The hunger strike being undertaken at Lledoners jail by Catalan political prisoners Jordi Sànchez, Jordi Turull, Joaquim Forn and Josep Rull, along with a second hunger strike in support, by the mayor of the town of Montblanc, Josep Andreu, are activating further collective fasting actions in support of the pro-independence prisoners, in particular through the campaign Prou d’ostatges! - Enough hostages! A hundred and twenty people have already taken part in these fasts over the last week, in small groups, with the usual format being for fasters to consumer no food for a minimum of two days and a maximum of seven. The campaign is coordinated through the website prouostatges.cat, where people who want to participate can register.
There are currently five fasting actions underway simultaneously in Barcelona, Montserrat, Terrassa, Girona and Cornellà de Llobregat, as well as other one-day fasts, such as that held this weekend by local Catalan National Assembly groups from the towns of Masnou, Teià and Alella, or one called in Italy by the radio programme Radio Italia Radio, produced by Catalans living in Italy, in which around twenty people living in different parts of Italy took part. Next weekend, two further one-day fasts are planned in Castellar del Vallès and Tarragona, among other initiatives.
Also within the prouostatges campaign aimed at publicising the situation of the political prisoners and exiles and supporting the hunger strike, collective fasting will be extended to other areas in the Catalan-speaking countries in the nest few days: specifically, the cities of Palma de Mallorca and Valencia. A 24-hour collective fast will take place in Palma, starting on Wednesday 19th at 7.30am and ending the following day at the same time, organized by the association Jubilats per Mallorca at Can Alcover (on Carrer Sant Alonso, 24). In Valencia, the fast will take place at the Societat Coral El Micalet (on Guillem Castro, 73), from 12 noon on Thursday, December 20th until noon the next day. This action in Valencia has been organised by the solidarity group Solidaritat i República País Valencià.
"No normalization of repression"
Collective fasting is an action which often forms part of nonviolent protest movements, and as the prouostatges campaign says, is being promoted to assert that "there must be no normalization of the repression and aggression against basic rights entailed by the imprisonment, exile and judicial persecution of hundreds of people who are victims of a general case."