Wednesday 31 March 2010

Gwersi o Catalunya / Lessons from Catalunya

Gan Emyr Gruffydd, Caerffili
Scroll down for english version

Fel myfyriwr ieithoedd sydd a diddordeb arbennig mewn ieithoedd lleiafrifol a gwledydd bychain eraill Ewrop, afraid dweud bod treulio wythnos yng Nghatalonia (neu Catalunya) yn ddiweddar wedi bod yn brofiad hynod ddiddorol. Trueni fodd bynnag oedd gorfod dychwelyd i dywydd gwlyb ag oer Cymru! Penderfynais dreulio dau ddiwrnod yn nhre Girona yng Ngogledd Catalonia cyn mynd ymlaen i Barcelona, prifddinas Catalunya. Afraid dweud bod y profiad wedi dylanwadu arnaf yn gryf, gan fod yna gymaint o wersi i Gymru ac i ni fel Plaid ddysgu oddi wrth y genedl ddiddorol hon.

Mae edrych ar system wleidyddol a pholisiau'r 'Generalitat', sef llywodraeth Catalonia, yn hynod ddiddorol. Efallai mai'r peth mwyaf trawiadol ynglyn â'r wlad yw ei pholisi ieithyddol, sy'n gorfodi pob busnes i ddefnyddio'r iaith Gatalaneg. Mae hyn yn gwneud yr iaith yn hynod weledol, hyd yn oed mewn dinas mawr gosmopolitaidd fel Barcelona. Y Gatalaneg sy'n cael blaenoriaeth ar bob arwydd ac ym mhob sefydliad cyhoeddus, yn enwedig mewn ysgolion lle ni addysgir yr un plentyn trwy gyfrwng 'Castellano', yr iaith Sbaeneg, bellach. Mae pob un cyngor lleol, prifysgol a sefydliad llywodraethol yn gweithio trwy gyfrwng y Gatalaneg. Canlyniad y polisiau radical hyn a osodwyd gan y 'Generalitat' wedi blynyddoedd o orthrwm gan Franco yw bod Catalaneg wedi dod yn iaith feunyddiol i bron i 64% o boblogaeth y wlad, yn ogystal a chael statws swyddogol yn Valencià a'r Illes Balears (Ynysoedd y Baleares.) Hyfryd oedd clywed yr iaith yn cael ei siarad gan y mwyafrif helaeth ar strydoedd Girona yn y gogledd.

Dywed nifer ei fod wedi bod yn weddol hawdd i'r Gatalaneg gael ei normaleiddio fel prif iaith y wlad gan ei bod yn debycach i'r Sbaeneg na'r iaith Fasceg, er enghraifft, sydd â chanran llai o siaradwyr. Fodd bynnag, yn dilyn cynllun radical diweddar gan lywodraeth Gwlad y Basg, fe fydd 55% o blant y wlad yn cael ei haddysg trwy gyfrwng y Fasceg yn unig ymhen ychydig o flynyddoedd, a 75% yn derbyn ei haddysg yn ddwyieithog. Dyma ddangos taw polisiau cryf sydd wrth wraidd adfywiad ieithoedd lleiafrifol.

Pam felly nad ydym ni yng Nghymru yn manteisio ar y cyfle i normaleiddio'r Gymraeg yn ein cymunedau Cymraeg? Dyliai'r Gymraeg gael priod le ar bob arwydd yn yr ardaloedd hynny lle mae dros 50% o'r boblogaeth yn siarad yr iaith, a'i wneud yn iaith weinyddol i bob busnes, boed lleol neu rhyngwladol, yn yr ardaloedd Cymraeg eu hiaith - a bod POB plentyn yn derbyn addysg cwbl Gymraeg yn yr ardaloedd hynny. Mae'n hollbwysig hefyd bod plant yn yr ardaloedd llai Cymraeg eu hiaith yn cael y cyfle i astudio trwy gyfrwng yr iaith (yn enwedig gyda'r cynlluniau dadleuol diweddar i leihau darpariaeth Gymraeg i ddisgyblion y chweched yn Rhondda Cynon Tâf). Dyliai fod pob cyngor yn yr ardaloedd Cymraeg, fel Ceredigion, Môn, Conwy a Chaerfyrddin yn dilyn esiampl cyngor Gwynedd gan osod y Gymraeg fel eu prif iaith gweinyddol. Os ydy hi'n bosib yng Nghatalonia - mae'n bosib yma hefyd!

Un elfen arall o'r wlad a fy nharodd yn arbennig oedd y galwad cryf am anibynniaeth. Wrth siarad a nifer o bobl ifanc yng Catalonia, roeddent ar dân eisiau hunan reolaeth i'w cenedl eu hunain. Mae'r 'Generalitat' ar y funud yn bwerus (hyd yn oed yn fwy na llywodraeth yr Alban) a'r cam nesaf, yn naturiol, byddai anibynniaeth. Mae'n destun sgwrs beunyddiol ar y strydoedd, yn y papurau newydd ac yn enwedig yn y genhedlaeth ifanc. Mae polau piniwn diweddar yn dangos fod dros 40% o Gatalanwyr yn cefnogi anibynniaeth - ac roedd refferendwm anghyfreithlon diweddar ar anibynniaeth yn dangos cefnogaeth gref i'r syniad.

Yng Nghymru, rydym wrth gwrs yn canolbwyntio ar gael mwy o bwerau i'r Cynulliad Cenedlaethol, a da o beth yw hynny. Fodd bynnag, byddai'r pwerau newydd yn dal yn chwerthynllyd gan eu cymharu a grym llywodraeth yr Alban a hyd yn oed yn fwy trwy eu cymharu a phwerau'r 'Generalitat'. Pam felly taw dim ond 14% o boblogaeth Cymru sy'n cefnogi anibynniaeth, i gymharu a rhyw 30% yn yr Alban a 40% yng Nghatalonia? Yn fy marn i, nid yw anibynniaeth erioed wedi bod yn destun trafod difrifol i fwyafrif y Cymry. Nid yw'n cael sylw priodol mewn papurau fel y Western Mail, y Daily Post ac ar raglenni teledu gwleidyddol. Fodd bynnag, mae llawer o'r bai arnom ni fel Plaid am guddio ein dyheuadau am Gymru rydd, annibynnol. Rhaid i ni, fel yr SNP a'r ERC (Plaid adain chwith sy'n cefnogi anibynniaeth yng Nghatalonia) ddechrau trafod y posibiliadau ynglyn ag anibynniaeth, gan ei wneud yn destun trafod ym mhob tafarn, eglwys a siop leol yn y wlad. A fel adain ieuenctid ein Plaid Genedlaethol, NI ddyliai fod yn dechrau yn yr ymgyrch - gan ysbydoli'r genhedlaeth ifanc i feddwl o'r newydd am y posibiliadau cyffrous o Gymru annibynnol llewyrchus.

Cymru Rydd / Visca Catalunya Lliure!



I don't know what this translation is like, but I've given it a go!

As a languages student with special interest in minority languages and the small nations of Europe, I must say that spending some time in Catalonia (or Catalunya) recently was an interesting experience. It's a shame however that I had to come back to the cold and the rain here in Wales! I decided to take two days to explore the town of Girona in North Catalonia, before going on to the capital of the country, Barcelona. Needless to say that the experience has had a huge influence on me, as there are so many lessons we can learn in Wales and as a party from this interesting nation.

Looking at the political system and the 'Generalitat' (the Catalan government)'s policies is quite interesting. Perhaps the most striking thing about this small nation is its linguistic policy, which obliges each and every business, be it a local one or an international one, to use the Catalan language. This makes the language very visible, even in a highly cosmopolitan city such as Barcelona. Catalan is given priority on every sign and in every public institution, especially in schools where every single child is taught through the medium of Catalan. Each local council, university and governemental institution works through the medium of Catalan - and many of them in Catalan only. As a result of these radical policies implemented by the Generalitat after years of linguistic opression by Franco, almost 64% of the Catalan population uses Catalan as their main, daily language, as well as being spoken by over a million more in Valencià and the Illes Balears (The Balearic Islands). It was inspiring to hear the vast majority using the language on the streets, especailly in Girona in the north.

Many believe that it has been easy for Catalan to be normalised as the main language of Catalonia due to its similarity to Castillian Spanish, whereas in the Basque Country, where the percentage of speakers is lower, it has been harder due to the lingustic difference between the two languages. However, following a radical plan by the Basque Government, close to 55% of children will be educated solely through Basque in the space of a few years and 75% will be receiving a bilingual education. This shows that strong policies are the key to succesful language revitalisation.

Why are we in Wales therefore not ready to take the bull by the horns and really make a go of language normalization in our Welsh speaking communities? Welsh should have priority on each and every sign in those communities where more than half the population speaks Welsh, and make it the administrative language of every business, be it local or international - and make sure that ALL children in the Welsh speaking West receive an education solely through the medium of Welsh. It's also important that children in the less Welsh speaking areas in the South East have a full opportunity to study through the medium of the language (especially with the recent controversial plans to downgrade Welsh medium provision in the sixth forms of Rhondda Cynon Taf). Every council in the Welsh speaking areas, such as Ceredigion, Môn, Conwy and Caerfyrddin must follow Cyngor Gwynedd's example and make Welsh their main administrative language. If it's possible in Catalonia - It's possible here as well!

Another thing that especially struck me about Catalonia was the strong call for independence. Speaking to many young people in Catalonia, it was obvious that they were passionate for self rule for Catalonia. At the moment, the 'Generalitat' is very powerful (even more powerful that the Scottish Parliament), so naturally the next step would be independence. It's a daily topic of conversation on the streets, in the newspapers and especially within the younger generation. Recent polls show that 40% of Catalans support independence - and an illegal referendum recently held on the subject showed strong support for it.

At present in Wales, we are concentrating on getting more powers for the National Assembly, which is of course a good thing. However, the new powers would still be incredibly weak compared to the powers of the Scottish Parliament, and even more so compared to those of the Generalitat. Why therefore is it that only 14% of the Welsh people support independence, whereas 30% do so in Scotland and over 40% in Catalonia? In my opinion, independence has never really been a serious topic of conversation for many Welsh people. It doesn't get the same coverage in the Western Mail, the Daily Post and on political TV programmes as other issues. However, a lot of the blame rests with us as a political party for hiding our desire for a free, independent Wales. Like the SNP and the ERC (A leftist, independentist Catalan political party), we must really begin to talk about independence and the opportunities it would bring, by making it a topic of conversation in ever pub, church and local shop in the country. And as the youth wing of our national party, it is US that should start the campaign for self rule by inspiring the younger generation to think of the exciting opportunities that an independent and flourishing Wales would bring.


Cymru Rydd/ Visca Catalunya Lliure

Monday 29 March 2010

Tory's defect to support independence (apparently)

By Luke James
Cymru X Chair

A new entry into the Cymru X, not so, Concise Dictionary of Welsh Nationalism today…

Internal Enlargement: a nice and fluffy phrase for independence for all the nations of Europe who want it.

I was in Venice on Friday for the conference of the European Free Alliance Youth, the European wide political party that we are in with other nationalist and regionalist parties.

A chat in one of coffee breaks came onto the phrase ‘internal enlargement’ and how it might be a useful way to put across the idea of nations, like Wales, becoming an independent state within the European Union.

A European Free Alliance conference on independence later in the year might add some more meat to this strategies bone.

It’s not a strategy I have a problem with; after all selling your ideas is half the battle. Maybe if the Liberal Democrats tried it they wouldn’t have to moan so much about other people stealing and repacking their ideas.

I know the people that are developing these ideas are firm believers in Welsh independence and that is why we are staging a conference on independence.

However I am wary that pursuing a strategy where we introduce terms like ‘internal enlargement’ sounds similar to a time when we pursued the ‘Europe of regions’ strategy.

Under the Europe of the Regions plan Wales would be part of an EU that was governed by a patchwork quilt of autonomous regions.

Dafydd Elis-Thomas appears a fan of this approach; John Osmond quotes the Llywydd in his chapter of Breaking Up Britain, Four Nations After a Union.

Elis Thomas writes: “The one thing I regret as leader of Plaid Cymru, is that my own party doesn’t seem to have understood the issues raised by devolution in the same way that other parties have done.

“Plaid Cymru has not adjusted to devolution because you have this improbable allegiance of some people to something called Welsh independence.

“Not since the seventh century was this ever a real political project.”

Thankfully since 2004 Plaid Cymru’s leadership has maintained the position that our parties long term vision is for an independent Wales within the European Union, and I don’t think that statement is contradictory.

I think I speak for most of Cymru X when I say we are not interested in arguing for our countries status as a region or motivated to hit the pavements dropping leaflets and canvassing by the vision of Wales as part of a ‘federal UK’.

We want equality, because that’s when, to quote Breaking Up Britain further, good neighbours become good friends.

But ‘internal enlargement’ could well be an asset to our arsenal.

And by coincidence I was scrolling through the Conservatives European manifesto from 2009 when I came across the section entitled “Support Further Englargement of the EU.”

Which stated: “We have long championed the enlargement of the European Union because we believe that EU membership or its prospect has been crucial in firmly establishing democracy across the continent.

“ The economic benefits are also profound: trade between the UK and the ten countries that joined the EU in 2004 increased by almost 400 per cent between 1992 and 2005, ten times the rate of growth in trade between the UK and the rest of the world. Our MEPs will support the further enlargement of the EU, including to the Ukraine, Belarus, Turkey, Georgia and the countries of the Balkans, if they wish to achieve EU membership, however distant that prospect may be in some cases.”

So it seems whilst there have been notable defections to the Tory’s recently, the Tory’s have made a defection of their own, to supporting internal enlargement and Welsh independence.

Right on comrades!

Tuesday 16 March 2010

Students' Union Elections not spectator sport for Cymru X

by Luke James
Cymru X Chair

Since I became involved in Cymru X in 2008 I have been in a handful of members of the Cymru X executive to stand in any students' union elections.

Last year at Swansea University I was encouraged by a Labour student to stand as a part time officer and was duly elected General Secretary.

I've also been successful in the National Union of Students' (NUS) UK conference delegates’ elections and last week was elected to serve as full time Education Officer for the next academic year.

But for the records I missed out in the NUS Wales delegates’ elections, so it wasn't all good times.

And I would stress that I have fought these elections, not as a Cymru X or Plaid Cymru candidate, but independently and with only our union members’ interests in mind.

But the point is, if it wasn't for the encouragement of a Labour student, who comes from an organisation where to fight for the top positions in every students' union is a minimum requirement, I might not have thought about standing.

If you ask me, for a youth movement of the second largest political party in the country with the talented people we have within our ranks, our record on contesting students’ union elections is embarrassing.

That’s why starting with this years students’ unions executive elections we will be encouraging our members to stand for positions in their unions, independently and to serve their members, but with the values and passion they bring to Plaid Cymru and with the support of Cymru X.

And to those people who dismiss student politics – students’ unions represent a huge amount of people and uphold the right to education amongst other things.

And from a Plaid perspective if you want to see a generation of trained and motivated activists ready to take on our opponents in the battle of ideas, door to door - then this is the place to start.

Dros Gymru!

Monday 1 March 2010

Dydd Gwyl Dewi hapus!

Pob bendith ar Ddydd Gwyl Dewi!
Every Blessing for St. David's Day!