Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: Is Catalan independent?
The Catalan declaration of independence (Catalan: Declaració d'independència de Catalunya; Spanish: Declaración de Independencia de Cataluña) was a resolution that was passed by the Parliament of Catalonia on 27 October 2017, which declared the independence of Catalonia from Spain and the founding of an independent Catalan Republic. The Act was immediately suspended by the Parliament. The declaration did not receive recognition from the international community. The declaration and proceeding vote were declared illegal as it was done on a simple majority and not the two-thirds requirement of the Catalan constitution.
After winning a majority in the 2015 Parliament of Catalonia election, pro-referendum parties approved a project to hold the Catalan independence referendum in 1 October 2017. The outcome of the referendum gave the victory the independence option and the Parliament of Catalonia passed the Catalan declaration of independence on 27 October 2017. The objective of the demonstration was to boost and show support for Catalan Republic.
Abkhazia has stated that it may recognise Catalan independence if requested by the Catalan government.[91]
The Catalan independence movement (; Spanish: "independentismo catalán") is a social and political movement with roots in Catalan nationalism, which seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain.
The 2012 Catalan independence demonstration was a protest march which occurred in central Barcelona in Catalonia, Spain, on 11 September 2012 during the National Day of Catalonia. The protestors demanded the independence of Catalonia and its establishment as a sovereign state under the slogan "Catalonia, new state in Europe" (). It was organized by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and headed together with the Association of Municipalities for Independence as the final and the most prominent of a series of events known as "March towards Independence" () which began on 30 June 2012 in Lleida.
The Catalan Assembly and Òmnium Cultural organized the 2014 edition of the demonstration of the Catalan national day in Barcelona. This demonstration formed a huge Catalan flag all along 11 kilometers between Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes and Diagonal avenue forming a big "V" for will ("voluntat"), voting and victory.
According to police there were 1.8 million and according to organizations 2.5 million people to demand for a poll on 9 November 2014.
On 14 September the Catalan Assembly gave to the parliament president, Núria de Gispert, nearly 750,000 signatures collected in the campaign "Sign a vote for independence", to ask Catalan government to declare independence if the 9 November poll could not be held.
It was formed on 20 July 2010 by former FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta, the jurist Alfons López Tena (former activist of the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia) and the Catalan MP Uriel Bertran (former ERC member) as an umbrella group for various supporters of Catalan independence and the creation of a sovereign state for Catalonia. It was named after Catalan Solidarity, a political coalition of all pro-Catalan parties which existed between 1906 and 1909.
On 1 October 2017 an independence referendum was held in Catalonia despite the Constitutional Court ruling that it breached the Spanish constitution. 92% supported independence though turnout was only 43% due to a boycott by unionists. The Catalan Parliament declared independence on 27 October 2017 which resulted in the Spanish government imposing direct rule on Catalonia, dismissing the Catalan government. The Catalan Parliament was dissolved and fresh elections called. On 30 October 2017 charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds were brought against Forn and other members of the Catalan government. Forn and Puigdemont, along with others, fled to Belgium but on 31 October 2017 Forn returned to Spain. On 2 November 2017 Forn and seven other Catalan ministers were remanded in custody by the Audiencia Nacional. Six of the ministers were released on bail on 4 December 2017 but Forn and Vice President Oriol Junqueras were kept in custody. At the regional elections held on 21 December 2017 Forn was elected to Parliament and Catalan secessionists retained a slim majority in the Catalan Parliament. Forn resigned from Parliament in January 2018 but remains in prison.
After pro-independence parties won a majority of seats in the Catalan election on 27 September 2015, the Declaration of the Initiation of the Process of Independence of Catalonia () was issued on 9 November 2015. The declaration declares the start of the process to create an independent Catalan state in the form of a republic and proclaims the start of a participative, open, integrating and active citizens' constituent process to lay the foundation for the future Catalan Constitution.
The modern independence movement began in 2010 when the Constitutional Court of Spain ruled that some of the articles of the 2006 Statute of Autonomy—which had been agreed with the Spanish government and passed by a referendum in Catalonia—were unconstitutional, and others were to be interpreted restrictively. Popular protest against the decision quickly turned into demands for independence. Starting with the town of Arenys de Munt, over 550 municipalities in Catalonia held symbolic referendums on independence between 2009 and 2011. All of the towns returned a high "yes" vote, with a turnout of around 30% of those eligible to vote. A 2010 protest demonstration against the court's decision, organised by the cultural organisation Òmnium Cultural, was attended by over a million people. The popular movement fed upwards to the politicians; a second mass protest on 11 September 2012 (the National Day of Catalonia) explicitly called on the Catalan government to begin the process towards independence. Catalan president Artur Mas called a snap general election, which resulted in a pro-independence majority for the first time in the region's history. The new parliament adopted the Catalan Sovereignty Declaration in early 2013, asserting that the Catalan people had the right to decide their own political future.
Pronunciation of independentisme català in Catalan: 
Northern Catalan:[ɛ̃dpɑ̃dɑ̃s du katalɑ̃], IPA French
Eastern Catalan: [indəpəndənˈtizmə kətəˈɫa]
Western Catalan: [independenˈtizme kataˈla]
The beginnings of separatism in Catalonia can be traced back to the mid–19th century. The Renaixença (cultural renaissance), which aimed at the revival of the Catalan language and Catalan traditions, led to the development of Catalan nationalism and a desire for independence. Between the 1850s and the 1910s, some individuals, organisations and political parties started demanding full independence of Catalonia from Spain.
There have been several Catalan independence referendums, referenda for determining the independence of Catalonia from Spain
The protest was followed in the succeeding years by the Catalan Way (2013), the Catalan Way 2014, the Free Way to the Catalan Republic (2015) and Go ahead, Catalan Republic (2016).
The Estelada (; pl. "Estelades"; full name "Senyera estelada", "starred flag" or "lone star flag", from "estel", "star") is an unofficial flag typically flown by Catalan independence supporters to express their support for either an independent Catalonia or independent "Països Catalans" (Catalan Lands, i.e. the territories where Catalan is traditionally spoken). The use of this flag as a protest symbol within Catalan nationalism has become more notable since the 1970s' Spanish transition to democracy. 
The design of the "Estelada" comprises the red-and-yellow bars of the "Senyera", with the addition of a five-pointed star in a triangle at the hoist. It wasn't adopted as the national flag of the proclaimed Catalan Republic (2017), the legitimacy of which was disputed; instead the Senyera flag was used.
Catalan Solidarity for Independence (Catalan: "Solidaritat Catalana per la Independència", "SI"; ) is an electoral coalition in Catalonia, founded in the summer of 2010 as an outcome of the grassroots social movement that initiated and organized the Catalan independence referendums of 2009 and 2010. It was organized as a common political platform for Catalan independentism, dissatisfied with what they considered a pragmatist and conformist policy of other Catalan parties (including the independentist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya) towards the issue of independence.
On 6-7 September 2017, he approved laws for permitting an independence referendum, and the juridical transition and foundation of a Republic, a new constitution for Catalonia that would be in place if the referendum supported independence. On 1 October 2017, the Catalan independence referendum was held in Catalonia despite Spain's Constitutional Court ruling that it breached the Spanish constitution. Despite the Spanish Government's cyber attacks, the closing of polling stations and the use of excessive force by Spanish Police 43% of Catalan citizens managed to vote in the illegal referendum, 92% of them supporting independence. The Catalan Parliament declared independence on 27 October 2017 which resulted in the Spanish government imposing direct rule on Catalonia, dismissing Puigdemont and the Catalan government. The Catalan Parliament was dissolved and the Catalan regional election, 2017 was held. On 30 October 2017 charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds were brought against Puigdemont and other members of the Puigdemont Government. Puigdemont, along with others, fled to Belgium and European Arrest Warrants (EAW) were issued against them. At the regional elections held on 21 December 2017 Puigdemont was re-elected to Parliament and Catalan secessionists retained a slim majority. Official results shown an actual support for independence of 47,6% versus a 43,5% that voted constitutionalist parties, the rest being non-aligned parties and blank votes. Puigdemont called for fresh talks with the then Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy but these were rejected.
The protest was followed in the succeeding years by the 2012 Catalan independence demonstration, the Catalan Way (2013), the Catalan Way 2014, the Free Way to the Catalan Republic (2015) and Go ahead, Catalan Republic (2016).
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence 2017 Spanish constitutional crisis Catalan general strike Catalan independence Catalan independence referendum, 2017 Catalan nationalism History of Catalonia Politics of Catalonia Law of juridical transition and foundation of the Republic
The referendum question, which voters answered with "Yes" or "No", was "Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?". The "Yes" side won, with 2,044,038 (92.01%) voting for independence and 177,547 (7.99%) voting against, on a turnout of 43.03%. The Catalan government estimated that up to 770,000 votes were not cast due to polling stations being closed off during the police crackdown, although the "universal census" system introduced earlier in the day allowed electors to vote at any given polling station. Catalan government officials have argued that the turnout would have been higher were it not for Spanish and Catalan police suppression of the vote. On the other hand, many voters who did not support Catalan independence did not turn out, as the constitutional political parties asked citizens not to participate in what they considered an illegal referendum.
On 1 October 2017 an independence referendum was held in Catalonia despite the Constitutional Court ruling that it breached the Spanish constitution. 92% supported independence though turnout was only 43% due to a boycott by those against independence and fears of state-sponsored violence. The Catalan Parliament declared independence on 27 October 2017 which resulted in the Spanish government imposing direct rule on Catalonia, dismissing the Catalan government. The Catalan Parliament was dissolved and fresh elections called. On 30 October 2017 charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds were brought against Junqueras and other members of the Catalan government. On 2 November 2017 Junqueras and seven other Catalan ministers were remanded in custody by the Audiencia Nacional. Six of the ministers were released on bail on 4 December 2017 but Junqueras and Minister of the Interior Joaquim Forn were kept in custody. At the regional elections held on 21 December 2017 Junqueras was re-elected to Parliament and Catalan pro-independence parties retained an absolute parliamentary majority. Junqueras was suspended as an MP by a Supreme Court judge on 10 July 2018 and remains in prison.
Let Catalans Vote (in Catalan: Deixin votar els catalans) is an international support manifesto to the Catalan independence referendum.
Let's build the Catalan Republic! () was a gathering in Barcelona on 11 September 2018, the National Day of Catalonia, in support of Catalan independence and the Catalan Republic passed by the Parliament of Catalonia on 27 October 2017. It was organized by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), the main civil society organisations behind the massive pro-independence demonstrations held since 2012.
Go ahead, Catalan Republic or We are ready () was a coordinated demonstration that consisted of five large celebrations in Barcelona, Berga, Lleida, Salt and Tarragona on 11 September 2016, the National Day of Catalonia, in support of Catalan independence. It was organized by the Catalan National Assembly (ANC) and Omnium Cultural, the main civil society organisations behind the massive pro-independence demonstrations held since 2012.
The Foreign Assemblies of the ANC, in collaboration with the Catalan Communities Abroad and Catalans al Món, organized more than 116 Catalan Ways carried out mainly between 1 August and 11 September 2013 in major cities around the world "to support the democratic independence process of Catalonia". More than 8,000 Catalans and supporters of Catalonia's independence participated in the International Catalan Way.Initially, 12-O Moviment Cívic called for a demonstration in the Sagrada Família square to circle around this monument, show their support for the "unity of Spain" and "break the pro-independence chain". However, the Ministry of the Interior of the Government of Catalonia ruled that this demonstration could not be at the same time of the human chain, both in time and in place, for security reasons. This, together with the limited support of the anti-independence political parties, led the organizers to call off the event and invited unionist Catholics to go to the Temple to pray and postponed an answer to the Catalan Way on 12 October, the "Fiesta Nacional de España".