Grup d'Acció Valencianista
The Grup d'Acció Valencianista ( GAV ) (Valencian Task Force) is a blaverist organization in the Valencian Community , founded in 1977. It calls itself "the fighting and martial faction of genuine Valencianism". It is generally considered to be a right-wing extremist group.
In the past, they, especially the GAV youth, have often resorted to violence. Some of their acts of intimidation against educational centers, individuals and democratic parties are under false names such as u. a. Maulets 1707 or Colectiu Vinatea (sic).
Historical background
The main tendency of Valencianism after the Spanish Civil War (the " new Valencianism " after Joan Fuster ) generally had a progressive ideology. Its main characteristic was a break with the Francoist ideology as well as with the tendencies of traditional Valencianism before the Spanish Civil War. As a countermovement, Blaverism was created, a movement against Valencia's membership in Catalonia . The GAV was established as a gathering point for regionalists who defended Spain as their nation and claim to embody " traditional Valencianism ".
The ideas of the new Valencianism were considered by the GAV as " the essence and the symbol of imperialist Pan-Catalanism [ intended ] the annexation of the Kingdom of Valencia to the illegal Catalan countries ". With this justification, the GAV tried during the Spanish transition to create a contentious atmosphere in order to prevent the approval of the Statute of Autonomy of the Valencian Community . According to the critics of Blaverism, the GAV has been infiltrated by important people on the Franquist right. The GAV is seen by some as a terrorist group. Indeed, the UCD chairman, Emilio Attard , integrated GAV members into his own party.
In 1979, during the festivities of October 9th, the Valencian National Day, a group of people associated with the GAV burned the flag of the Pre-Autonomous Council of the Region of Valencia , which was fluttering on the balcony of the City Hall of Valencia , with the help of a fuse drawn by the former GAV- President and later UCD city councilor Rafael Orellano was produced. At the same time, some members of the Valencian Community's pre-autonomous council were attacked. Since then, the GAV began to play an important role in blaverism. She also avowed violence to enforce her ideals.
Nowadays their importance has decreased and they are mainly active in Valencia and the surrounding area. However, they continue to blackmail and persecute them.
Acts of violence
Two terrorist attacks against Manuel Sanchis i Guarner and Joan Fuster in 1979 and 1981 with extremely powerful explosives were carried out by people close to the GAV. Nobody confessed to or was prosecuted for the attacks. Even so, they were vandalism under the law . However, the GAV described a terrorist attack against Sanchis Guarner in 1978 as a "reaction of the Valencian people against the Catalan aggression" and as a "non-bloody action". This shows the ideological proximity between the aggressors and this association.
Two months after this "vandal" incident, Sanchis Guarner died of a heart attack. Joan Fuster announced in a TV interview in 1992 that he had given up active social life because of these events and that he was suffering from depression. The GAV, however, does not define itself as a fighting or terrorist group.
In its SOM magazine, the GAV justified the terrorist attack against Sanchis Guarner in October 2002 after the offense had become statute-barred and it was therefore not possible to convict the guilty.
One of her most notorious actions was the boycott of a lecture by David Rosenthal at the medieval silk exchange in Valencia in January 1985. Rosenthal is the translator of the chivalric novel Tirant lo Blanc from Catalan into English. Some GAV supporters, including Carles Recio, a so-called modern Valencian intellectual, released mice in the silk exchange to disrupt the lecture.
Juan García Sentandreu admitted to a Spanish judge that he had pelted eggs on a Catalan television car after an illegal demonstration against the Consell Valencià de Cultura , an official advisory Valencian cultural organization . During this illegal demonstration, the Consell members were also attacked.
On December 1, 2007, GAV members distributed leaflets at La Garrigosa Secondary School in Meliana . These leaflets contained pictures and personal information from some teachers at this secondary school, such as: B. their addresses. They were accused of being “Catalan”. In these leaflets, the neighbors were asked to take action against them. This action corresponded to the formation of political "black lists".
In January 2008, some GAV members wrote threatening and xenophobic graffiti on the wall of the Ca Revolta cultural society and the Center Social-Bar Terra in Valencia. These places are meeting places of the left and the progressives of Valencia.
That same month, Casal Jaume I of Acció Cultural del País Valencià , a Valencian nationalist cultural organization, was attacked with a hydrochloric acid bomb by unknown people in Catarroja while a meeting of the civil platform Salvem Catarroja (Let's save Catarroja) was taking place. The victims said they suspected GAV was involved. They had received telephone threats a few days earlier. The barracks where they kept their materials were also attacked while taking part in a demonstration against speculation. Various objects were stolen, others destroyed or smeared. The criminals signed the acronym "JJGAV" on the barracks.
In February 2008, the headquarters of the Valencian Nationalist Bloc Party was attacked by a group who wrote graffiti on the door and broke the door lock. The BLOC has strong suspicions that these people belonged to the GAV.
On July 5, 2011, some GAV and España 2000 members boycotted the presentation of the book Noves Glòries a Espanya (New Honor for Spain) by Vicent Flor, which took place at the FNAC in Valencia . Afterwards, the ex-president of the GAV, Juan García Sentandreu , was arrested.
As a result, the Parliament of Catalonia condemned the "repeated attacks by right-wing extremists" in the Valencian Community. Previously had Coalició compromis already a similar request in the Corts Valencianes introduced, but which of the People's Party was rejected.
GAV youth
In the present the GAV is looking for new followers through the JJGAV (GAV youth). This organization very often has relationships with other right-wing extremist groups such as B. España 2000 , a right-wing extremist party headquartered in Valencia. Some supporters of the GAV and the JJGAV are also militants of E2000.
The GAV youth program is based almost entirely on anti-Catalan acts: boycotts against Catalan products, demonstrations, protests, etc.
President
- Rafael Orellano (1976–1977)
- Pasqual Martín Villalba (1977-1984)
- Chimo Romero (1984-1989)
- Pere Aguilar (1989-1994)
- Juan García Sentandreu (1994-2001)
- Manolo Latorre Castillo (2001–…)
Web links
- GAV website (Catalan)
- Summary of the violence of the Blaverists in the Valencian Community (Catalan)
- Depiction of images of the violence of the Blaverists in the Region of Valencia (Catalan)
Individual evidence
- ↑ pg. 321-322 - Noves Glòries a Espanya , Vicent Flor , Editorial Afers, 2011. (Catalan)
- ↑ Mapping the Extreme Right in Contemporary Europe: From Local to Transnational (English) by Andrea Mammone, Emmanuel Godin, Brian Jenkins. ISBN 978-0-415-50264-1 . Pg. 121
- ↑ The Valencian left is harassed by right-wing extremists ( memento of the original from July 3, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Article from the Público on November 10, 2008 (Spanish)
- ↑ pg. 151 - Vicent Flor's Noves Glòries a Espanya , Editorial Affairs, 2011 (Catalan)
- ↑ http://www.antiblavers.org/galeria/displayimage.php?album=7&pos=102 The crowned stripe was the only part of the three official flags that was not burned.
- ↑ "I made the fuse" that burned the flags . Interview with Rafael Orellano in El Mundo on October 9, 2010. (Spanish)
- ↑ http://www.valencianisme.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=41 History of the Valencian flag with a blue stripe, where the facts of October 9, 1979 a. a. be told in detail. (Catalan)
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. News about a GAV deployment. (Catalan)
- ↑ http://www.antiblavers.org/galeria/displayimage.php?album=7&pos=44 Attack in the law faculty of the University of Valencia. May 2006. (Catalan)
- ↑ http://www.racocatala.cat/noticia/membres-gav-assalten-casal-jaume-sueca-durant-presentacio-dun-llibre members of the GAV access the social and cultural center Jaume I by Sueca during the presentation of a book on. December 2007. (Catalan)
- ↑ Members of the GAV-Jugend force a performance in the Casal Jaume I by Sueca to be stopped and attack the audience. ( Memento of October 3, 2012 on the Internet Archive ) As a result, three people were injured and had to be treated at the local hospital. Four GAV members were arrested and arrested. (Spanish)
- ↑ http://webs.racocatala.cat/eltalp/guarner.htm (Catalan) In this article from 2002 the GAV confesses to various acts of violence. One of them is the 1978 terrorist attack against Manuel Sanchis Guarner. The text was published when the offense was statute barred, so no one could be convicted for these acts.
- ↑ http://webs.racocatala.cat/eltalp/guarner.htm (Catalan) Reproduction of the article from 2002.
- ↑ http://www.elpais.com/articulo/cultura/COMUNIDAD_VALENCIANA/traductor/Tirant/Blanc/ingles/sufre/Valencia/efectos/polemica/catalanistas/valencianistas/elpepicul/19850126elpepicul_5/Tes/ elpais.com (spanisch)
- ↑ http://www.antiblavers.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Persones#carles_recio (Catalan) More information about Carles Recio in "Antiblavers.org"
- ↑ (Catalan) members of the GAV access the social center and canteen Terra to
- ↑ (Spanish) Tension grows in Catarroja (Spanish)
- ↑ Sentandreu is tied up after a GAV attack, where books and chairs are thrown , Levante-EMV, July 6th 2011 (Spanish)
- ↑ (Spanish) The right-wing extremists boycott a cultural performance in FNAC of Valencia Image gallery of the Levante-EMV website
- ↑ The Parliament of Catalonia condemns the 'repeated attacks by the right-wing extremists' in Valencia Message in Levante-EMV on April 8, 2012. (Spanish)
- ↑ The PP avoids condemning the boycott against Vicent Flor because it says it affects the central government. Message in Levante-EMV on December 6th, 2011 (Spanish)
