Article written and publshed at Vilaweb – January 29th, 2015.
‘Faces of independence’: Well-known figures from around the country explain why they want independence.
Josep Maria Llovet is professor of Research-ICREA in the BCLC Group, Liver Unit, IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic of Barcelona (Spain), Director of the HCC Research Program and Professor of Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York University (USA). He answers to the questions of the ‘Faces of independence’ series, in which well-known figures from around the country explain why they want independence and what an independent Catalonia might bring the world.
—Why are you in favour of independence?
—Catalonia is a nation without a State, quite an unusual situation in the current organization of the western world. Despite having had our own constitutions and laws for several centuries, we lost this organizational framework 300 years ago. In the last 100 years we have wanted to promote a modern pluri-national organization within Spain, one that actively respects all different nations. This effort has been especially obvious in the last 30 years, starting with the approval of the current constitution, where the Catalan Government has supported efforts for promoting the integration of Spanish State in international democratic bodies (i.e. European Union, etc…) and to enhance progress and modernity. Nonetheless, the Catalan rights, instead of being increasingly recognized and respected, have been reduced and marginalized.
Read the rest of the interview here.
Americans For Catalonia 