Catalan language hunger striker – solidarity from Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey

WEST BELFAST MP Paul Maskey (pictured below, right) has joined the global solidarity social network campaign by ‘Help Catalonia’ for Jaume Sastre, now on hunger strike for more than 30 days “to defend the teaching of Catalan in the Balearic Islands”.

The campaign consists of people around the world taking a photo with a poster containing the message “#Solidarity with #HungerStrikeForCatalan”.

Help Catalonia says the campaign is in solidarity with the hunger strike “to demand education in Catalan, to defend language immersion and to raise international awareness of the contempt suffered by our language in Spain”.

Help Catalonia adds:

“The campaign is attracting the attention of international journalists who were not aware that the language spoken in different regions such as Valencia or Majorca is the same as that spoken in Catalonia.”

Among the supporters of the campaign are European candidates of the Catalan parties Ernest Urtasun of ICV, Ramon Tremosa of CiU and Josep Mª Tericabras of ERC;  Juanjo Puigcorbé and Otto Ozzols from in front of the Freedom Monument in Riga;  Juan Herrera, Dolors Camats Ester Capella, Augustí Colomines, Quim Arrufat.

• For more information about the campaign: www.helpcatalonia.cat

• Download the poster: http://www.helpcatalonia.cat/2014/05/selfie-for-solidarity-with.html