Foreign Politics or: how i learned to stop worrying and love the parliamentary democracy

[Salodin]

No shit? I didn't know Salah ad-Din was Kurdish. He's one of my favorite historical conquerors. I found out about him as a kid because there was a character in one of my favorite video games named Saradin and I wanted to know where the name came from.

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Big Boss a.k.a. Saladin...

You could always change that a to an o lest people think you're a kurd or something...

[Zealot]

Spanish police reportedly trying to break up voters attempting to cast ballots in the referendum on Catalonian independence today.

[Gryffes]

Spanish police reportedly trying to break up voters attempting to cast ballots in the referendum on Catalonian independence today.

https://mobile.twitter.com/AnonTVoff...910976/video/1 ( police charge )


https://twitter.com/324cat/status/914465929207193600 ( local news, claims 300+ injured ).

https://twitter.com/Berlustinho/stat...63701293510656 - local police arguing with federal.

https://twitter.com/interiorgob/stat...57752528916480 - locals throwing rocks at the police.

https://twitter.com/LuzSanchis/statu...705472/video/1 more police bashing civilians.

[Salodin]

It's not supposed to be an official referendum on independence tho. I don't know the history tho so idk why they want to leave, but I don't blame the spanish for not just allowing a group of people to walk out of the country with that land.

[Gryffes]

It's not supposed to be an official referendum on independence tho. I don't know the history tho so idk why they want to leave, but I don't blame the spanish for not just allowing a group of people to walk out of the country with that land.

Basically spain had a civil war not too long ago, and it's madrid ( the political capital ) vs barcelona the cultural/economic capital.

[Salodin]

I mean, we got frisky when the south wanted to leave. I don't see this as much different.

[Gryffes]

Spanish popo also beating the local firefighters:

https://twitter.com/MarkKenn4Trump/s...77042250452992

[Gryffes]

Beatings will continue until morale improves.

[Seha]

I'm against *almost* all secessions, but repressing people who are protesting peacefully and just want to vote is a defeat for democracy. Are we Russia now?

[Talint]

Watching Barca play in an empty Camp Nou is surreal.

Barca statement on the game

[Salodin]

I'm against *almost* all secessions, but repressing people who are protesting peacefully and just want to vote is a defeat for democracy. Are we Russia now?

Uh, they want to vote to secede. I see no reason for a government to not fight that, violently if need be.

[Gryffes]

Uh, they want to vote to secede. I see no reason for a government to not fight that, violently if need be.

Scotland had an independence referendum with the blessing of the UK government, no violence.
If a region strongly wants to disassociate it's people should be held against their will?

Catalan is not the south, and spain isn't the north.

Sending in the police to beat people up is exactly the wrong way to go about this.... it will only create more bad will and more people who were on the fence will want independence.

[Salodin]

Oh I agree they should try to do it peacefully if it is going to be a thing. I'm just saying, people can't willy nilly secede and think the mainland is gonna be a-ok with it all the time. I'd say the Scotland referendum is the exception to the rule, but I'm just a pleb posting in the foreign politics thread.

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[Seha]

Uh, they want to vote to secede. I see no reason for a government to not fight that, violently if need be.

I see you're not familiar with respecting human rights.

The catalans have been quite peaceful about this, the central government's violence is not only unjustified but a display of fascism - which Spain of all places should remember well. This will only serve to rile up support for the movement even further, because it goes from being a matter of politics to one of oppression.

[Talint]

FC Barcelona go on strike in solidarity with Catalan independence.

Kind of easy to do, since the international break has just started. But don't doubt the power of football soccer in Europe.

edit: I guess it's only for a day, which is far less appealing. But whatev. Still good on Barca to stand in solidarity.

[Ragnus]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...-idUSKBN1CF2VI

Catalonia is attempting to declare it's sovereignty from Spain.

[Salodin]

The Catalonia President says they want to talk about it before it happens. It won't happen, lol. Ain't no way the EU is going to let them in, and without the EU they're pretty lonely out there.

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[archibaldcrane]

So uh, the Iraqi army is apparently starting a siege on Kurdish-held Kirkuk in northwestern Iraq?

That sounds dumb and bad, someone convince me otherwise.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.the...s-kirkuk-kurds

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[Andalusian girls]

it is a geopolitical disaster, two of America's closest regional allies in an escalating conflict over both the partition of the Iraqi state and the fate of an ethnically mixed Kirkuk (and its chemically mixed oil fields) in the event of said partition. to support Irbil we are actively encouraging the dismemberment of Iraq, pushing the Shiia Arab rump closer to Iran, and infuriating Turkey beyond calculation. to support Baghdad we deny the principle of self-determination and betray one of the few moderate, pro-American peoples in the Middle East.

we've been largely passive (i mean football players are kneeling who has time for another civil war in Iraq), but for what it's worth Tillerson previously said the Kurdish referendum was illegitimate while urging Baghdad to deescalate the situation. with Iran and Turkey actively hostile and the EU and China mostly not giving a shit it appears the sad history of the Kurdish people is getting a new chapter.

that said the Peshmerga is probably the best fighting force in the region, and while the Iraqi army is decked out in American tech i'm not sure they can advance on Kurdish positions without coalition air support, especially should they get past ethnically mixed lands and attempt to enter the Kurdish heartland. but i reckon hypothesizing about the outcome is moot as fighting is currently ongoing.

[Andalusian girls]

it's nice that the collapse of ISIS is bringing everyone together