Ask Google to post a Doodle commemorating October 1 in Catalonia
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On October 1, 2017, 2.2 million Catalans (43% of the electoral roll) voted in a referendum organized by the Catalan Government, and 90% voted Yes to the question: "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?". We are asking Google to commemorate that date by dedicating a Doodle to the Catalan people.
The vote was only made possible because of Catalans' deep commitment to the freedom of expression, as a basic democratic principle, and to the right to vote. This right to vote extends to the question of self-determination of the Catalan nation.
October 1 was a victory for democracy. Although the Spanish government which - ignoring the most basic of citizens' rights - used all its powers to try to thwart the Catalan referendum, it went ahead nonetheless. The Spanish state made use of unprecedented censorship on the Internet, as not experienced previously in the EU - closing webpages that explained how to vote. The Spanish police prosecuted people who had set up websites to support the voting process. During the day of the vote, there were a large number of cyber-attacks against servers storing the electoral roll. Many news outlets and printing companies were searched, and staff threatened.
During the referendum, Spanish police (the National Police Corps and the paramilitary Civil Guard) charged down voters in a disproportionate and violent show of force. The choice of riot control techniques and weapons was highly questionable, not to say illegal: baton strikes to the head and other vulnerable body parts, rubber bullets (which are illegal in Catalonia), the use of tear gas, and physical brutality against civilians. These police actions resulted in more than 1,000 people being injured and requiring immediate medical assistance. The vote went ahead nonetheless, and the voters expressed their clear choice.
The date should be commemorated to honor those Catalans whose tenacity, resilience and inventiveness helped defend Catalans' democratic rights, in the face of appalling threats and violence. We ask Google to post a Doodle commemorating October 1 in Catalonia.
As part of this campaign and with the intent to make this petition as inclusive as possible, we ask you to submit your drawings or sketches for a Doodle for Google, related to the October 1 events in Catalonia.
If drawing is not your forte but you have other artistic talents, we would love to see your writing, poems, songs or calligrams... Everything goes and we welcome participants of all ages. The subject for this is "what did October 1 in Catalonia mean to you, or what did you experience?"
The Catalan National Assembly in the US will post all the documents received in a Google Drive open to the public. These will be shared on the social networks through different official channels of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and will be included in this petition to Google
In order to participate, send an email with the attached document to 1OctDoodle@gmail.com before September 23, 2018. Do not forget to sign or name the document, or add the author's name in the body of the email. By participating, you agree to transfer your author's rights for the particular piece of work to the Catalan National Assembly so this work can be published in the manner deemed most appropriate (including beyond social networks as long as the original authorship is respected at all times).
You can find information on the events of October 1 in Catalonia at the following links:
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