Posted: Oct 03, 2017 4:26 am
Tracer Tong wrote:Thomas Eshuis wrote:My dad, who's quite progressive, said they shouldn't have gone through with it because the referendum was illegal.
When I asked whether the people in Egypt and Ireland shouldn't have protested because it was illegal, he claimed it was a different situation.
He refuses to realise that it therefore has nothing to do with legality.
I agree with your father, actually. Well, perhaps partly.
I would certainly say he has a point. Violence and a lack of legitimacy were always real risks of defying a lawful order not to hold the referendum and the Catalan government would absolutely have been able to see this outcome ahead of time as a real risk.
I don't think it's fair to say they bear all the responsibility though, clearly many other options (such as just permitting the referendum to be conducted legally on a reasonable timetable) were also available to the Spanish government. Undoubtedly the coming weeks will also show individuals both among the populace and the police who have acted violently, provocatively and in ways that cannot be excused.
I would add that this is a situation I don't honestly know all that much about. From the relatively little I know, it's not at all clear that Catalan separatists have exhausted their methods of peaceful protest or avenues for a diplomatic resolution at this point. I don't think they were obliged to make provocative statements about declaring independence in the event of a "yes" in a referendum they know cannot possibly be representative or legitimate.
As if often the case, there are two sides to this story and many opportunities for people to have acted differently. The sad thing is that it has come to violence.