THE Galician Language

international | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Tuesday August 24, 2004 03:05

by BANDUA CATOC - LANÇAS DE BREOGHAN

seanport at mixmail dot com

Galiza, the Forgotten People

OUR LANGUAGE IS GALICIAN

The political situation

The actual government of Galiza is formed by this Spanish political right party called PP, where the old Franco's connection and ideas are still holding. They came to power in the early 80's and hold in with all kind of 'democratic' abuses. Galizians lacking the democratic tradition for the institutions and the education of the people on its own culture, history and language after 400 years of Spanish colonialism, are denied the power of clever decisions and choices. The actual president of the Galizian government, Mr. Manuel Fraga Iribarne, is one of the fiercest former ministers of Franco. Really they hold in hostage the Galizian people, its culture and language.

What the Spaniards couldn't do in 400 years of colonization, to assimilated the Galizians, the PP, called in Galiza -espanholeiros- ( because they put first the interests of Spain before the interests of the Galizian people they were elect to defend ), will do it in a few years. They use words to convince without the less regret and they do otherwise. They are destroying the Galizian culture and language throughout a forced assimilation. They created institutions with they own people: the CIRP ( profaning the name of the illustrious Galizian , Ramon Pinheiro , which name was used for naming this center ); the institute for the Galizian language, the ILG ; the R.A.G. ( who in the past was one of the more clear defenders of the Galizian language) ; the Galizian TV ( which is an instrument of assimilation,) ; ... They put they own people in charge in universities and institutions without the less respect for the democratic process and a pluralistic society.

They have persecute people in universities, with they own laws, those who defend the Galizian and its culture ( for example, in the university of - A Corunha- they have eliminated the department of Galizian just because the people there defend the historical Galizian ). Today, because of the political interference, most of this people who are holding key positions in these institutions and universities are of very poor intellectual level and they are only there to justified the politics of the actual Galizian government, in fact, politics define what is culture, language and history in Galiza.

There are only two papers , one using the Galizian language, called -A NOSA TERRA- and the other artificially created and representing only the interests of this kind of Fascist party, the PP - is write in Castrapo- ( I will explained later ) called - O Correo Galego-. There is a law to support with grants publications in Galizian but they are used only for they own party paper -O Correo Galego- that they support completely. The grants are denied to the first Galizian paper, 'A Nosa Terra', because they do not writ in -Castrapo-, they do in Galizian ( Galeg ), so they said... Grants, ... have as first condition to be writen and use the assimilated form of Galizian, the Castrapo of the actual government.