TWEETY PIE BECOMES THE SYMBOL OF CATALAN RESISTANCE
▶ Spain ships police aboard floating barracks to quell independence poll but standoff takes on cartoon turn
As Catalans prepare to go to the polls today to vote for or against independence from Spain, an unlikely symbol of resistance has emerged on the streets of Barcelona: Tweety Pie.
Over the past week, images of the good-natured yellow canary of Looney Tunes cartoon fame have been appearing on walls around the city, as well as on placards and on T-shirts worn by pro-independence supporters.
One poster plastered on buildings shows Tweety caged by Madrid – which says today’s referendum is illegal because it violates the constitution – but defiantly holding aloft the Catalan flag, known as the Senyera.
Tweety’s arrival in Barcelona coincided with the deployment last week of 5,000 police to the Catalonia capital amid growing tensions between Catalan secessionists and the Spanish government.
In recent days, Spanish police have arrested Catalan officials, confiscated about 10 million ballot papers and sealed off more than 2,300 schools that were to be used as polling stations. In some schools, referendum supporters have set up camp to ensure they stay open when voting begins at 9am.
Owing to a shortage of accommodation in Barcelona, the Spanish interior ministry housed the extra officers in two large ferries hired from the Italian company Moby Lines and anchored them in the city’s port. That was unusual enough, but it was what was painted on the side of one of the ferries, the Moby Dada, that caught attention. They were characters from Looney Tunes cartoons, including Wile E Coyote, Tweety Pie’s arch-enemy, Sylvester the cat and, of course, the canary himself.
They also caught the attention of Warner Bros, the entertainment company that produces Looney Tunes. According to Spain’s El Mundo newspaper, Warner Bros complained to Moby Lines, saying the characters were being used without its permission.
Soon after, Tweety and friends were covered up. But some pro-independence campaigners perceived this as a symbol of Madrid’s opposition to the secession vote and censorship of Catalan ideals. Student protesters were the first to claim Tweety as a pro-Catalonia symbol and #FreePiolin (#FreeTweety) was soon trending on Twitter.
“We use Tweety because the Spanish government sent the Spanish police here to Barcelona in a ship with a picture of Tweety Bird. The police are here to take away ballots when we only want to vote,” said Maria Garcia, 20, a student at the Universitat Ramon Llull Caldes de Montbui. With a dozen other volunteers, she was handing out ballot papers.
The Moby Dada can accommodate about 1,600 passengers – in this case police who will be posted at polling stations today in an effort to stop Catalans from voting in the referendum.
In some schools, referendum supporters have set up camp to ensure schools stay open when voting begins at 9am, but the police are under orders to clear everyone out well before that, by 6am.
Many secessionists say Madrid is being undemocratic in opposing the vote. The courts have declared it illegal as Spain’s constitution makes it clear that only the national parliament can change the constitution. But Carles Puigdemont, the president of Catalonia, and his team insist Catalonia has a democratic right to decide on its future.
“Whether the yes wins, or the no wins – in any scenario there must be mediation, because things aren’t working,” he said.
The standoff between the central government and Catalonia over an independence referendum has become one of the biggest crises to hit modern Spain.
While opinion polls show the wealthy, northeastern region is divided over independence, a large majority of Catalans want to be able to settle the matter in a legal and binding vote.
Mr Puigdemont called on Madrid to negotiate over holding
The referendum will almost certainly be disrupted by the Spanish government, and result will have no legal validity DR DAVID BRYDAN European history lecturer
a legal, binding referendum, and promised to call the entire vote off if the state agreed. But this is unlikely to happen.
“The referendum will almost certainly be disrupted by the Spanish government, and the result will have no legal validity,” said Dr David Brydan, a lecturer in modern European history at Birkbeck College, University of London.
“Without compromise on either side, there is a risk that the crisis could escalate.”
On September 20, FC Barcelona released a statement in which it reiterated “its historic commitment to the defence of the nation, to democracy, to freedom of speech, and to self-determination” and said it “condemns any act that may impede the free exercise of these rights.”
Meanwhile, Gerard Pique, the football club’s homegrown defender, tweeted on Thursday: “From today and until Sunday, let us express ourselves peacefully. Let’s not give them an excuse. That’s what they want. Let’s sing loud and strong. #Wewillvote.”
Barcelona play Osasuna at home today and Catalans are certain to use the occasion to celebrate Catalan identity and show their opposition to Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy’s government.
For many Catalans, victory at Camp Nou will be secondary to the result of the referendum.
“If we win, we want to be a new country of Europe,” said Ms Garcia. Tweety – that unlikely mascot of defiance – beamed down from the wall behind her.