Masonry
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| The French Revolution is one of the top items in Masonic ideology, which is directed against the Catholic Faith and Church. Therefore, Reynald Secher soon was criticized by many Masonic historians, who, in order to persuade the public of their seriousness, added to their names the epithet “University of…”. |
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| Secher's allegation of genocide, Claude Langlois (of the Institute of History of the French Revolution) derides as "quasi-mythological". Timothy Tackett of the University of California summarizes the case as such: "In reality... the Vendée was a tragic civil war with endless horrors committed by both sides - initiated, in fact, by the rebells themselves. The Vendéeans were no more blameless than were the Republicans. The use of the word genocide is wholly inaccurate and inappropriate." |
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| Hugh Gough (Professor of history at the University College Dublin,) considers Secher's book an attempt at historical revisionism that is unlikely to have any lasting impact. Peter McPhee roundly criticizes Secher, including the assertion of commonality between the functions of the Republican government and Communist totalitarianism. McPhee does this by pointing to what he considers to be a number of dubious assumptions and flawed methodology on Secher's part. Other scholars, who have published against Secher's thesis, include: Julian Jackson (professor of Modern history at the University of London), and professors of Modern history and related fields François Lebrun of the University of High-Brittany-Rennes II, and of the University of Paris, I-Pantheon-Sorbonne, Paul Tallonneau, Claude Petitfrère, and Jean- Clément Martin. |
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| Not everything that shines is Gold
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| Peter McPhee says that the pacification the Vendée does not fit either the United Nations' CPPCG definition of genocide or that of Frank Chalk and Kurt Jonassohn ("Genocide is a form of one-sided mass killing in which a state or other authority intends to destroy a group, as that group and membership in it are defined by the perpetrator") because the events happened in a civil war. So it was not a one-sided mass killing and the Committee of Public Safety did not intend to exterminate the whole population of Vendée as parts of the population were allied to the revolutionary government. |
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| However in Genocide and Gross Human Rights Violations Kurt Jonassohn writes "The reason we consider this a case of genocide is that exterminatory intent was clearly stated in the orders of several generals as well as in the several decrees passed by the government". Further support for Secher comes from Adam Jones, who wrote in Genocide: A Comprehensive Introduction - a summary of the Vendée uprising, citing Secher and others, supporting the view that it was a genocide, and Pierre Chaunu, a professor of history at Paris IV-Sorbonne University. |
Other historians have employed the term "genocide" to describe the massacres made during the civil war in the republican camp, such as Jean Tulard. Stéphane Courtois", a Director of Research at the CNRS who specializes in the history of Communism, tells of how Lenin compared the people of Vendée to the Cossacks, and expressed joy at subjecting them to the program Gracchus Babeuf, "the inventor of modern Communism", characterized as "populicide" in 1795 against the people of the Vendée. British historian Ruth Scurr states that the actions of the revolutionaries, such as mass executions by grapeshot fired from cannons and group drownings in the Vendée, constitute crimes against humanity that they would today be held accountable for under the European human rights legislation they themselves pioneered.
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| Secher attracted further controversy in 1991 with his publication Jews and Vendeans: From One Genocide to Another, comparing the fate of Royalist Vendeans with Jews in Nazi Germany. |
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Its flag portrays a Moor's head in black on a white background |
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| Independence has always been the issue here. |
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| Corsica is now a region - or rather a colony of France |
Should the independence of Slovenia also set an example for this nation?
Corsica is usually considered one of the 26 régions of France, although strictly speaking Corsica is a "territorial collectivity" (collectivité territoriale) by law. As a territorial collectivity, it enjoys powers slightly more important than other French régions, but for the most part its status is quite similar to the status of the other régions. Corsica is referred to as a "région" in common speech, and is almost always listed among the other régions of France. Although the island is separated from the continental mainland by the Ligurian Sea, politically Corsica is considered part of Metropolitan France. Corsica is famed as the birthplace of Napoléon Bonaparte.
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| With the collapse of Byzantine control, the island came under various influences, including Arabs and Lombards. Pisa took control of the island during most of the Middle Ages but it finally fell to Genoa in 1282, following the Battle of Meloria against Pisa. Corsica successively was part of the Republic of Genoa for five centuries. Despite take-overs by Aragon between 1296-1434 and France between 1553-1559, Corsica would remain under Genoese control until its purchase by France in 1768. The adventurer Theodor von Neuhoff was briefly King Theodore of Corsica in the 18th century. |
Ajaccio, centre of Corsica
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| An important figure in Corsican history is Pasquale Paoli, a general and patriot who struggled for Corsican independence against Genoa and then France, called Il Babbu di a Patria (Father of the Nation). It was essentially with him that the Moor's head ("Testa Mora") became Corsica's emblem in 1760, harking back to the period when Corsica had been controlled by Moors (850 to 1034). |
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| Paoli founded the first University of Corsica (with instruction in Italian), and in 1755 proclaimed the Corsican Republic. The Corsican Constitution would later be used as a model for the American Constitution (Saul 1992, 55–61). Paoli, however, was defeated by the French army, and the island came under French rule. Paoli died in exile in London in 1807. His legacy was taken initially by the irredentism of the Corsican Italians and now by the actual political movements for the independence of Corsica from France. |
Group of singing Corsicans
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| Corsica is also the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, who was born in Ajaccio, into minor nobility. Following the French conquest of the island, Corsican nobles were offered the ability to gain French titles if they could prove their genealogy sufficiently. In an attempt to do so, Napoleon's parents traveled to court in France, and, like many other Corsican nobles, sent their son to school there. |
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| During World War II, while Germany occupied northern and western France, Corsica was part of Vichy France (1940-1942) and then occupied by the Kingdom of Italy from 1942-1943. In the first half of the 20th century, many Corsicans (like Petru Giovacchini) had advocated the unification of the island with Italy. -In recent decades, Corsica has developed a thriving tourism industry, which has attracted a sizeable number of immigrants to the island in search of employment. |
Striving towards Independence
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| Corsica is currently governed almost as any other région of France, as explained in the introduction. There are several movements on the island calling for some degree of Corsican autonomy from France, or even full independence. Generally speaking, autonomist proposals focus on the promotion of the Corsican language, more power for local governments, and some exemptions from national taxes in addition to those already applying to Corsica. |
We have a land, a people, a language, a culture!
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| The French government is opposed to full independence, as it would threaten France's unity, but has at times shown support for some level of autonomy. There is support on the island for proposals of greater autonomy, but polls show that a large majority of Corsicans are opposed to full independence. |
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| Some groups who claim to support Corsican independence have carried out a violent campaign since the 1970s that includes bombings and a few assassination attempts, usually targeting pieds-noirs and other non-Corsicans, or buildings and officials representing the French government. The peaceful occupation of a pied-noir vineyard in Aléria in 1975 marked a turning point when the French government responded with overwhelming force, generating sympathy for the independence groups among the Corsican population. However, events such as the murder of préfet Claude Érignac on February 6, 1998 (for which Yvan Colonna was arrested five years later) have only served to convince many in Corsica, as well as in the French government and the general French public, that Corsican nationalists cannot be trusted with more autonomy. Recent attacks on Muslims have reinforced this opinion. |
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| The attacks of Corsican “nationalists”, of course, are the consequence of the Paris centralist denationalization policy towards the Corsican people. The “opinion” is created by press and TV, which are financed from public funds and never report in favour of truth and righteousness. |
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  I am Corsican and I am proud
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| Who are the pieds-noirs? They are Algerian-born French people, who had to leave Algeria, when it became independent. The French government settled them in great numbers in Corsica, in order to denationalize the indigenous people. Corsicans opposed in a violent way.
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| In 2000, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin agreed to grant increased autonomy to Corsica in exchange for an end to violence. The proposed autonomy for Corsica would have included greater protection for the Corsican language - Corsu, the island's traditional language (which is also considered to be a dialect of Italian), whose practice and teaching, like other regional or minority languages in France, had in the past been discouraged. According to the UNESCO classification, the Corsican language is currently in danger of becoming extinct. However, the plans for increased autonomy were opposed by the Gaullist opposition in the French National Assembly, who feared that they would lead to calls for autonomy from other régions (such as Brittany or Alsace), eventually threatening France's unity as a country. |
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| In a referendum on July 6, 2003, a narrow majority of Corsican voters opposed a project from the government of Jean-Pierre Raffarin and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy that would have suppressed the two départements of the island and granted greater autonomy to the territorial collectivity of Corsica. |
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 The flag of Occitania
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A forgotten European nation in Southern France,
But very much alive!
Slovenia, an independent nation of only two million inhabitants, is a true challenge for several nations in Europe, which, despite the fact that they have a population of over two million, are not independent. As sharply critical politicians of great powers, Russia in particular, expressed at the time of Kosovo's declaration of independence: if this nation gets international recognition, than many nations in the world want recognized independence, too.
And then what? Should the identity, language and culture of small nations be sacrificed in order to invigorate the expansionism of great powers? An example of this is Occitania in southern France. It has a political historical tradition, a proper language, but it is completely dominated by Paris, its policies and French fashion.
Occitania (Occitan: Occitània) refers to the lands, where Occitan is the traditional language in use, generally nowadays as a minority language. Most of Occitania is in Southern France, other parts are in Italy (Occitan Valleys in Piedmont and Liguria), Spain (Aran Valley in Catalonia) and include Monaco; so the main languages in Occitania are nowadays French, Italian, Catalan and Spanish. In Aran Valley, Occitan is a local official language besides Spanish and Catalan.
Gascon
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| Present-day area where the Occitan language is spoken. It is about a linguistically mixed area, where Occitan became a minority language in contrast to French.
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Under Roman rule most of Occitania was known as Aquitania while the northern provinces of what is now France were called Gallia (Gaul). The names Occitania and Occitan language themselves appeared in Latin texts from 1290 and during the following years of the early 14th century (Patria Linguae Occitanae, Occitana lingua). They derive from the name Lenga d'òc that was used in Italian (Lingua d'òc) by Dante in the late 13th century. Occitan and Lenga d'òc both refer to the centuries-old set of Romance dialects that use òc for "yes".
Occitan History
Written texts in Occitan appeared in the 10th century: it was used at once in legal then literary, scientific and religious texts. The spoken dialects of Occitan are centuries older and appeared as soon as the 8th century, at least, revealed in toponyms or in Occitanized words left in Latin manuscripts, for instance.
Occitania was often politically united during the Early Middle Ages, under the Visigothic Kingdom and several Merovingian and Carolingian sovereigns. In Thionville, nine years before he died (805), Charlemagne vowed that his empire be partitioned into three autonomous territories according to nationalities and mother tongues: along with the Franco-German and Italian ones, was roughly what is now modern Occitania from the reunion of a broader Provence and Aquitaine. But things didn't go according to plan and at the division of the Frankish Empire (9th century), Occitania was split into different counties, duchies and kingdoms, bishops and abbots, self-governing communes of its walled cities.
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  Tolosa
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| Tolosa - Toulouse, the historical and cultural centre of Occitania
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Since then the country was never politically united again, though Occitania was united by a common culture which used to cross easily the political, constantly moving boundaries. Occitania suffered a tangle of varying loyalties to nominal sovereigns: from the 9th to the 13th centuries, the dukes of Aquitaine, the counts of Foix, the counts of Toulouse and the Aragonese kings rivalled in their attempts at controlling the various pays of Occitania.
Occitan literature was glorious and flourishing at that time: in the 12th and 13th centuries, the troubadours invented courtly love (fin'amor) and the Lenga d'Òc spread throughout all European cultivated circles. Actually, the terms Lenga d'Òc, Occitan, and Occitania appeared at the end of the 13th century.
Raymond VI de Tolosa (1156 - 1222)
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| + S' RAIMUNDI DUCIS NARBONE COMITIS TOLOSE MARCHIONIS PROVINCIE |
But from the 13th to the 17th centuries, the French kings gradually conquered Occitania, sometimes by war and slaughtering the population, sometimes by annexation with subtle political intrigue. From the end of the 15th century, the nobility and bourgeoisie started learning French while the people stuck to Occitan (this process began from the 13th century in two northernmost regions, northern Limousin and Bourbonnais). In 1539, Francis I issued the Ordinance of Villers-Cotterêts that imposed the use of French in administration.
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  Lomagne
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In 1789, the revolutionary committees tried to re-establish the autonomy of the "Midi" regions: they used the Occitan language but the Jacobin power neutralized them. The 19th century witnessed a strong revival of the Occitan literature and the writer Frédéric Mistral was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1904.
But from 1881 onwards, children who spoke Occitan at school were punished in accordance with minister Jules Ferry's recommendations. That led to a deprecation of the language known as la vergonha (the shaming): everyone spoke Occitan in 1914, but French gained the upper hand during the 20th century. The situation got worse with the media excluding the use of the langue d'oc. In spite of that decline, the Occitan language is still alive and trying to gain fresh impetus.
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  Bèziers
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| Bèziers, March17, 2007, manifestations for recognition of the identity of Occitania |
Occitania today
There are fourteen to fifteen million inhabitants in Occitania today. According to the 1999 census, there are 610,000 native speakers and another million persons with some exposure to the language. Native speakers of Occitan are to be found mostly in the older generations. The Institut d'Estudis Occitans (IEO) has been modernizing the Occitan language since 1945, and the Conselh de la Lenga Occitana (CLO) since 1996.
Nowadays, Occitan is used in the most modern musical and literary styles such as rock 'n roll, folk rock (Lou Dalfin), detective stories or science-fiction. It is represented on the internet. Association schools (Calandretas) teach children in Occitan.
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| The Occitan political movement for self-government has existed since the beginning of the 20th century and particularly since post-war years - Partit Occitan and many others. The movement remains negligible in electoral and political terms. At a time of Europe's emerging, it wishes Occitania to become a federation of strong regions, with a lively culture and open to the world. Major demonstrations in Carcassonne (2005) and Bèziers (2007) and the week-long Estivada festival in Rodez (2006) suggest that there is a revival of Occitan language and culture. However, in France, Occitan is still not recognized as an official language, as the status of French is constitutionally protected. |
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| Slovenian Black Panther in Neustria (Northern France) |
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| Some amateur heraldist in Occitania (Southern France) has chosen the Black Panther as arms of Neustria (Northern France), a kingdom which beside the kingdom of Austrasia was part of the Frankish Kingdom. His choice is not a historical reality. Anyway, we are glad for the attention he gives to the Black Panther. (Dr. Jožko Šavli - Carantha, Dec. 13, 2009) |
The new coat of arms of the Kingdom of Septimania from NG: Colonization. It is going to become an empire soon, to take account of the several different cultural areas that it rules, and I have updated the shield. However, I am still need to add an eagle as a supporter. And noticing it now, I see that there's a bit of red leaking into the second quarter...
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| The three Occitan crosses represent Septimania, the single Occitan cross represents Occitania, then there's the stripes of Catalonia, and the (fire-breathing?) panther represents Neustria, or Northern France. (Maharajah - Feb. 22nd, 2009) |
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| Like in the case of Slovenia, Wales, too, will very probably declare independence in foreseeable time. |
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| Plaid Cymru the Party of Wales believes that our current toothless Assembly should be replaced by a People’s Parliament for Wales. By giving the people of Wales the tools to do the job we can improve the health and wealth of our people. |
Fundamentally Plaid Cymru believes that the people of Wales are sovereign - what that means is that you and I and all of our friends, neighbours and communities should decide the future of our country. This shouldn't be about an internal Labour Party fudge - this is about the future of public services in our country, and therefore we believe that a wide-ranging public debate should be followed by a referendum where the people of Wales are asked whether they wish to create a proper parliament for Wales.
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| The autonomous province of Wales - Cymru of 2.950.000 population (2005). Wales is officialy blingual, with English and Welsh language. The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages should be treated on a basis of equality. |
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| Cardiff, chieftown of Wales |
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| Plaid believes that every person living in Wales is a citizen of Wales, whatever their background, wherever they were born, whatever the colour of their skin, whatever language they speak. We are about building a better Wales – and to do that we need everybody here to make that commitment to Wales. All Labour want to do is to talk Wales down and plant scare stories that we wouldn’t do better running our own affairs. Plaid Cymru's View: |
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We believe that the people of Wales are sovereign and that it is our right to determine our own future |
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We believe that the current New Labour designed Assembly is an utter shambles due to its lack of power and lack of direction |
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In the longer term we believe Wales should take its place among the nations of the world as a free and independent country |
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Wales’ place is at the heart of Europe and as such we strongly believe in cooperation amongst European countries. |
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| We have consistently argued for the democratisation of the European Union – if it is truly to succeed then it must be a People’s Europe rather than a Bureaucrat’s Europe. |
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| Title of the Cardiff daily. It is the British oligarchy, who pulls the wires of the mass media which controls the public mind. The majority of them cannot imagine an independent Wales.
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| Plaid Cymru the Party of Wales believes that the current ‘Barnett Formula’ for the funding of Wales is outdated and unfair. It is not a question of whether Wales can afford to be independent but whether it can afford NOT to be independent. |
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| In the 21st century economy small country success is everywhere to be seen. Eight of the ten richest countries in the world by GDP have populations under 10 million. |
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The Barnett Formula used to calculate the amount of public expenditure devolved to Wales is based on population rather than needs of Wales. Under the current devolution settlement the Barnett Formula should be altered to ensure a fairer funding formula for Wales. |
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We support fully the Richard Commission Report which recommended an extension of the powers of the Assembly, to include primary law-making powers on devolved issues –like the Scottish Parliament. |
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However, our ultimate constitutional aim is to secure independence for Wales in Europe. This would require the support of the Welsh people expressed through a referendum, and would involve full national status for Wales within the EU and the UN. |
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Wales should have the powers to vary taxation and control its own economy in order to mirror the success of other small European nations |
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To benefit fully in the global market, Wales needs to develop its own laws and institutions, set its own tax rates and represent itself at international institutions. |
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| Recently, as Slovenia recognized the independence of Kosovo, it was expressly pointed out during the parliamentary discussion, that each nation has the right for self-determination. So, we are confident that Slovenia would be among the first states to recognize the independence of Wales. |
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| Catalonia independence referendum fails |
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| Published: Monday 14 December 2009 |
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| Turnout in an "informal" referendum on 13 December on whether wealthy Catalonia should secede from Spain fell short of organisers' hopes, but they said enough voters showed up to energise their separatist campaign. |
About 30% of 700,000 eligible voters in 170 towns and villages in the region's Catalan-language-speaking heartland voted on the question of whether Catalonia should become an independent state within the European Union, organisers said.
This was below the 40% target initially mentioned by leaders of the campaign, which aims to put pressure on Catalonia's biggest political parties to call for a real referendum on secession in the future.
Early results showed almost 95% of those who voted wanted Catalonia, which has a population of seven million and already enjoys considerable autonomy, to leave Spain.
But, with separatists bound to be more likely to take part in a vote which the Spanish government had dismissed as illegitimate, organisers had been more interested in seeing the level of turnout.
The result of the vote, which was dismissed as futile by the Spanish government, will have no legal impact, but organisers hope to organise another, bigger referendum in the region's capital, Barcelona, next year.
"This has been a powerful event that is going to push us towards independence," referendum campaign spokesman Uriel Beltran told Reuters by telephone.
The campaign was organised by a coalition of Catalan nationalists, including left-wing parties and dissident members of Catalonia's biggest political group, the centre-right Convergencia i Unio. Their campaign has been well organised, but backers say they have had to mobilise voters with a fraction of the resources available for official elections.
Catalan regional elections are due by the end of 2010, and any surge in separatist sentiment would be a serious problem for Spain's Socialist prime minister, José Luís Rodriguez Zapatero, just when he needs to focus on dragging Spain from recession without unsettling debt markets.
There was a steady flow of voters throughout the day in the towns chosen for the vote, which included nationalist heartlands where the Catalan language is widely spoken instead of Spanish. Catalonia, which has a distinct cultural identity reaching back to the Middle Ages, already enjoys considerable control over its own affairs.
But separatist sentiment, which re-emerged after the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, has been stirred by rumours that Spain's constitutional court will reject much of the region's new constitution, which includes a preamble defining Catalonia as a nation.
Sunday's vote moved the referendum campaign up a gear following its first foray in September, when more than 2,000 inhabitants of the small town of Arenys de Munt voted on the question, 96% of them favouring independence.
Opinion polls differ over the level of support for independence in Catalonia, where about half the population speaks Catalan at home instead of Spanish.
The Spanish government says the constitution would not allow a real referendum on regional independence.
(EurActiv with Reuters.)
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| Catalonia votes on independence from Spain |
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| Many people have already cast an early ballot in the town of Vic |
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| This weekend, 700,000 people in Catalonia are eligible to vote in the region's first ever referendum on independence from Spain. |
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| Organised by activists and volunteers, the vote is not officially binding but it is taking place at a tense time in relations with Madrid. |
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| Supporters hope it is the first step towards a formal ballot for a separate state. |
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| Deep in the nationalist heartland of Catalonia, campaigners have been drumming up support for the vote. |
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| In the medieval town of Vic, hundreds of residents have already cast an early ballot at a tent in a corner of the main square. |
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| Many say the autonomy Catalonia already has is not enough, and they are voting "Yes" to independence. |
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| "More and more people think we have no room in the Spanish house, so we need a house of our own," organiser Alfons Lopez Tema says. |
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| "[The Spanish] don't want us, they don't love us, they don't give us what we want. So the best thing is to vote and decide." |
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| Some hope the ballot will lead towards a formal independence vote |
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| Almost 170 Catalan towns and villages are holding ballots, staffed by thousands of volunteers. |
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| Vic has traditionally favoured independence but the vote will be a first indication of whether views here are spreading. |
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| The referendum has been the topic of daily debate on local radio. |
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| Speaking Catalan on air was forbidden as subversive during General Franco's dictatorship. |
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| Today, it is an official language, used in schools and government, and Catalonia itself has broad autonomy. |
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| But three years ago, people across Catalonia voted for more. They approved a new statute - the law that sets out the relationship between Catalonia and the Spanish state - which defined this part of eastern Spain as a distinct nation. |
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| It gave more jurisdiction to the local authorities and what many believe is a fairer share of the revenue collected. |
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| For the moderate-minded majority of Catalans, that was enough. |
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| The law was approved in a referendum, passed by the Catalan and Spanish parliaments and signed by the king. |
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| But Spain's main opposition party is contesting the statute in the Constitutional Court and many Catalans fear key provisions of the law will soon be overturned. |
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| "People are disillusioned by what's happened. They're fed up. That's why so many are involved in organising this vote," Vic Radio presenter Joan Turro explains during a break in the schedule.
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| "People here in the interior of Catalonia have always wanted independence. We want this vote to show that it's not just us now." |
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| Many people in Catalonia say they feel different from the rest of Spain, with their own distinct language, culture and history. |
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| Sunday's referendum will test how far that feeling translates into actual support for a separate state. |
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| Some farmers believe breaking away from Spain will help the local economy |
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| But frustrations about the relationship with Madrid are as much about money as identity. |
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| Home to some 7m people, Catalonia is a prosperous place. |
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| The pretty cobbled streets of medieval Vic are lined with boutiques and alluring delicatessens - industry and agriculture are both strong here. |
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| But many complain that too much of that local wealth is drained away subsidising poorer parts of Spain and the return investment from Madrid is minimal. |
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| A key provision of the new statute adjusted the balance but the improved system has not been implemented yet. |
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| One pig farmer told me he believed breaking away from Spain would help the local economy. |
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| "If you add everything up, we support the rest of Spain and they don't support us," he said, though like many people he struggled to name anything specific Catalonia has missed out on. |
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| The Catalan government will be watching to see how high turnout is |
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| The Catalan government agrees that the balance of payments to Madrid was deeply unjust. |
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| But Finance Minister Antoni Castells says that the new statute does correct that, adding more than 2 billion euros to the local budget this year. |
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| He points out that only one in five Catalans usually express support for independence. |
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| Still, he says, the fight over the statute has frustrated many and left "a strong feeling of disappointment". |
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| For the minister, the thing to watch at this weekend's unofficial referendum is the turnout. |
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| "If it's high, that suggests an increased number of people think the relationship between Catalonia and Spain should be reconsidered, that too many things are not going in a good way and that a lot of people think Spain is not respecting our self-government and our national identity," Mr Castells explains. |
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| Catalans are certainly passionate about their identity. |
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| Back in a smoky bar in Vic, most of the young crowd watching a Barcelona football match on TV have draped themselves in yellow and red Catalan flags. |
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| Their songs in Catalan are a mixture of swearing at Spain and their own national anthem. There is a map of Catalonia on the wall, with the rest of Spain blanked out. |
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| Most voters in this town will clearly say "Yes" to independence. |
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| What will be interesting is to see how many more moderate Catalans now share their passion. |
A freer Catalonia
Financial Times
Published: June 20, 2006
Catalans, Spaniards and Europeans all have reason to be proud of Sunday's democratic decision to expand the powers of self-government available to the citizens of Catalonia. The Catalans wanted it. The Spanish parliament mandated it as constitutionally lawful. And the European Union provides a framework - part architecture, part shock-absorbers - that should make such exercises perfectly ordinary.
In Spain that is not yet the case. Since the death of Franco and his noxiously parochial dictatorship just over three decades ago, Spaniards have successfully created a confident and prosperous democracy. But the federal dimension of this democracy has, from the outset, been a work in progress.
The deep-rooted and culturally in-eradicable nationalism of Basques and Catalans - who fought with the Republic during the 1936-39 civil war - still excites visceral opposition from Spain's right, and discomfits its more Jacobin left. All credit, then, to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Socialist prime minister, for insisting that more devolution, to the extent that it democratically empowers those of Spain's citizens who want it, will strengthen the country. José María Aznar, Spain's former prime minister, says Catalonia's new statute of autonomy will "Balkanise" Spain. Yet countries as diverse as Spain (or the former Yugoslavia) cannot for ever be constrained by a straitjacket of centralism against the will of their people(s).
Catalonia's new powers, moreover, are modest. The row over Catalans' right to call themselves a "nation" is, frankly, anachronistic. Article 2 of Spain's constitution already recognises the country contains different "nationalities". New rights of judicial independence are appropriate and do not override Spain's highest courts. The tax question is more complicated - and more exaggerated.
Barcelona will now share responsibility for tax collection with Madrid. The Basques, by contrast, already collect nearly all their own taxes. The real issues, obscured by the emotive rhetoric, are those of equity and fiscal responsibility.
Within Spain's asymmetric federalism and still uneven economic development, it is vital to uphold the principle of fiscal solidarity: transfers from rich to poorer regions, or to put it more concretely, from Catalans and Basques to Andalusians and Castillians. Equally, the link between taxation and representation is important. Regional governments, which, apart from the Basques, have not had to raise their own revenue, have been profligate.
But the overriding public good of enhanced Catalan autonomy is political. It gives Catalans more room to breathe. It also sets a precedent for constitutionally expanded home rule just as Mr Zapatero embarks on even more difficult negotiations with the Basques - designed to take the gun out of Spanish politics once and for all.
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| The Independence of Catalonia |
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| Catalonia is one of the countries, to which independent Slovenia sets a shining example. This is an article which clearly states why more and more nations are striving toward independence. Because of expropriation by centralistic structures. |
By Xavier Sala-i-Martin, Columbia University and UPF
This script has been prepared for a conference at the Omnium Cultural
Translated by Eva Guler
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| Once upon a time, there was a country with a 6 million population, with an area of 40,000 square kilometres. The country had as next door neighbour's two big European powers, traditionally colonists, whose languages were a constant threat to the existence of the local language. The auto-governed population was being forced to speak and use two (or more) languages. The capita growth of this country was high, one of the highest of the world, a complete economic success. Is this science fiction or reality? |
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| When we speak about the independence of Catalonia , the first question that a non-economist individual would ask me (being an economist myself) is "if Catalonia would be viable" to sustain itself as an independent nation. If Catalonia would not be viable as an independent economy, the description on the first paragraph would be science fiction and therefore it would not exist. But, the country that I have described is an actual fact and it is a country that exists and it is independent: I am talking about Switzerland.
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| Catalonia inside of Spain |
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| Switzerland has a 6 million population and approximately 40,000 square kilometres. Switzerland borders with Germany and France, two European powers, traditionally colonists and the local language, the Swiss-German (which is different to German) is being threatened by the French and German languages (and Italian as well, which is spoken by a very small minority in the south of the country). So, before we even begin to talk, you can see that the arguments given against the viability of Catalonia as an independent nation are basically erroneous: if Switzerland is viable (and not only it is but it is also the second richest country of the world) why wouldn't Catalonia be, if also, our country is not up in a range of mountains, has a sea port and it has an easier access to the rest of the world? |
In this script, I will try to analyse the arguments that the anti-independents use to demonstrate that Catalonia is not viable as an independent country. The most common argument is "Catalonia is too small to be able to become an independent nation". The truth is that no serious economist can agree with this statement. There is no economic theory that says that a country must be of a minimum size to be viable or that bigger countries in size are more viable than small ones. If this theory exists, it would be totally wrong because, in the world we live in, the expenditure per capita or the economic growth figure of a country cannot be related to the size of a country (measured, for example, by area and/or population). It is simply false that larger countries are more economically successful. If not, then why do we find amongst the poorest countries of the world, such big countries like China , India and Russia? And how come we find, in among the richest countries of the world, countries like Belgium, Holland and Switzerland?
Another argument against independence is that "a country can not prosper without natural resources like land, gas or petroleum, and Catalonia doesn't have any". This theory is also completely false. For example, Japan or the "miraculous tigers" from East Asia (Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore) are not producers of petroleum or natural gas, and the fertile land to which they have access to, is very limited, (actually, both Hong Kong and Singapore are one city countries!). Saying this, the economic growth accomplished by these countries during the last decades has been spectacular.
Even more, if we apply this argument to our text, it is true that Catalonia, even though it has a great quantity of fertile land, does not produce some of those natural resources... but neither does Spain. So, independence would not bring any loss in this instance.
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| Barcelona, the church of Sagrada Familia projected by Antoni Gaudi is still under construction. It is a reflection of spiritual and creative power of the Catalonian people, who are striving for independence. |
Also, there are economic arguments that lead you to conclude that to have natural resources can be a bad thing for the long-term growth (the economists named this phenomenon "Dutch Decease"). The argument can be summarised this way: when a country has a lot of natural resources (for example, petroleum) it dedicates a great quantity of resources to develop that particular sector and it tends to forget other sectors. In particular, it tends to forget the innovative and technological sectors, which generate the technological changes that guarantee long-term growth. So, these countries that are specialists in the production of petroleum and other primary materials do not focus on educating the population or adopting modern technologies and finish up by being poorer than they would have been without petroleum. The typical examples of countries that have suffered from this "Dutch Decease" are Mexico and especially Venezuela, countries that have become poorer after discovering rich petroleum banks.
This is a very attractive argument and we have shown examples, which support this theory. The truth is, that is, when we analyse all the countries in the world at the same time (instead of just looking at Mexico and Venezuela) we will realise that there is no relationship between the wealth of having natural resources and economic growth (on the other side of the argument we will find examples given that the most richest African countries are South Africa and Botswana, two rich countries in natural resources, specifically in gold and diamonds). So, it is not true that to have natural resources would be good, but neither can be said that it could be necessarily bad.
The usage of natural resources, obviously, is a necessity if you want to gain economic growth. And, if one doesn't have them, these can be obtained by other methods. The most logical and normal way of doing it is to do it by international trading, and not through political submission. And even more, to belong to a small country is favourable because it is an incentive to the government and all economic agents to compete and improve, because the alternate protectionism is not an option. The problems that nowadays the Spanish government face today over the very famous "artilleros" created during the alienated Spain from the Franco era, a Catalonian state would have never have had it. A Catalonian state, logically, would be one that is open to trading with all the countries of the world (including Spain).
A third argument against the economic viability of Catalonia is this: "Isn't it enough to compete with Paris , London , New York or Hong Kong , that now you also want to compete with Madrid"? This statement is also totally wrong. Catalonian businesses are already competing with the ones in Spain; we may or may not be the same political unit. The interstate competition is as big as the international one. Who, does the reader think, the Costa Brava hotels compete with? They compete with the Italian hotels, the Moroccan hotels and the Greek hotels, but the biggest competition comes from Spanish hotels in the south of Spain (Costa del Sol) and even from hotels from the coast of Tarragona (Costa Dorada) which are in the same Catalonian state.
So, the independence of Catalonia would not bring a very substantial increase in competition to the one we already face. And if, there was an increase, it would be very favourable, as an economist and as a user, we should always applaud any new competition due to its tendency to bring better quality and lower prices on products and services.
Continuing the same theme, another argument against the independence is that "to leave Spain would be suicidal because Spain is our biggest market for the Catalonian businesses". But the question is: Why? Why would the Spanish people buy our own cava and spend their summer holidays in the Costa Brava? Because they love us like good compatriots that they are? Or maybe because given the price and quality of our product that is the best they can do? Clearly the true answer is this last one. So if independence does not affect the price and quality we offer now, then the Catalonian markets would not lose.
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| Catalonia, still an autonomous province, but with an unrestrained striving after independence |
It's a fact that the biggest international market is your neighbouring country. The biggest market for Mexico is the United States of America. The biggest market for Taiwan is China and the biggest market for France is Germany. Does the reader think that in reality that this then is a favourable argument for Mexico to be the 51st state of the United States of America ?
There are some people that claim "the dissolution of countries at the present time, is against the current trend in a time when Europe is nearing a one common currency, a one fiscal system, a one military unit and a one political unit. To speak about separatism and independence at the end of the 20th century is old-fashioned and it is out of tone". I think that this quote is not acceptable for several reasons. First, it is not true that there is a trend at the end of the 20th century to create a great super government like the European one. In fact, in 1946 there were 74 countries in the world and in 1995 there were 192. So, if there is a trend in the world, it is not the reduction of the number of countries but it is exactly the opposite, therefore, the evidence on which this is based is simply false. Secondly, the theory is based on the presumption that one political and one economic unit are beneficial (and, to go against the current trend is bad). Personally, I have enormous doubts about the wishful European project, based on the creation of one bureaucratic superstructure that will end up sinking all European economies. And thirdly, it is not necessary to venture into economic cooperation with the rest of the European countries from Spain. It can be perfectly done from Catalonia .
Finally, the most feared argument: "to obtain the independence, we need a war and this would be more costly than any other economic benefit that you could get out of it; can't you see what happened in Bosnia with the disintegration of the old Yugoslavia"? This is half true and half false. It's true that the independence is not wanted if the price we have to pay to obtain it is a war. But what is not true is, that the only way of obtaining independence would be through war. Historically there have been two ways about drawing borders: war and monarchy marriages. This last one has not fully disappeared yet, but monarchy marriage is not used together with a political goal. The war, on the contrary, is still being used. But we find ourselves in the 21st century and we should need to have faith in freedom and a civilised democracy. Plus, the history of the last 20th century can bring some optimism in giving us many examples of countries like Slovakia, Estonia, Leetonia, Lithuania and many more old soviet republics that have achieved the independence in a very peaceful way.
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| Economic progress is gained by a creative population willing to work, a legal system that guarantees investors property rights, incentives to companies to innovate and to adopt new technology. An educational system which helps the population to be more productive and a good government who encourages internal and external trading and never sinks a productive economy with excessive taxes, with a fair bureaucracy and intolerable corruption and maintains a fiscal and monetary stability. From this point of view, the independence would not be a positive one if, a supposed government and Catalonian institutions, would not demonstrate their capability to fulfill the above points or if these could actually be worse than the ones from a Spanish government. Today we do not know how a Catalonian government would do it. What we know for certain is that the way it has been done previously and how the Spanish government is currently doing it. And the truth is that the cards dealt are not in favour of the Spanish people. |
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| Recent history shows us that the independence of Catalonia is more and more viable every day. Some recent studies show that the increase of international trading is linked with economic viability of new countries. The argument is that international trading is a good substitute to a political union as an enlarging tool from the markets and as the international markets keep growing, is less necessary to have a large country to be able to sell the products in a way that when the international trading increases, so to the independent tendencies. In an article previously written at Harvard University, professors Alesina and Wackier have demonstrated that in the 20th century recent history these tendencies are confirmed, which means that, not only the independence of Catalonia is possible but is positively possible. |
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| Montserrat, a monastic extraterritorial enclave beneath Catalonia. It is the Catalonian spiritual centre, and during the dictatorship of gen. Franco, only in Monserrat Catalan was used as the official administrative language. |
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| With what I have written, I have tried to leave aside the nationalism and patriotism to exclusively focus in the economic viability of a Catalonian state. I am not saying that the independence would be a wish come true (this would be a different topic) or that there are non-economic arguments that need to be looked up when we ask for it. What I am definitely saying is that there should not be any doubts about the independence being completely achievable from an economic point of view. |
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And this is true even when we take into account the financial crisis that some (not all) of the countries have been through recently. |
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An important economic argument that needs to be used when you weigh the costs and benefits of independence, which is the fiscal deficit. The recent study from "L'Institut d'Estudis Autonomics" estimates that the Catalonian fiscal deficit in respect to Spain during the 90's has been approximately 900,000 million pesetas (even though the current tendency has decreased, the amount continues to be spectacular). |
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| What does this mean? Well, the Catalonians pay certain taxes to Madrid. From these taxes, a quantity comes back to Catalonia for public expenses, social benefits, etc. Another quantity, however, stays in Madrid and never comes back. This is the Catalonian fiscal deficit, and all these moneys add up to around 900,000 million pesetas during the 90's. |
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| To understand how much 900,000 million pesetas are, divide this amount by a population of 6 million and the total would be 150,000 pesetas per person. This means that a typical Catalonian family of 4 (father, mother and 2 children) pay every year 600,000 pesetas to Madrid that never comes back. Can the readers please ask themselves what would they do with 600,000 pesetas extra every year? : Go to Disney World (the one in Florida, not the one in Paris) with the whole family every summer? |
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| Buy a bigger house (600,000 pesetas every year are 50,000 pesetas every month that can be used to ask for a loan for a bigger and more luxurious property)? Or, buy a car worth 1.2 million pesetas every two years? Or, buy a BMW every five years? A lot of things can be done with 600,000 pesetas every year, can't they? Well, forget it, because this money is not coming back to Catalonia, and this is a very important economical cost. |
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| The main benefit is this sham, they tell us, is the interregional solidarity. But one thing is solidarity, and this thing is, that they steal your wallet out of your pocket. |
Sue Stirling: Now let us turn to the English question...
Public opinion towards the Union is changing most dramatically in England
The Independent
Tuesday, 1 May 2007
Today marks the tercentenary of the Act of Union between England and Scotland, and rather than celebrate, it looks like a marriage heading for the divorce courts. This has triggered an intense debate about the Union's survival prospects. Incredibly, though, such debate has focused almost exclusively on developments north of the border. Little account has been taken of what people living in England - who make up 85 per cent of the Union - think.
You might say that there is no English SNP riding high in the polls, and that English nationalism lacks the political dimension that exists in Scotland. Besides, the English are relaxed about Scotland's propensity to reflect on whether she should stay or go.
There is truth in these claims, but they overlook a number of important points. Most significantly, perhaps, is to recognise that public opinion towards the Union is changing most dramatically in England. While Scottish support for the SNP may be up in the election, support for independence has barely altered in 20 years. In England, however, support for an English Parliament has shot up, and some polls even suggest there is now a majority in favour of the English going it alone. Add to this the growing tendency for the English to define themselves as "English, not British", up from 30 per cent in 1992 to 40 per cent in 2005, and you begin to get a sense of a stirring restlessness within England.
These polls may exaggerate the true feeling of opinion, or misrepresent support for particular policies, but they at least give a sense of the direction of travel. And there are a number of reasons to believe that English indifference to the Scots - and the Union - will continue to be transformed into frustration or even antipathy.
Firstly, there are the unaddressed devolution anomalies that are fuelling a sense of injustice among the English. Scottish MPs continue to vote on laws that apply only to England. The English taxpayer - via the Barnett Formula - continues to subsidise Scotland.
Secondly, the perception of such injustices will grow in prominence if a Scot becomes prime minister, and especially so if, as many polls predict, his majority in England falls further. Under such conditions, Gordon Brown would increasingly rely on Scottish (and Welsh) MPs to pass bills. Think also of the reaction in England if, under a hung parliament, Gordon Brown struck a deal with Ming Campbell. There would be cries of rule by the Scottish Raj.
Thirdly, an SNP-led coalition in Scotland is likely to create constitutional commotion, pressing for new powers and challenging Westminster's authority. Alex Salmond knows full well that in picking fights with Westminster, over Trident and nuclear power stations, for instance, he will fan the flames of English nationalism. Under such circumstances it might end up being the English who determine the fate of the Union. Devolution will rightly be regarded as one of the great triumphs of the Blair years, but unless the English Question is addressed all this good work may come undone.
So what needs to happen? Perhaps the simplest solution is "English votes on English laws", which would bar Scottish MPs from voting on English matters. Simple but fundamentally unworkable, as William Gladstone discovered when wrestling with the same idea over Irish Home Rule. It would create a constitutional crisis greater than the West Lothian Question itself, since it raises the prospect of a UK government being unable to govern England, its largest constituent part. For this reason it has been rejected as a viable policy solution.
The problem with the West Lothian Question is that it is the wrong question. The real question that needs addressing is how can we improve the way England is governed? An English Parliament is not the answer but restarting the devolution process is. The real English curse is not the presence of Scottish MPs in Westminster but the fact that England is so overcentralised. Addressing this English question would see a much greater devolution to local people. If Brown is the pluralist he claims to be then he must prove it here.
The Barnett formula needs to be replaced with a fairer funding system. This could be linked to giving Scotland greater fiscal autonomy.
If there is a lesson from the past 10 years then it is the need to think about the Union as-a-whole, rather than dealing with the nations in isolation. To deal with this Brown should establish a UK-wide constitutional convention that looks at the needs of the constituent parts of the UK, and addressing the grievances in England, in particular. If not, the future of the Union looks far from certain.
The writer is director of the Institute of Public Policy Research North
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| Why Scotland needs Independence? |
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| Does the Slovenian example incite also Scotland?
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| In 1999, after an absence of 292 years, Scotland regained her Parliament. It has very limited powers and responsibilities, with major policy (taxation, economy, transport, defence, foreign policy, broadcasting) still decided by Westminster - but it is a Parliament nonetheless. For nearly 300 years Scotland had been completely trapped in an unequal political Union with England and Wales (the United Kingdom) that eroded Scottish ideals, institutions and her economy. These web pages were originally created in the heat of the political battles of 1996/97, with the aim of raising awareness and the profile of the Scottish Issue - whether it was the negative effects of London Rule, or the silencing of Scottish dissent - these were all hard fought points that had to be made. That debate has moved on, underpinned by the bulwark of a new limited Parliament. |
We now live in a very different Scotland. Huge social and economic problems remain -but many are now open to democratic scrutiny like never before, and the old structures are creaking, dismantling and moving forward in slow progress. The press still largely controlled, owned and operated by non-Scottish interests remains openly hostile to 'independence' without actually knowing what defines 'independence' in this modern, digital, war-torn world. But few outside the self-obsessed media doubt that Independence is a process, not an event, and a process that has already begun.
Free Scotland from the old way of thinking. See Scotland from a different perspective. We can strike out and negotiate with the world ourselves. Whether it is encouraging direct transport links with the world (helping tourism and business competitiveness), replacing overweaning London bureaucracy with local control, or seeking technological solutions such as direct broadband links to North America and Europe, London doesn't have to be the centre of the universe, running our lives - all we need is to use our resources, our energy, our dedication and our vision.
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| Scotland is a rich country, with vast oil, gas, coal, water, timber and human reserves. Yet for years, no matter how Scotland voted, it was the majority in England that decided who ruled in Westminster and controlled these resources. For 18 years of Conservative (Tory) rule (1979-1997), unwanted policies were forced on Scotland, while London ignored Scottish demands for Self-Government.
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The General Election of May 1997 brought a change of London Government and a total wipeout of Tory MPs in Scotland. The New Labour Government held a referendum on 11th September 1997 in which 74% voted YES to reconvening the Scots Parliament, and 64% voted YES to give it limited tax-varying powers.
This new Labour Government (re-elected in 2001) however, is continuing with previous Conservative policies, and in many cases introducing ever more radical right-wing policies than the Tories would have dared -such as privatisation of the health service, education and air traffic control. Many of these policies, designed to win over former Conservative voters, are deeply unpopular in Scotland, and have led to a general rise in support for the pro-Independence parties (the Scottish National Party, the Scottish Socialist Party and the Scottish Green Party). Opinion polls currently suggest that Labour and the SNP are neck and neck in support for the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections in 2003.
Scotland has taken the first steps to regaining her self-confidence providing for the first time ever a democratically elected and accountable system of government. The Scottish Parliament will initially only be responsible for home affairs and will be subject to Westminster, however, it is expected that as it grows in confidence and ability it will seek more and more areas of responsibility. Although not perfect, Scotland now has a focal point for its democratic intellect. A new form of consensus politics is hoped for, however it should be remembered that only Independence can deliver a proportionally elected sovereign Scottish Parliament and guarantee that any future Parliament will not be abolished by Westminster.
The Scottish National Party, the Scottish Socialist Alliance and the Scottish Green Party are three separate political parties all campaigning for Scottish Independence.
Carantha:
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| In 2007 and in January of 2008, Slovenia received more than its fair share of attacks and denigrations from London-based Masonic media sources, like the Financial Times, The Times, The Economist... In February the attacks suddenly stopped. What happened? ? We noticed that many letters from readers appeared in popular Scottish papers, like The Herald (Glasgow) and the Scotsman (Edinburgh), asking the straight question: why did Slovenia, with its 2 m people, get its independence and why not Scotland, which has twice as many inhabitants? From then on, the attacks from the London press on Slovenia somewhat diminished. |
| Edinburgh, Tue Jan 9, 2007 |
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| The First Minister, Jack McConnell, and the Scottish Executive are proud of their achievement of bringing in flagship legislation on curbing smoking in public places, a full year before similar legislation is enacted in Westminster. Compare this with Slovenia. In a similar timescale, Slovenia has joined NATO and become a full member of the European Union. At the start of this month, it transitioned its currency to the euro, and in the first half of 2008 it will hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union, being the first of the "new accession states" to do so. |
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| Slovenia may not be "the best small country in the world", but it must be in the running for being "the most aspirational small country in Europe". |
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| MICHAEL N CROSBY, Muiravonside, by Linlithgow, West Lothian |
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 European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages
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| Basque used for the first time at the EU Council of Ministers |
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| Territory with Basque dialects |
Basque was used for the first time on Friday in the Council of Ministers of the European Union, the EU’s chief decision-making body. Mrs Miren Azkarate, Basque Minister for Culture and government spokeswoman, used Basque at the Council of Ministers meeting on Education, Culture and Youth. Speaking to the press she called for official recognition of Basque at the EU level saying it would bring Basques “closer to Europe.”
The step forward in normalizing the presence of Basque, an official language in the Spanish state, at the centre of the EU, reminded Mrs Azkarate that what should be normal has become news. She said: "Official European languages such as Basque, Catalan or Galician have not been recognized in official relations with the central agencies of the EU and were still without a space worthy for them."
Azkarate argued that, "it is not logical that official languages in different areas of the territory of the European Union have limited recognition by the central agencies of the EU. That is not good either for languages, that is for the general public that we speak of, or the EU itself to be so distanced from that public. Rather, recognition and official usage would take us further.”
Before entering into the meeting, Azkarate made it clear that the key to the official recognition of Basque, Catalan and Galician is with the Spanish State. "The condition for Basque, Catalan and Galician to be recognized as official in the European Union is that the Kingdom of Spain does its homework and recognizes all three languages as official languages in Spain and also formally requests such recognition in Europe. If Spain does this, Basque, Catalan and Galician will be at the same level as all the other languages of Europe."
For Basque to be used at EU Council meetings, the intervention must be announced in advance and the translation given to the translators for its to be translated into the official languages of the EU. Currently, plans are being made for Welsh to have this same provision.
To date Basque usage at the EU level is limited to the following areas:
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Written communications from citizens and the institutions and organs of the EU, these letters are translated into an official language, processed in that language, with the answer translated into Basque; |
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Speeches in Basque at the Committee of the Regions (CoR) meetings; |
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Basque Autonomous Community legislation adopted by the co-decision procedure by the European Parliament (EP) and the Council |
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Translation of some general EU documentation into Basque. |
Miren Azkarate pointed out that, “Basque, Catalan and Galician have restricted use in the central institutions of the Spanish State, they cannot be used in Courts and the central institutions are monolingual Castilian. We have much to gain in Europe, but we still have a lot to do with these central (Spanish) institutions".
The Minister for Culture continued that, "there is still not an adequate presence of the Basque Country in decision making in the European Union institutions ….an adequate presence of the Basque Country in the EU framework is a prerequisite for the future of our society. On this matter, too, the problem and its solution are not in Madrid and Brussels. Let it be clear that the Basque Country will not relent until we have this presence."
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| The involvement of the Basque, Catalan, and Galician autonomous governments in the EU decision-making process is one of the claims that have been requested since the accession of Spain to the European Union. (Davyth Hicks, Eurolang 2007) |
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| France fails to implement UN recommendations on 'regional' languages |
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| European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages |
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| EBLUL France are at the UN in Geneva this week calling for the implementation of its 2001 Report on ‘regional’ language rights in France to the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Six years later and France has failed to implement any of the Report, despite UN recommendations to do so. |
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| In November 2001, EBLUL and the NGO “Pour Que Vivent Nos Langues” (Promoting our Languages) submitted a short report. The UN Committee made observations which among others asked France to; acknowledge minority groups and their right to exist; ratify the Council of Europe’s Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities (FCNM) and Charter on Regional or Minority languages (ECRML); step up its efforts to preserve regional and minority languages and cultures; and to take steps to improve the teaching of these languages. |
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| It also asked the French state to circulate these observations widely at all levels of state and to involve non-governmental organisations in the preparation of its third periodic report. |
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| Writing in response, and in a new Report, EBLUL-France President Tangi Louarn said: “At present, six years later, it is clear that very few of these observations have been applied: the state has not issued any information about its services concerning the Committee’s observations; the state has not ratified the ECRML and is one of the three last states (out of 47) within the Council of Europe with Turkey and the Principality of Andorra (whose co-prince is French head of state) not to have signed the FCNM. |
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| “The state still does not recognise any minority group or people on its territory. The dogma of the ‘unity’ of the French people (as the constitutional court says) still prevails, and with a restrictive interpretation. |
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| “The use of these languages is ostracised in particular in education and the media in increasingly virulent forms, and contrary to the demands by the populations involved which intensify as they face the increasing risk of the complete disappearance of their languages and cultures. |
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| “To summarise, the treatment of our 2001 report reflects the disregard shown by the French state both for the populations concerned and international organisations such as the UN. In addition, this can be supported with specific examples of discrimination and the negation of rights suffered by the populations concerned (annexed to our report), and the keenness with which the state opposes any action which these populations and their elected representatives attempt to take in order to defend their languages and cultures and to guarantee their survival and development.” |
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| The Basque organisation Behatokia has also submitted a report to the Committee. Underlining the effects of French state policy against ‘regional’ languages it notes that Basque has lost 15,000 speakers over the last ten years, added to both a decline in Basque-French bilinguals and bilingualism generally. |
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| The visit to the UN comes at the same time as the UN’s announcement that 2008 will be the Year of Languages. (Davyth Hicks, Eurolang 2007) |
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| EBLUL France 2007 Report (En) |
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/info-ngos/EBLUL.pdf
EBLUL France 2007 Rapport (Fr)
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/info-ngos/EBLUL_fr.pdf
Behatokia Report on Basque
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/docs/cescrwg38/basque_en.pdf
UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cescr/cescrwg38.htm
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| Is Quebec setting a vital example for Basques?
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 a process for others
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| The Quebec issue made us pay attention to an article published in the daily ABC (Madrid). It dealt with the question of Basques. The article said that PM Zapatero is preparing an institutional declaration as to open negotiations with ETA, the Basque movement of liberation. The article also mentioned among other things, that Quebec is serving as a role model for Spain… At this occasion, we have to emphasise again what every Slovenian citizen knows: The Basques were the first to recognize the independence of Slovenia! |
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| The issue, it is true, does not only concern Basques, Slovenians, Quebecers… It is about a social and political process, which, for decades, takes its course also in the Western world. The ancient model of a centralistic state, as introduced by Napoleon and freemasonry, is already outdated. The modern economical, social and political development claims a decentralization of decision-making. This tendency already led to the decay of centralistic state formations in communist Eastern Europe. There, the potent Soviet Union, which was federal in name only, decayed. The same fate came upon Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. |
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| A similar process of democratic decentralization is taking place in the western world. The centralistic forces, which consist of various national and nationalistic as well as liberal parties, are trying to prevent decentralization and blindly seek to preserve the "status quo". In reality, it has nothing to do with "national unity", as it is declared. It is all about enormous economic benefits profited by circles in position of central authority, exploiting a wide range of resources. It is quite natural, that the exploited structures on the periphery offer more and more resistance. If the peripheral structures formed ethnic communities, then the centralistic state is in danger to be disintegrated, if it is not able to transform into a democratic federal state. We think about modern Germany in contrast to centralistic France, Spain, or Italy… |
"Tiny" Slovenia as an independent nation willy-nilly serves as an example for several ethnic communities all over the world. Therefore, centralistic forces with their press agencies are trying to demonize it before the world public (Gypsy problem, xenophobia of Slovenians…). In their aims, they lean on the "liberal" (Yugoslav post-communist) structures, which remained preserved in the same Slovenia. But they are wrong, irrespectively of Slovenia, they will not stop the world decentralization process.
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Quebecers are a nation within Canada
The flag of Quebec (officially adopted on March 9, 1950) on Parliament Hill is a modern version of the old French-Canadian flag known as the Fleurdelyse. The white cross on a blue field recalls an ancient French military banner, and the four (4) fleur-de-lys (flowers) are symbolic of France. Historically Quebec has been a separate entity from the rest of Canada. It began as a colony of France.
Ottawa, Canada - On November 22, 2006, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has won a parliamentary vote on his motion recognizing the Quebecers as a nation within "a united Canada." The resolution was approved by a vote of 266 - 16 (out of 282) by the Parliament of Canada. Several Liberals voted against the motion. Outside of the House of Commons the resolution was opposed by those, who do not believe in an ethnic nationalism. In our opinion, the new status of Quebec does not diminish the stability of Canada. In the contrary, a content Quebecois in its new status consolidates the existing Canada. For example, the modern Bavaria is defined as a Freistaat (Republic) within Germany, a federal republic with strong local self-government. The status of Bavaria is not destroying Germany whatsoever. - The Carantha editorial staff is congratulating Quebec on its new status within Canada!
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| Les régions d'Europe narguent leurs Etats
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| Liberation |
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| An article in the French daily Liberation (Paris), covering the European provinces and small nations, caught our attention. The article highlights the problem, which the EU has not been able to resolve in a satisfactory way, or even has not addressed at all. It is about a problem, that also concerns independent Slovenia and its existence - Carantha Editorial Staff. |
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Occitania
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Carantania
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Wales
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Brittany
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Saxon
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Friesland
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Corsica
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Montenegro
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| it is very frustrating to see small Slovenia (Carantania) having a seat in the European Council, but not them… |
| Paris, jeudi 29 décembre 2005 |
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| UE |
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| Plus d'autonomie, plus de pouvoirs… La tentantion de jouer la carte de Bruxelles contre l'Etat-nation se ne développe dans de nombreux pays membres |
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| par Marc Semo |
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| Les Bruxellois l'avaient de longue date surnommé «le Château». Installé en face du Parlement européen, l'ex-siège de l'institut Pasteur a été racheté il y a trois ans par les Bavarois pour en faire la représentation de «l'Etat libre de Bavière». L'intitulé est pompeux mais cette région allemande, la seule avec la Saxe et la Thuringe à porter officiellement le titre de «Freistaat», ne dispose, dans les faits, de guère plus de pouvoir que les autres Länder, dont l'autonomie reste essentiellement limitée à la justice, la police, l'éducation et l'environnement. Mais une réforme pour «clarifier» les compétences des Länder sera l'une des priorités du nouveau gouvernement CDU-SPD d'Angela Merkel.
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| Là, il s'agit plutôt de resserrer les boulons d'autant que l'article 31 de la Constitution précise que «le droit fédéral casse le droit du Land». A l'opposé, pour satisfaire son alliée, la très xénophobe Ligue du Nord, le Premier ministre italien Silvio Berlusconi a lancé une profonde réforme de la Constitution afin de transformer la péninsule en un Etat fédéral. Les vingt régions actuelles auront un pouvoir législatif exclusif en matière de santé, d'éducation et de police locale. En contrepoint, les pouvoirs du Premier ministre seront renforcés. Approuvée en novembre par les Chambres malgré l'opposition de la gauche, qui la juge «dangereuse pour les équilibres fondant la démocratie italienne», cette réforme sera soumise à un référendum au printemps. |
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| Partout ou presque dans l'Union européenne, la décentralisation et les pouvoirs des régions sont plus que jamais à l'ordre du jour. La France jacobine reste la plus prudente et les compétences des départements, héritage de la Révolution, restent de fait aussi larges que celles des régions. Ailleurs, il s'agit le plus souvent de donner aux régions de plus larges compétences sous la pression des opinions publiques, notamment dans les zones les plus riches. Ainsi en Espagne, où le débat est devenu incandescent avec le projet de «statut» élaboré par la Catalogne (lire ci-contre), qui exige d'être pleinement reconnue comme nation. Avec ses 17 «communautés autonomes» gérant 40 % des dépenses publiques et des compétences encore plus étendues pour les régions dites «historiques» (Catalogne, Pays basque, Galice), l'Espagne est pourtant le pays le plus décentralisé de l'UE. Le Royaume-Uni la suit de près avec la devolution lancée par Tony Blair en 1997. Depuis, le pays de Galles a sa propre Assemblée. L'Ecosse dispose d'un Parlement, héritier de celui existant en 1707 lors de l'unification, et d'un véritable exécutif dirigé par un Premier ministre responsable devant les 129 députés qui peuvent décider de lois ou de règlements locaux. Leurs pouvoirs restent néanmoins très limités en matière fiscale. L'Irlande du Nord a sa propre Assemblée et un gouvernement semi-autonome. C'est, paradoxalement, l'Angleterre elle-même qui se trouve maintenant en pleine crise identitaire car démunie de toute institution régionale spécifique. |
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| L'UE reconnaît par ailleurs largement le rôle des régions rassemblées dans un comité à caractère consultatif créé par le traité de Maastricht en 1994 afin de les associer à la construction européenne. Tous ces facteurs ont contribué à l'affirmation d'identités régionales qui sont souvent autant de micronationalismes. Et, derrière une rhétorique aux accents populistes évidente dans la Ligue du Nord italienne contre «la bureaucratie bruxelloise», s'affirme une volonté de jouer l'Europe et la solidarité interrégionale contre l'Etat-nation. Sur ce plan, l'ex-Europe de l'Est peut leur servir d'encouragement. Le juriste Nicolas Levrat (voir l'article) souligne ainsi que «6 des 10 nouveaux pays ayant adhéré en 2004 n'étaient pas des Etats il y a encore quinze ans». |
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| Highlights in colour, flags and picture were done by Carantha. The comment below reflects our standpoint towards the centralistic forces behind Brussels' structures, which in view of their great-national expansionism are trying to destroy Slovenia, too. |
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| Mt. Triglav (2864 m) in the Julian Alps is the symbol of modern Slovenia. Is it threatened to be demolished by the European oligarchy of Brussels and its well-paid servants? - Never!
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| Will Slovenia be the European whipping boy? |
| In Europe, the question of the linguistic and ethnical groups is quite complex, but not unsolvable. First of all, the problem is Brussels' technocrats. Evidently, their interest lies above all in high salaries and not so much in solving problems, which they do not understand. We have noticed this, when José Manuel Barroso, the President of the European Commission, visited Slovenia in March 2006. He had no knowledge of Slovenian culture and spoke only about the "Western Balkans". |
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| Nevertheless, the above-mentioned question does not only concern the technocrats but also other facts. For example, recently the EU Parliament rejected a proposal, in the sense of which the deputies of the Spanish provinces Catalonia, Basques and Galicia, could speak in their native languages during parliament session. This was decided in spite of the fact, that the Spanish government was willing to carry the cost of translation. It seems that the story about the "non-historical" nation in the ancient Austrian Monarchy repeats itself. Not only that, recently several centres of federal States, like Moscow (Soviet Union), Prague (Czechoslovakia), Belgrade (Yugoslavia)… with their centralism and imposing of a central official or federal language (Russia, Czech, Serbian…) brought the federal states to collapse. Will the EU experience the same fate? |
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| It seems, that Slovenia, a small nation but an independent State and member of EU and UN, stands as an example reference point for many ethnical groups in Europe. At the same time, it is the whipping boy for different centralistic and expansionistic forces, which from the underground are battling for supremacy over the continent. Therefore, from these forces Slovenia continuously experiences attacks pointed at its national, historical and cultural integrity. |
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| Some examples: the distortion of the Slovenian historical and political identity, which is still carried out by the ex-Yugoslav apparatus at the Lublana University; in Carinthia (Austria), the outrage of the Governor Jörg Haider towards German Slovenian place-name signs in the bilingual area (the governor could only be an exponent of the anti-Slave underground lobby); the attempt of a total sell-out of Slovenian banks, as to demolish the national financial structure, as was recently demonstrated with the proposed sale of the Nova Lublanska banka; the planned establishment of »supernational« regions in the sense of Brussels' »projects«, which should chop the Slovenian national territory into pieces... |
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| Evidently, the EU »without frontiers« is not able to provide proper measures which will ensure the life and integrity of Slovenians. On the contrary, their national existence is even more threatened by centralistic and expansionistic pressure groups. This is also the case of several small nations, national provinces and ethnical groups in other parts of Europe. It is not surprising that the mistrust toward the EU is growing. It associates to that of the French and the Dutch, who, at the time of the referendum, rejected the proposed European constitution. |
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«La région qui deviendrait Etat sortirait de l'UE»
An article published by the French daily Liberation (Paris) concerning European provinces (regions). These are potential states, which make it evident, why Slovenia represents »a problem« for the European Union.
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Catalonia
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Basque province
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Bavaria
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Flanders
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Scotland
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Paris, jeudi 29 décembre 2005
Carantha's observation:
UE. Nicolas Levrat, professeur de droit, analyse les velléités catalanes et la construction européenne:
par Nathalie Dubois
Nicolas Levrat, professeur de droit à l'Institut européen de l'université de Genève, a publié en 2005 un ouvrage sur l'Europe et ses collectivités territoriales. Il replace le phénomène autonomiste catalan dans le cadre européen.
Que signifie la revendication de la Catalogne d'être reconnue comme un «nation»?
Comme les Basques, les Ecossais qui disposent de leur propre Parlement depuis 1999, grâce à la devolution décidée par Tony Blair ou, en partie, les Flamands de Belgique, les Catalans se considèrent comme une nation sans Etat. Etre reconnu comme une nation est le prélude au droit d'avoir un Etat. Ce n'est pas innocent. Il suffit de voir, dans les Balkans, comment la Croatie et la Slovénie se sont construit une espèce d'identité nationale, afin de se rattacher à l'Europe alors que la Serbie de Milosevic n'en voulait pas.
Cette démarche d'émancipation ne se réduit-elle pas à une histoire de gros sous?
En général, ce sont plutôt les régions riches qui revendiquent le droit à plus d'autonomie. Les raisons invoquées, qu'elles soient d'ordre culturel, linguistique ou religieux, camouflent souvent le sentiment de trop contribuer à l'effort de cohésion nationale. Mais je ne pense pas que ce soit l'argument déterminant en Catalogne, comme c'est le cas, en Italie, pour la Ligue du Nord, qui n'a jamais caché la volonté que la «Padanie» (nord de l'Italie) paie moins pour le Mezzogiorno (sud du pays). Il y a historiquement une longue exigence de la Catalogne à être reconnue comme entité propre sur la scène non seulement espagnole, mais aussi européenne. Ces vingt dernières années, le leader nationaliste Jordi Pujol a joué la carte de l'Europe pour faire avancer la cause catalane. Son successeur socialiste Pasqual Maragall a plutôt une stratégie de cavalier seul, interne à l'Espagne. La Catalogne ne veut pas être à la traîne du Pays basque, où Juan José Ibarretxe a soumis, il y a un an, son plan de «libre association» à l'Espagne (rejeté à une écrasante majorité des députés espagnols, ndlr)
La construction européene accroît-elle- ces phénomènes centrifuges?
Le lien Europe-régionalisme est complexe et il agit dans deux sens contradictoires. On a ainsi beaucoup écrit que la politique régionale de l'UE contribue à l'émergence des revendications politiques dans les régions. Mais l'argument ne me convainc pas, car les fonds structurels vont prioritairement aux régions pauvres. Or celles qui veulent s'émanciper sont riches. L'Union européenne a plutôt un rôle modérateur, car, au sein de ce cadre institutionnel, la question de la souveraineté, au sens classique du terme, se pose moins. Ce que veulent les régions est finalement moins l'indépendance que le droit de peser dans les choix politiques.
Et de l'autre côté?
Les phénomènes de mondialisation, d'unification européenne et de montée de l'individualisme concourent, tous, à accroître la demande d'identification à des structures perçues comme plus proches du citoyen et plus efficaces. Et, surtout, le dernier élargissement de l'Union a provoqué une grande frustration des régions les plus fortes. On n'a pas assez souligné que six des dix pays qui ont adhéré en mai 2004 n'étaient pas des Etats il y a quinze ans: la Slovénie, la République tchèque, la Slovaquie et les trois Etats baltes. Pour la Catalogne, le Pays basque ou la Bavière qui a un PIB peut-être équivalent à l'ensemble des pays qui sont rentrés!, il est très frustrant de voir la petite Slovénie siéger au Conseil européen, et pas eux. Ce n'est pas un hasard si les Basques ou les Catalans veulent plus aujourd'hui.
Et l'idée d'une «Europe des régions»?
Avec l'élargissement à Vingt-Cinq, elle ne serait pas gérable: cela signifierait 300 entités autour de la table. Cela dit, le traité de Maastricht a marqué une reconnaissance de la légitimité des régions en autorisant les Etats membres à envoyer des dirigeants régionaux siéger au Conseil des ministres. Les Etats fédéraux comme l'Allemagne, la Belgique et l'Autriche le font. L'Espagne, elle, ne pourra pas résister éternellement.
Peut-on voir apparaître de nouveaux Etats au sein de l'UE?
En Espagne, la stratégie du Premier ministre Zapatero est de faire diminuer la pression, à coups de concessions, dans un cadre institutionnel négocié. Notez que, même au Pays basque, le plan Ibarretxe, tout en visant la rupture avec Madrid, prévoit la «libre association» avec l'Etat espagnol. En Belgique, la situation reste très instable. Selon un récent sondage, un peu plus de 51 % des Flamands souhaitent la fin de la Belgique. Il y a néanmoins un problème juridique : la région qui se séparerait de l'Etat auquel elle appartient sortirait aussi de l'UE et devrait donc s'y faire réadmettre, à l'unanimité. C'est un argument que les francophones n'ont pas manqué de faire valoir au gouvernement flamand en 2002 quand il songeait à sortir de la Belgique! (highlights in colour and pictures done by Carantha).
Carantha's observation
| The publication of this article gives us an opportunity to present the example of Slovenia, as to show, how the negligence of rights of minor nations, too, can change the political scene of Europe. |
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| … il est très frustrant de voir la petite Slovénie siéger au Conseil européen, et pas eux |
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(…it is very frustrating to see small Slovenia sitting at the European Council, but not them)
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| A small country in a European context |
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| Slovenia, a historical retrospective |
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| At the end of the WW1, the Austrian Monarchy could have been saved, if it would have been transformed into a confederation of four states. One of them should have united the Southern Slav nations including Slovenia. Anyway, because of the geographical position of the Slovenian territory, the representatives of the Austrian German speaking provinces rejected such a political proposal, because they did not want to "lose the corridors leading to the Adriatic Sea". At the end they were constrained to accept the proposal, as time was running out. In his last audience with Emperor Carl, the Slovenian Deputy Minister Dr. Korošec said: "Your Majesty, it is too late!" The Monarchy collapsed! |
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| Slovenians entered then into a new political formation called Yugoslavia. However, in this state, they also had to fight for their national and political rights. After the WW2 Yugoslavia became a Communist country and the Belgrade centralism and great-Serbian expansionism became unsupportable. Therefore, in 1990 Slovenians in a referendum voted for independence, which was declared in 1991. Yugoslavia disintegrated! |
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| Independent Slovenia was soon recognized by several states except by the member states of the European Union. Finally, under pressure of Germany, Slovenia received full recognition at the beginning of 1992. Why such hesitation? Following the example of little Slovenia, several provinces - nations (regions) in Europe also could have claimed independence. The prevision that a region, which becomes an independent state, will function outside of the European Union means a decay of the European confederation. |
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| In fact, this problem does not concern Slovenia itself. The European Union and its Brussels' technocrats must resolve it. Anyway, it is evident that the concept of the "Europe des régions" does not conform to the circles (lobby), which stay in the background of the technocrats. Their idea is a Europe of great nations with a few centres of economical and financial power like London, Paris, Madrid, Rome and Vienna or Prague… The lobby could easily control large centres of future political and financial power, in distinction from the regional ones. This is already happening! Thus, the realisation of the conception of a "Europe des régions" demolishes the conceived new European empire, which is hidden behind the idea of a "free and democratic" European Community. |
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| Slovenia figures as a reference point to many ethnical provinces, which claim to be recognized as nations and want to be represented as Member States in the European Council. Therefore, solely because of its existence it threatens the European imperialistic conception of great nations. It seems, that for a probably non-realisation of this conception, Slovenia has been appointed as a scapegoat. Consequently, its existence is continuously in jeopardy, either by the chicaneries of Jörg Haider, the governor of nearby Carinthia (Austrian province), or by the penetrations and activity of the Serbian secret service, carried out on Slovenian territory, and so forth. Recently, the exponents of this service (in Helsinki Monitor) are accusing it of war crimes, which should have been committed during the 10-day war for independence (1991)! |
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| Moreover, Slovenia should be destroyed through founding of new European regions(!), which will be abundantly financed by Brussels. As it seems, the destruction plan foresees a split of the Slovenian territory into three units: the province of Littoral and Istria (under the protection of Italy), the province of the Slovenian part of Styria (associated with the Austrian Styria), and central Slovenia, i.e., the one-time Carniola (a future Serbian march). It is, of course, jeopardy in confront to the serious endeavours for a common Europe. Anyway, it could lead to a new surprise! By all means, after the fall the Austrian Monarchy and the decay of Yugoslavia, i.e., just on the non-resolved Slovenian question, the question rises, if the European Community will experience the same fate? |
