Lluís Maria Xirinacs
Encyclopedia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, religious leader and advocate for the independence of the Catalan Countries
Catalan independentism
Catalan independentism is a political movement, derived from Catalan nationalism, which supports the independence of Catalonia or the so-called Catalan countries from Spain and France...
.
Biography
He was born in BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
in 1932, and he became a priest when he was 22.
In the 1960s and 1970s, he conducted several hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
s, the first a long one against the relationship between Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
and state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
during Francisco Franco's regime. The Spanish regime imprisoned him twice (1972 and 1974–1975). He declared himself a follower of Gandhi's ideals and employed non-violence in his struggles. For example, he spent twelve hours a day for a year and nine months standing in front of a Barcelona prison until the approval of an amnesty law
Amnesty law
An amnesty law is any law that retroactively exempts a select group of people, usually military leaders and government leaders, from criminal liability for crimes committed.Most allegations involve human rights abuses and crimes against humanity.-History:...
for political prisoner
Political prisoner
According to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a political prisoner is ‘someone who is in prison because they have opposed or criticized the government of their own country’....
s. As a result of all these actions, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes bequeathed by the Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.-Background:According to Nobel's will, the Peace Prize shall be awarded to the person who...
every year from 1975-1977.
In 1977, in the first Spanish elections after the Franco dictatorship, he became senator
Spanish Senate
The Senate of Spain is the upper house of Spain's parliament, the . It is made up of 264 members: 208 elected by popular vote, and 56 appointed by the regional legislatures. All senators serve four-year terms, though regional legislatures may recall their appointees at any time.The last election...
for Barcelona
Barcelona (province)
Barcelona is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia.-Overview:It is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, and by the Mediterranean Sea....
as an independent candidate. In 1979, he was a candidate for the Spanish Congress of Deputies in a coalition known as Left Block of National Freedom (Bloc d'Esquerra d'Alliberament Nacional or BEAN). This reinvigorated the spirit of the former Assembly of Catalonia, of which he also was one of the main promoters. Later on, BEAN also presented candidates in the 1980 Catalan Parliament elections; but, in both cases, it did not obtain any representation.
By 1980, he left active party politics
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. In 1984, along with Agustí Chalaux
Agustí Chalaux i de Subirà
Agustí Chalaux i de Subirà , was a Catalan thinker, who designed a political, economic and social model meant to reduce as much as possible the misuse of power, extreme poverty and corruption.- Biography :...
, he founded the Centre d'Estudis Joan Bardina, where he wanted to explore deeper into a new economical, political and social model.
In 1990, he abandoned his priesthood vows. In 2000, he started to protest again, sitting in Plaça Sant Jaume
Plaça Sant Jaume
Plaça Sant Jaume is the administrative heart of Barcelona, Catalonia. It is the place where the Cardo and Decumanus , the main roads of the Roman colony of Barcino, crossed...
daily for the independence of the Catalan Countries
Catalan Countries
The Catalan term Països Catalans refers to the territories where the Catalan language is spoken.The first mentions of the term date back to the late 19th century, but it never surpassed the limits of a small circle of Catalan authors until its strictly cultural dimension became increasingly...
.
When he was 65, he was awarded a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
.
On September 11, 2002, within the National Day of Catalonia
National Day of Catalonia
On September 11, Catalonia commemorates the 1714 Siege of Barcelona defeat during the War of the Spanish Succession. As correction for their support to the claim of Habsburg Archduke Charles to the throne of Spain, institutions and rights of the territories of the Crown of Aragon were abolished by...
reivindicative speeches in Fossar de les Moreres
Fossar de les Moreres
The Fossar de les Moreres is a memorial plaza in Barcelona , adjacent to the basilica of Santa Maria del Mar. The plaza was built over a cemetery where defenders of the city were buried following the Siege of Barcelona at the end of the War of the Spanish Succession in 1714...
, he declared:
«Gandhi deia que el no-violent no pot tractar amb neutralitat les parts d'un conflicte violent: l'aggressor és l'enemic, l'agredit és l'amic, tot i que sigui violent. Jo he intentat tota la vida lluitar per la via no violenta. Però declaro aquí, i ho dic ben alt, per si hi ha cap policia o cap fiscal: em declaro enemic de l'estat espanyol i amic d'ETA i de Batasuna(...) «hay estilos, porque ETA, como está en guerra, mata, pero no arranca uñas. Yo he estado en prisión con gente de ETA con las uñas arrancadas. ETA mata pero no tortura. En cambio Lasa y Zabala murieron torturados. ETA, cuando tira una bomba en un lugar que puede herir a gente que no son militares o que no estén relacionados con los opresores avisa. ¿Sabéis lo que cuesta robar la dinamita, pagarla, transportarla, colocarla, y encima cuando tienen todo a punto avisa que la desactiven? ¿Por qué hace esto? Lo hace porque aún conserva un poco de nobleza del estilo de Ginebra y la conserva porque los otros no la han maleado mas. Por que lleva le gente de ETA una vida de ratas, de escondidos, de cloacas, perseguidos. No pueden tener novias, no pueden tener hijos, no pueden ir al cine, no pueden tener nada y si a veces hieren a algún inocente, no es su voluntad».».
"Gandhi said that the nonviolent cannot deal with the parts of a violent conflict with neutrality: the aggressor is the enemy, the attacked one is the friend, although he may be violent. I have tried all my life the fight by non-violent means. Nevertheless, I declare here and, I say it aloud, in the case there could be any police or public prosecutor: I declare myself enemy of the Spanish State
Spanish State
Francoist Spain refers to a period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975 when Spain was under the authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco....
and friend of ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
and Batasuna
Batasuna
Batasuna was a Basque nationalist political party based mainly in Spain, where it was outlawed in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money. Batasuna is included in the "European Union list of terrorist persons and organizations" as a component...
(...) Because ETA, although in a war, kills but does not tear out fingernails. I have been in prison with ETA people that had their fingernails torn out. ETA kills, but does not torture. In change, Lasa and Zabala died being tortured. ETA, when it throws a bomb in a place where it can harm people that are not soldiers or are not related to the oppressors, gives a warning. Do you know how much does it cost to steal dynamite, pay it, transport it, place it, and after that, when all is ready, they give a warning so it is deactivated? Why do they? They do this because they keep a little bit of the nobility of the Geneva kind, and they keep it because the others did not corrupt it. Because people of ETA have a life like that of rats, a life of hiding, of seweries, persecuted. They cannot have girlfriends, cannot have children, they cannot go to the cinema, they cannot have anything, and if sometimes they wound some innocent person, it was not their intention."
After this, Xirinacs was sentenced to two years of prison and four years of incapacitation by the Spanish Audiencia Nacional
Audiencia Nacional of Spain
The Audiencia Nacional is a a special and exceptional high court in Spain. It has its seat in Madrid and jurisdiction over all of Spain and international crimes which come under the competence of Spanish courts....
, accused of ennobling terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
.
On December 17, 2002, he stated to the jury in his defence:
«No crec que sigui delicte fer feina d’historiador (de la qual es pot discrepar): -de descriure una guerra d’alliberament nacional que dura ja quaranta anys, -i de comparar-la amb altres guerres.»
"I don't think that working as a historian is any crime (though some may disagree): -describing a war for national freedom that has lasted now for 40 years, -and comparing it with other wars."
And he also added:
«Són els tancs espanyols que ocupen el País Basc. Cap arma basca no vol conquerir Espanya.»
"It is the Spanish tanks that are occupying the Basque Country. No Basque weapon wants to conquer Spain".
Madrid's National Court tried him in absentia (Xirinacs failed to appear) and sentenced him to two years in prison for glorifying terrorism. On October 25, 2005, when he was 74, he was arrested by Spanish Police when he visited Ciutat Vella
Ciutat Vella
Ciutat Vella is a district of Barcelona, numbered District 1. The name means "old city" in Catalan and refers to the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Barcelona, Spain. Ciutat Vella is nestled between the Mediterranean Sea and the neighborhood called l'Eixample...
commissary in order to renew his identity document
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
.
Two days later, he was sent to prison, but in the very same afternoon, the Attorney General decided to free him, invoking humanitarian reasons due to his age.
In 2004, Catalan Summer University awarded him the Canigó prize. During that time, he continued his political commitment within Fundació Randa.
On August 11, 2007, he was found dead in the woods Ogassa
Ogassa
Ogassa is a village in the province of Girona and autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain.-References:...
, Ripollès
Ripollès
Ripollès is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the Ribes and Camprodon river valleys. , its population is 25,744, about 40% of whom live in the capital, Ripoll....
, having committed suicide according to some sources., even if the autopsy confirmed it was not. He left a note in his workplace explaining his decision, where he criticized the cowardice of Catalan politicians:
Act of sovereignty
I have lived 75 years in the Catalan Countries
occupied by Spain, France – and Italy- for centuries
fighting against this slavery during all of my adult life.
A slave nation, a slave human being,
shame for Humanity and the Universe.
But a Nation will never be free
if her sons do not want to risk
their lives in her defence and liberation.
My friends, accept this final victorious end
of my combat to stress the fearfulness
of our leaders, who make masses out of People.
Today, my Nation becomes absolute sovereign in me.
They have lost a slave
she is a little more free
because I am in you, my friends!
Lluís M. Xirinacs i Damians, Barcelona, August 6, 2007
Discography
- Carlo ForlivesiCarlo ForlivesiCarlo Forlivesi is an Italian composer, performer and researcher.Forlivesi was born in Faenza, Emilia-Romagna. He studied at Bologna Conservatory, Milan Conservatory and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia of Rome...
, En la Soledat i el Silenci (2007–2008), a musical composition in three movements for kotoKoto (musical instrument)The koto is a traditional Japanese stringed musical instrument, similar to the Chinese guzheng, the Mongolian yatga, the Korean gayageum and the Vietnamese đàn tranh. The koto is the national instrument of Japan. Koto are about length, and made from kiri wood...
and guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
. The title "En la Soledat i el Silenci" (In Solitude and In Silence) is a quotation from the last writing of Lluís Maria Xirinacs. The piece is included in the CD album Silenziosa LunaSilenziosa LunaSilenziosa Luna - 沈黙の月 is an album of Italian composer Carlo Forlivesi. It was released in 2008 by ALM Records ....
- 沈黙の月 (ALCD 76).