The President of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, declared on Tuesday that the September 11th “belongs to all Catalans” and called for emphasis on what “unites” the citizens of Catalonia. In his first institutional message on the occasion of September 11th Day, Illa, who recovered the Palau de la Generalitat as the setting for his speech, also stressed that Catalonia “has always been a welcoming land and a land of solidarity” and guaranteed that “now it will be exemplary again”.
With the bust of former president Josep Tarradellas in the background and next to the four columns of the Llotja de Levante of the Palau de la Generalitat to evoke the four bars of the “senyera”, Illa highlighted that the Diada is “a beautiful invitation to live together” and a day to “reconnect” and reflect on “who we are and where we want to go forward as a country and as a society.”
Illa warned that “the world is experiencing profound and accelerated changes” This involves risks and opportunities, which is why he asked to focus on what “unites” the Catalans and to “trust” Catalonia and its plurality in order to move forward.
The Catalan president stressed that diversity is one of the “fortresses” of Catalonia and urged “not to turn a blind eye” to migratory phenomenon“a global emergency resulting from inequalities in the world.” “Catalonia has always been a welcoming land and a land of solidarity. And now it will be exemplary again. Citizens of Catalonia: all those who come to improve Catalonia are Catalans. With the same rights and duties that we all have,” he said. said.
Likewise, he highlighted the “recovery of excellence” in Catalan public services: “I am fully convinced that a prosperous and just nation for everyone is built in classrooms, in primary care centers, in libraries, in nursing homes, and in the streets and squares of safe neighborhoods.
On the other hand, he opted for “generate shared prosperity, govern with the right priorities and govern for all. “Catalonia is and must be a collective project that unites us all without distinctions,” stressed Illa, who called for “looking to the future with optimism and hope.”
The president, who encouraged people to live Diada “with joy and civility”also had a memorial for the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, while sending “an affectionate hug” to the Chilean community on the anniversary of the coup and the death of former Chilean President Salvador Allende.
