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Independence isnt on trial here, democracy is on trial, said Mas, outside the courthouse in February before his trial began. Indeed, this clampdown should concern any democrat. The majority of MPs in the Catalan parliament support independence, and while Mass pseudo-referendum cannot be treated as an impartial democratic exercise, it did reveal that a significant proportion of Catalans (81 per cent, in his referendum) support independence.

The shaky distinction made by the government seems to be that while people on the streets should be free to argue and campaign for independence, politicians are different. If people on the streets can talk about independence, why should deputies not be able to?, asked Carme Forcadell, speaker of the Catalan assembly, at the Catalonia Superior Court of Justice last year. Shes right. How can Catalonias politicians be representatives if they cannot debate Catalonias most talked-about political issue?

This is all part of a wider clampdown on dissident political views, on both left and right, in Spain. Last year, five members of Popular Unity Candidacy, a fringe left-wing Catalan party, were arrested for burning images of Spains King Felipe VI. Only two weeks ago, Madrid City Council banned a Catholic group from driving a bus through Madrid adorned with the slogan Boys have penises, girls have vulvas. Do not be fooled. It was deemed to be transphobic.

While the Scottish and Catalan independence movements share some common features, the climates in which they operate are very different. The SNP operates within a climate conducive to debate. In 2014, Scotland was allowed to hold a referendum. In the same year, Catalonia wasnt even allowed to hold a fake referendum. If the Spanish government wants to defeat the Catalans, they should do so through public debate, not shady political censorship.

Jacob Furedi is a spiked columnist. Follow him on Twitter: @jacobfuredi

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Link:
Censorship in Catalonia - Spiked