Thousands of people in Palma demand to defend Catalan against the "involutionary policies" of "a fanatical minority"

   PALMA, 5 May. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Thousands of people - the Balearic Cultural Work has put the number of attendees at around 40,000, a number that the Local Police has reduced to 7,000 - gathered this Sunday in the Plaza Major in Palma to demand that the administration defend Catalan in the face of the "involutive policies" of "a fanatical minority" that, in his opinion, have marked the first months of this legislature.

These thousands of people have gathered on the occasion of the Diada per la Llengua, organized by the Obra Cultural Balear (OCB), and which has had the support of more than 60 entities and platforms of civil society in Mallorca.

Language Day began at 5:30 p.m., in Plaza de la Porta Pintada, with the handing over of the Correllengua 'flame' by OCB, Joves de Mallorca per la Lengua and representatives of civil society, who followed the 'cercavila' by Sant Miquel to Plaza Mayor, where the central event was held.

The 'flame' of the Correllengua has arrived in the Plaza Mayor of Palma past 18.15 hours, accompanied by a group of 'xeremiers' who played the chords of the song 'No en volem cap'.

During the central event, the president of the OCB, Antoni Llabrés, spoke, and assured that both he and the thousands of people who wanted to participate in the Diada per la Llengua have met this Sunday "out of responsibility" to defend Catalan. because, as the language of this autonomous community, they want it to be "alive in all areas of public life."

In this sense, he has demanded that the public powers "comply with their statutory obligation to protect and promote it" and, at the same time, "the democratic political forces that come together" against those whom, the president of the OCB has considered, , are "a fanatical minority" who "want to make it disappear."

Likewise, he has especially demanded that the PP "return to the statutory consensus" and "the cessation of the involutive measures that have marked this disastrous beginning of the legislature." "President Prohens, enough is enough, rectify it because there is still time. Abandon the linguistic confrontation, stop creating conflicts and problems where there were none," said Llabrés, at which point an angry crowd joined in with these words with whistles and whistles. cries of "enough is enough."

"Stop going arm in arm with the intolerant," added Llabrés, addressing the president of the Government because "we cannot allow the hatred of these intolerant people to condition the public policies of this country, hijack Democracy and break up coexistence." In this way, the president of the OCB has referred to an "anti-Mallorca extreme right" that, in his opinion, "has put the Catalan language and the OCB in the spotlight for what it represents."

"President Prohens has to choose, either she is with the social majority of the people of Mallorca, even with her voters, in coexistence, in the Statute, in Democracy, or she is, and continues, kneeling before fascism, genuflexes before fascism "Llabrés stressed, concluding that "the language is not touched, neither is its unity."

Also, the president of Joves de Mallorca per la Llengua, Pau Emili Muñoz, spoke during the central act to thank the "more than 20,000 people who have participated in the Correllengua" of this year 2024, which for the first time, has been interislands, to "demonstrate that the language -- Catalan -- is alive" and they will "defend it whenever necessary".

In this way, he has warned those who, in his opinion, "want to exterminate them as a people", that the young people of Mallorca, in particular, and the Balearic Islands, in general, "will not take a step back."

Furthermore, Mar Grimalt and Miquela Lladó have been in charge of reading the manifesto of the Diada per la Llengua, in which they have claimed the linguistic rights of citizens with the aim of Catalan "being a tool of social cohesion", which "it can always be used, without fear or complexes, in any circumstance and with any interlocutor."

The central event for the Diada per la Llengua, which had not been held since 2019, has concluded with a collective action in which attendees have created individual maps of Mallorca with the colors of the senyera.

PSIB MEMBERS, MÉS Y PODEMOS, IN THE ACT IN DEFENSE OF CATALAN

In the Day for the Language, political representatives of the parties of the left, PSIB-PSOE, MÉS for Mallorca and Podemos could also be seen.

Among the Socialists, the presence of their general secretary and president of the Congress, Francina Armengol, has stood out, who, later, in a message published on the social network 'X', collected by Europa Press, has highlighted the importance of "defending what unites, reclaims what identifies us, celebrates who we are.

"How proud to see the Plaza Major in Palma packed with people to receive the 'flame' of Correllengua 2024. Thousands of people clearly saying yes to the language," added Armengol, who gave his "thank you" to Joves de Mallorca for la Llengua and the OCB, as well as "all those who have participated in such an exciting and necessary initiative these days", in his opinion.

On the part of MÉS in Mallorca, it was possible to see the spokespersons of the eco-sovereignist formation in the Council and in the Palma City Council, Jaume Alzamora and Neus Truyol, respectively, among others.

And finally, representing the Podemos political party in the Balearic Islands, the training coordinator in the Islands, Lucía Muñoz, attended.