Spain jails Catalan separatist leaders, protesters take to streets
It&#x27;s nearly 100 years since the matter of Catalan independence was first mooted and 80 years since the end of the Spanish Civil War and matters surrounding the formation of an autonomous Catalonian State remain far from any real resolution.  This just isn&#x27;t just a political dispute that if given sufficient time will eventually dissipate, rather it&#x27;s a fundamental one of cultural and language differences and the heavy-handedness of the Spanish state is only making matters worse.<p>In a world where modern democracies everywhere are coming under increasing stress because state authorities are increasingly breaking the long-held covenants of trust that bind a state and its citizenry, these outrageous sentences only make a further mockery out of the law.  Ultimately, cool heads soon need to resolve this stand-of or inevitably it will lead to further civil disobedience and possibly worse.  And one must never forget that the last time this happened in 1936-&#x27;39 many hundreds of thousands died over the issue.<p>In the modern Europe of today, borne out of the horrific chaos of WWII (and its prelude the Spanish Civil War), there should be no place where people should be subject to such authoritarian rule as they have been subjected to here.<p>It&#x27;s now time for Europe to pressure Spain to finally give the people of Catalonia both their autonomy and freedom.  Catalonia has been in Spain&#x27;s chains far long enough.