Although American school books like to teach that secession is a racist notion exclusive to ignorant rednecks of the southern-most United States, nothing could be further from the truth. Secession is a legitimate concept with appeal to those on all sides of the political spectrum. This is evident in Catalonia, where leftists are working to secede from the Spanish government that has dogged them for so long.
Spain’s central government and regional Catalan authorities are fighting over a referendum vote scheduled to take place on Sun, Oct. 1. The Spanish authorities claim that the vote is illegal while Catalans claim that their independence is more important than the edicts of the tone-deaf government operating out of Madrid.
“We do not accept this interference of the state, jumping over all existing co-ordination mechanisms,” said Joaquim Forn, the interior minister of Catalonia, according to a Financial Times report. He wants to let the people decide for themselves, but the regime stands in their way.
“It will not happen because this would mean liquidating the law,” Mariano Rajoy, Spanish prime minister, said on Saturday. He has been compared to infamous dictator Francisco Franco for how he has handled the situation with Catalonia.
The courts have already ruled the vote to be illegal, but Catalans are not accepting the judges have ordered. As Spain resists the will of the Catalans, they only legitimize their struggle as they demonstrate that the national government is unjust and restrictive. As Rajoy and his allies grow more weary trying to crush the resistance, they are forced to show their true colors.
Rajoy has even enacted a police state, nationalizing the police force using emergency powers, in an attempt to crush the secession attempt in Catalonia. Forn proclaimed that Catalan law enforcement “will not renounce exercising their functions in loyalty to the Catalan people” even under threats from Spanish forces.
Thousands of Catalan separatists rallied today in a public show of defiance against their Spanish rulers, showing that they will not be intimidated in the face of adversity. Like the patriots who founded the United States of America, these secessionists show an incredible amount of resolve. If the Spanish government is serious about denying them their right for self-determination, they better be ready for a war.
Would it be conservative to allow them to secede?
There’s a good case for it on conservative or libertarian grounds. Secession and decentralization are desirable as a general rule. The Catalans are very leftist, but that has the upside that Spain would be more conservative without them.
USA seceded from GB in 1776. National freedom is the basis for Liberty. Why would the Kurds or the Catalonians be deprived of their freedom by another nation? Self government is an inherent human right. All libertarians and Jeffersonian conservatives should support national emancipation of ANY nation in the world who wants it. A bit hypocritical that the first nation (USA) who claimed a “self-evident ” natural right to secede from GB would disagree with the freedom of the Catalonians or Kurds or Scots 235 years later. What is right for one is right for all!! Long live national liberty….