Manifesto, 20/12/2018

On December 20 2018 a Manifesto on the violence experienced on 1 October 2017 was signed by dozens of relevant organizations and groups.
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December 20 Manifesto

The undersigned of this manifesto - who represent organizations and groups that from different fields and perspectives react to the repression linked to the holding of the Referendum on October 1, 2017 and offer support to the victims of this repression - want to make public the following considerations:

1. We are all - be we members of the Government and activists who are imprisoned, exiled or confined, people who suffered police violence on October 1 in the electoral colleges, workers of the Generalitat and members of the polling stations in charge of the organization of the Referendum and, by extension, all those and those who in one way or another were affected by the repression linked to the events of October 1 - part of the same case and we are victims of the same anti-democratic offensive. And, despite the fact that each situation requires specific judicial, political and communication treatment, we believe that it is important to keep an overall perspective and not lose sight of the common cause.

2. When over a year aafte the many violations of civil and political rights linked to the October 1 call, the vast majority of complaints of one kind or another have yet to be tried. That is why we call on all citizens to lend their support to the affected people by heeding the calls for solidarity or in the way they may deem most appropriate. At the same time, we encourage people reporting violence against the police not to withdraw their allegations and to keep the judicial procedure up to the end.

3. Many of the complaints filed by citizens who suffered situations of police violence on October 1 of last year have been closed because they could not identify the responsible National Police and Civil Guard officers. There is a clear commitment on the part of the public institutions, both Catalan and state, to promote measures to prevent institutional violence. Specifically, we urge the identification of anti-riot police officers in a way easy to remember - as to both typography and numbering and size - and for this identification to be visible at least two places on the trunk, both on the front and on the back.

4. We appreciate the extraordinary solidarity received. In a very special way, we would like to thank the voluntary work of dozens of jurists from all over the country that have put themselves at the disposal of whistleblowers for the violence of October 1 and the other violations linked to the holding of the referendum.

5. We call for the meaning of the words not to be distorted or extracted and for special care to be taken in how and what messages are given about what is violence.

6. We call on public institutions - all of them - to make a firm commitment to the defence of the principles recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of the United Nations, signed by the Kingdom of Spain in 1977, which explicitly recognizes the Rights to freedom of expression, association, assembly, demonstration, political participation (including, in its first article, the right to self-determination of all peoples) and to a fair trial (a right that covers the entire legal-police procedure, from detention to the final release).

7. We, the undersigned organizations and groups, undertake to work for the restoration of the rights violated by the repression related to the 1 October referendum and to do so in a unified and coordinated manner.

Barcelona, ​​December 20 2018


Source: https://govern.cat/govern/docs/2018/12/20/16/41/df41cacd-c334-479c-80f7-d912dd67bfa8.pdf

See also communiqué: https://govern.cat/govern/docs/2019/01/25/12/02/b7c56359-d76a-4e88-8eab-2098427412b9.pdf