Eye Witness Account

This goes back to the day of the Great Barcelona Demonstration for Independence. Here's what someone who was present wrote as a letter to the editor of a foreign periodical.

"I happened to be in Barcelona that day and witnessed the event. It was truly impressive. One million people out there to counter the decision made by a seedy Madrid court -studded with Franco nosaltgics- against the Catalan Statute. The almost unanymous call of the people at the rally was indeed in favour of Catalan independence, which in Catalan is "Adéu Espanya" rather than "Adeu Espagne" as reflected in the piece on page 6. I think readers need more on what is going on in Catalonia and just why people there are fed up with Spain. Is a new European State brewing up in the Mediterranean?"

I think it's a fair account. Some Catalanista bias, yet not inflating the numbers like many Catalanistas do. As a reader of said periodical he demands more info, which is a good thing, especially when, as we understand by the expression "people there", this person is neither one of these "people" nor does he live "there". To not leave any space for doubt he datelines his letter Oxon.

However, his name sounded familiar. And indeed, after some research I was able to find out that he was at the time a prominent member of a political party and a leading member of an NGO (which he still is), both of which organisations had called for said demonstration.

The party's name is Reagrupament and the NGO is Comissió de la Dignitat. Here's the source that certifies their involvement.

By now you might have guessed who our eye witness is: Mr Toni Strubell. As usual, working for the national cause every which way he can, and no limits. Does anybody still wonder why this guy is my favourite punching bag?

Here's Mr Strubell's letter in full.