Call to Action: Dutch Pirates invite the international community to join Catalan political prisoner campaign

The following is a call to action from Dutch Pirates Rico Brouwer and Saskia Söller. PPI’s function is to facilitate cooperation between Pirates all over the world. We want you, our members as well as non members, to join the Netherlands in helping to make sure that the media in your country is aware of the trials of Catalan political activists and elected officials that are set to start in January 2019. Furthermore we encourage all Pirates to come up with ideas or take part in actions that will amplify what is about to happen.

The PPI board thanks our Dutch sisters and brothers for their initiative and would like to see more like it in the future.

~Bailey L.

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Dear Pirates,

This is a call to action for all European Pirates to report in our own countries on the trial proceedings of Catalan political prisoners. Trials will start in January 2019.

MSM and our politicians remain quiet? Let’s fix that for them.

(Juridical) background information (in English) was recorded in a presentation held in the Hague – Netherlands on November 9th 2018 and online here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFRKd_c5m20CHBuEvPs_ZMEmdT4D8VTmU

Please assess for yourself if you think these are political prisoners. And if so, if Pirates ought to stand by or take some Piraty action.

I propose our PPI connection to be the way to start create an international platform to air the trial proceedings throughout our member states, where MSM does not. Also we could petition our respective local governments to take a position on the Catalan claim that these are indeed political prisoners inside our EU.

Proposed action plan consists of two separate actions:

1. Setup a Pirate network (aka mailing list) through which to relay reports from Catalunya and the trial proceedings in Madrid as they take place early next year, translate them if needed and distribute them locally. And also share whatever else we come up with.

2. Setup coordinated actions to demand engagement by our respective governments on the issue of there being political prisoners in the EU.

Note: the focus of our efforts would be on the right to self determination and the right to hold a referendum. It would not be for the content of vote on independence.

Let us demand Spain release political prisoners aka elected politicians and not prosecute them for holding a referendum.

The Pirate Party in Utrecht podcast crew (aka Saskia and Rico) would be happy to coordinate proposed efforts. They may be reached through podcasts.utrecht@piratenpartij.nl.

We ask all Pirates to discuss this call to action in your respective parties and get in touch with us if you like to join before December 12th with your names, country and possibly additional plans. Respond also if you just want to be included on a mailing list so you may distribute reports of the court proceeding locally!

Background information: In Catalunya (in Spain) a referendum was held Oct. 1st 2017 in their search for independence. Following the referendum, some elected representatives (and other leaders in Catalunya) were imprisoned by Spain on charge of rebellion. They’ve now been in prison for a year. Others left the country and now live in exile. On September 11th 2018 the yearly ‘Diada’ took place; a large scale (1 million people+) demonstration in Barcelona. Pirate Party Utrecht, Pirate Party Netherlands were among the international observers invited to join as ‘friends of Catalunya’. Saskia Söller and Rico Brouwer reported on their visit in this English and Spanish subtitled podcast: https://utrecht.piratenpartij.nl/podcast-catalonie-zelfbeschikking-of-rebellie/

These elected representatives of Catalunya and others, will face trial in January. They have been indicted for crimes including rebellion facing up to 25 years in prison. EU, EU member states and even MPs appear not to want to take a stand, they mostly call this ‘a local Spanish issue’. MSM is ignoring. Journalists are ignoring.

So let’s be journalists then.

On November 9th an in depth juridical debate by international human rights experts and advocates took place in the Hague – Netherlands (in > English) which we recorded and can be seen here. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFRKd_c5m20CHBuEvPs_ZMEmdT4D8VTmU  Yes we’ll create a shorter and subtitled version, it should be ready early December.

From Holland we would work with the Catalans in getting reports and media exposure out. We would work with your Pirate Parties in getting the content translated to your native languages and have all of us distribute it through our local channels. Please take this into your consideration?

Thank for the PPI-GA in Munich and online for those who were there, now let’s do some ‘coordinated activism’ as was called for, on a European if not global scale.

Looking forward to getting in touch with as many Pirates as we can through podcasts.utrecht@piratenpartij.nl if you want to join in this team effort and thank you for sharing this call to action in your networks.

kind regards,

Rico Brouwer and Saskia Söller
podcasts.utrecht@piratenpartij.nl
Pirate Party Utrecht