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Societat Civil Catalana

Formation	April 7, 2014; 10 years ago (2014-04-07)
Type	NGO
Location	Carrer Còrsega 270, 3r 5ª, Barcelona
Area served	Catalonia
Official languages	Catalan, spanish
President	José Rosiñol
Website	Official website

Societat Civil Catalana ("Catalan Civil Society", SCC by its Catalan acronym) is a Catalan civic society organization opposing the independence of Catalonia from Spain and catalanism.

The organization was founded in April 7th 2014. In the event, SCC indicated that the platform houses diverse ideological, professional, and identity backgrounds. However, senior members of SCC have links with the far-right platform Somatemps with ten of its founding members belonging to it.

The launching event counted with the presence of Josep Ramón Bosch i Codina, Susana Beltrán i García, Joaquim Coll i Amargós and José Domingo. Josep Rosiñol was the moderator and also member of the provisional executive office. Other members from the provisional executive office who also attended the event were Isabel Pòrcel, Ana María Lindin and Ferran Brunet. The April 23th of the same year SCC held a public presentation event. The event had the presence of affiliates and politicians from the Catalan socialist party PSC, centre-right party PP, centre-right party Citizens, UPyD, Vox, Francisco Franco National Foundation and Republican Social Movement. The presentation was headed by Susana Beltrán from Citizens. Bosch, Domingo and Coll delivered the speeches.

The first president of the final executive office was Josep Ramon Bosch. Bosch was followed by Rafael Arenas. Mariano Gomà replaced Rafael Arenas. Susana Beltrán left the organization to be elected member of Catalan parliament in representation of Citizens. Finally, José Rosiñol took the presidency of SCC. Previously he was adviser of SCC. Other senior representatives are Miriam Tey (vice president), Álex Ramos (vice president) and José Domingo (adviser). While Bosch left SCC, Mariano Gomà was relegated to adviser.

Societat Civil Catalana is still constructing its infrastructure in Catalonia. Currently it has delegations in Barcelonès, Baix Llobregat and Tarragona.

In November 2014, Societat Civil Catalana received from the European Parliament the European Citizen's Prize. SCC was nominated by the Catalan People's Party Santiago Fisas, member of the European Parliament. More recently in January 2018 SCC received from Ximo Puig, president of the government of Valencia (Generalitat Valenciana) the Manuel Broseta Foundation award to co-existence without the presence of Compromís and We Can. In a previous press conference Monica Oltra from Compromís stated that the award did not represent the Council because it was not given by the Council.

Actions against Catalan separatism

Societat Civil Catalana has been the organizer of multiple demonstrations and rallies:

• As per Barcelona city police, in October 12th 2014 (Día de la Hispanidad) it organized its first big event, gathering 40,000 demonstrators in Barcelona against independence.
• In October 8th 2017, it mobilized 350,000 people in a demonstration at Barcelona protesting against the pro-independence Catalan government and the Catalan declaration of independence. Former EU Parliament speaker Josep Borrell and Nobel Award Laureate Mario Vargas Llosa delivered closing speeches at the demonstration.
• In October 12th 2017, a total of 65,000 people attended to a demonstration call made by SCC. Somatemps was called by SCC to plan the demonstration of the October 12th 2017 but they were not given the chance to decide anything. According to pro-independence sites, Somatemps claimed SCC wanted control on who was allowed to speak in the demonstrations. SCC declined doing any statement.
• In October 28th 2017, a total 300.000 people march in the streets of Barcelona. The keynote speaker was former leader of the Spanish Communist Party Francisco Frutos.
• In March 18th 2018 7,000 people were present in another demonstration. In this demonstration, former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls delivered a keynote speech.

The association has given public support to a demonstration in name of the movement for the fictional region Tabarnia. Far-right political parties PxC and Vox were invited to that demonstration.

In the first months of 2018 SCC started a round of contacts with spanish politicians and political parties to discuss how to manage the Catalan independence movement in the context of the Spanish constitutional crisis. SCC established conversations with unionist political party Cs (Citizens) and with the president of the government of Spain, Mariano Rajoy (president of People's Party). The organization also met with Susana Díaz, president of Andalusia and PSOE-A, and with Alberto Núñez Feijóo, president of Galicia and galician People's Party. Political parties En Marea and BNG were left out.In April , representatives of SCC met the leader of the Spanish socialist party PSOE Pedro Sanchez.

Finances

Societat Civil Catalana has been accused by Javier Barraycoa, former member of SCC, founder of Somatemps and its current adviser, of receiving funds from the central government of Spain in order to organize the demonstrations of the 8th and 12th of October 2017. Additionally, it has been confirmed that RENFE subsidized 50% of the cost of 245 train tickets for the Diada public act of SCC in September 11th 2014 in Tarragona. Josep Alsina from Somatemps reported that SCC receives generous donations through Joan Boscà Foundation to which many important businesses give money.

Jordi Borràs found that the balance sheet presented by SCC lacks transparency. With only 75 members and 4,000 collaborators SCC managed to gather 1 million euros in 2014. The members only account for 1.5% of money contributions. Another 1.5% comes from gathering posts and urns. The rest, 97%, comes from private donations. Félix Revuelta, founder and principal stokeholder of Naturhouse, stated that he and many other businessmen give support to SCC.

Far-right relations and other controversies

Societat Civil Catalana shares a close relationship with far-right organization Somatemps with members of SCC coming from Somatemps and other 51 associations. These reports claim that individual members of SCC have attended or taken part in events related to organizations and political parties from the far-right like Somatemps, PxC, Vox, Francisco Franco National Foundation, National Democracy and Republican Social Movement.

• SCC has maintained meetings in which Somatemps members participated. Somatemps showed a photograph in which José Rosiñol, Ferran Brunet, Susana Beltrán, José Domingo, Javier Barraycoa, Francesc Moreno and Clemente Polo appear in a meeting of SCC.

• The second president of SCC, Josep Ramon Bosch, is a founder of the far-right platform Somatemps. And he was also the president of Somatemps. Bosch left SCC shortly after a complaint which stated he insulted and threatened catalan separatists. The complaint was finally archived because the imputed felonies prescribed. Involved in the same timeline were publications of fascist videos with his voice under a false Facebook account which he owned. Bosch has also participated in acts of the Francisco Franco National Foundation. SCC claimed he was accompanying his father.
• Xavier Codorníu, a founder of SCC and current secretary of Somatemps, directed a demonstration against the political party Republican Left of Catalonia in which he shout the Franco's dictatorship motto "España siempre será Una, Grande y Libre, ¡Arriba España!" ("Spain will always be one, great and free, Go Spain!").
• Miriam Tey, vice president of SCC, edited a book which makes apology of violation. Miriam Tey alleged the book actually denounces violations by using fiction.
• Mariano Gomà, the third president of SCC and a current adviser, asked for the WhatsApp account of Ona Carbonell, a catalan swimmer. He also said of Anna Gabriel, a CUP member: "How frustrated that woman lives. Well positioned in the world she would be attractive and beautiful. What a pity!". These messages were published in Twitter and showed woman offending behaviour (machismo).
• José Domingo, adviser of SCC, founder of SCC and Citizens, attended a presentation of a book called "Catalonia. The history" organized by Somatemps. José Domingo alleged that Vilaweb, the newspaper reporting his presence, made wrong assumptions. He responded that he attends many conferences in which he does not have interest in who is doing the talk. As per his words, he went there coincidentally and uphold it was not a far-right act. The book itself is a catalan history revisionism with false information like Catalonia belonging to the Kingdom of Aragon, not to confound with the Crown of Aragon,also known as Crown of Aragon and Catalonia or Catalan-Aragonese Confederation.
• Ferran Brunet, treasurer and founder of SCC, attended to a presentation of the holocaust negationist magazine Nihil Obstat made by Somatemps. PxC and Ultres de Tramuntana were also present. Javier Barraycoa (secretary of Traditional Carlist Comunion) and Josep Alsina (former candidate of New Force and vicepresident of Somatemps) were two of the speakers. The magazine's editorial is property of Juan Antonio Llopart, who was prosecuted and condemned to two and half years of prison by the audience of Barcelona. Later on the Supreme Court of Spain absolved Llopart alleging that freedom of speech protects his negacionism.
• Joaquim Coll, vice president of SCC until 2016, classified an article of Joan B. Culla as McCarthyism, denouncing that those opposed to catalanism are frequently accused of fascism by the catalanists themselves. The article itself was describing a demonstration call made by Hermandad de Antiguos Caballeros Legionarios, debating about what would happen if something similar occurred with estelades being held by supporters of catalan independentism. Joan responded to Joaquim saying that the latter, in the absence of refutations, went the route of taunting Joan.
• ERC, CiU and ICV send a letter to Sylvie Gillaume in 2015, the then vice-president of the European Parliament, because they found giving the European Citizen's Price to Societat Civil Catalana was not legitimate. In that time Josep Ramon Bosch was the president of SCC. They criticized the award noting that Societat Civil Catalana has links with the catalan far-right and promotes xenophobe and extremist ideas. But the letter was not listened and SCC picked up the award in february 2015. This event triggered another letter from CD, ERC, UD and ICV. Gillaume dismissed this second letter alleging that the award passed two courts: one spanish and one communitarian in which deputies from PP, PSOE, and UPyD participated. European deputies from PSOE and PP where decisive to oppose accusations. The catalan Parliament accepted a proposal from ICV to scalate a complaint to the European Parliament. PP, PSC and Citizens voted against the proposal. Votes in favor came from ICV-EUiA, ERC, CUP and CiU.

References

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60. Clarà, Joan B. Culla i (2016-06-23). "Opinió | Maccarthisme". EL PAÍS (in Catalan). Retrieved 2018-03-20.
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• Organisations based in Catalonia