Speaker: Yes, thank you Mr. Chairman. I am speaking on behalf of Plataforma per la
Llengua, an NGO based in Barcelona, promoting the language rights of Catalan speakers.
One of whom is the artist that did the work above your heads. We want to express our deep
concern about the hate and discrimination against the Catalane people and the Catalan
language not being prosecuted in the Spanish state but somewhat [inaudible]. Last year,
Spain stated in a letter to Mr. [inaudible] that the [inaudible] analysis seems to forget the
value of having a common language as an instrument of participation in a political
community. Instead of sparring for a greater political community in which all language groups
can participate using their languages, Spanish nationalism argues that the majority’s
language and identity should be imposed upon minorities who do not even have the right to
a distinct identity of their own. It is not uncommon for Catalonian language publications on
social media to be the target of [inaudible] and hateful comments. To mention a few
particular examples, a couple of years ago, one of the most prominent newspapers in the
country, published that more than half of internet Spanish users at present feel
Catalanophobic. And just this week a Catalan teacher was targeted by the Spanish media
and many internet users were receiving numerous [inaudible] and death threats. Having her
picture published and even news websites justifying this because she wrote her tweets in
Catalan. Meaning, she hated Spain. For this we have three recommendations. One, towards
the investigation of hate speech against minorities on social media. Two, towards Spain and
the rest of states to take this matter seriously and act against it, as it should, when a hate
crime is being committed. [inaudible] Three, urge the states to develop effective mechanisms
to identifying, responding to and imposing sanctions for hate speech and [inaudible] and
discriminatory and violence against minorities and specifically against Catalan speakers in
the case of Spain. Thank You.