The sun is rising in Occitania

Short speech of Mr Michel AGUILERA, President of the Occitan Provisional Government for the Federal and Democratic Republic of Oc countries

Tolosa, 2007-04-04

Dear Prime Minister, dear ministers, ladies and gentlemen

At daybreak the sun is rising in Occitania, the sun is rising for the Occitan people…. The sun is rising now that centuries of shame, good and faithful service under the thumb of a few imperialist states are over. The sun will rise as soon as the ghosts of those who were burnt on the stake and who still enchant our memory are exiled in the night. The sun is rising. We are early. We want liberty, entire liberty and nothing but liberty for our people. Nevermore shall we accept to be bound to the guns of colonialism?

In 1992, the advocates of a centralized France modified article 2 of the Constitution on the ground that it was necessary to struggle against the accelerating invasion of the English language. But in fact it was not the truth, what they really wanted to do at the time was to gag our language and the languages of France the better to constrain us, for us to be docile and monolingual citizens. Since then the only language allowed has been French. One should speak but French to be a true republican in our country. For 15 years we have become sorts of aliens within our own country, linguistically disabled so to say.

Then, at the beginning of the European Constitution there was like a whirl of liberty for the stateless peoples around the European Chart for regional and minority languages. At last they were going to acquire a kind of legitimacy.

But there came a single categorical no from the country of human rights: France; the Occitan dream fell through, it turned into a nightmare.

Then finally one day, as Roland Pecout, the Occitan author wrote, some of us ’decided to be right’, to exist; It should be said also, that the sun had not risen for our people for a long time. But, in any case, what should we do to start something, to find a way out? We felt somewhat alone and orphaned!

Nietzsche (1844-1900) said more or less this: “If you’re alone you’re always wrong… but if you’re two it’s the beginning of truth” We would be considered, some said, as a bunch of imps, oddballs, nutcases… Schopenhauer (1788-1860) wrote that: “all truth goes through three stages, at first it is laughed at, then it is challenged doggedly and finally it is recognized as true as if it had always been true.

The Occitan people, therefore, decided to form a league between themselves. At the beginning of 2004, there was that Languedoc-Catalonia coalition with the movements and associations of Christian Lacour, the publisher from Nimes (Régionalistes, Unir etc.) The coalition also gathered a host of regionalist associations and movements: País Nòstre, Partit de la Nacion Occitana, Partit Occitan, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya, Unitat Catalana etc.

Most of the people who are now in the Provisional Occitan Government took part in the electoral battles of 2004. We got 13,538 votes in Languedoc. Taking advantage of the momentum gained we fielded a list of candidates for the European Elections and we got 6506 votes in the Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées regions, which means a final tally of 20044 votes for those three Occitan regions.

The result was not outstanding but taking into account the many traps and countless difficulties we had to face I can assert that it was beyond all our expectations; from then on the orphans were no longer alone. At last the sun was going to rise on Occitania. That is why we were able to draft together the groundwork of Narbonne.

The sun shone on history, Occitania was no longer a shadow. Then we decided to form an Occitan Provisional Government in the name of the free association principles and of the international inalienable right to self-determination.

This government’s job is to draft the first constitution of the Occitan countries and to be with abnegation and loyalty at the service of the Occitan people.

We hope a responsible nation, in the noble sense of the word, will be able to see the light of day through democratic means and without violence, that is to say a Federal and Democratic Occitan Republic with the support of France, Europe and the UN.

True, we are provisionally in office. The executive of the Occitan Provisional Government is not yet elected. Those who were expecting a liberation army perhaps will be disappointed but our representation is mostly symbolic. We know that only the people are sovereign. Any legitimacy will proceed from democratic ways. We will see to it that it is so.

The symbol of our government is a dove, the one from the rock of Cathars burnt on the stake at Montsegur, the first victims of the French arch-centralist power.

We are free men and women. We are no separatists. We want to maintain links with France and other peoples. We don’t want violence; we work for peace and justice.

This resolution involves forgiveness with a view to a fraternal reconciliation of the EU nations. But more than anything else, forgiveness is supposed to forge reparation so one of the clauses will have to recognize the legitimacy of our call with a view to giving Occitania back to the Occitan people.

We appeal to reason, rights and solidarity between all the peoples of the earth, to all the people who will support us, strongly or moderately, and help us reach our objectives.

At daybreak, the sun is rising on our country. Now is the time for Occitania.

The sun is rising. We are early. We want liberty, entire liberty for our people.

Long live the Occitan Federal and Democratic Republic !