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Historic protest against the difficulties faced by the Galician language

Thousands took to the streets of Santiago de Compostela yesterday demanding respect for their 'right to live in Galician' · Galicia’s language is under pressure because it is underused in education and justice and because of attacks by pro-Spanish language organizations.

On Sunday the capital of Galicia hosted one of the largest Galician-language demonstrations in recent history. A Mesa pola Normalización Lingüística, which organized the event, estimates that approximately 25,000 took part in the protest against the obstacles currently preventing Galician from becoming a fully official language. A number of cases of linguistic discrimination, particularly in the public sector and the judiciary, were highlighted during the concluding speech.

Protest chants against the organization Galicia Bilingüe (Bilingual Galicia) could be heard during the demonstration. Organizations such as Galicia Bilingüe have recently been putting more pressure on the Galician language, claiming that Spanish is being persecuted in Galicia and that people should be able to choose their language.

A Mesa spokesman, Carlos Callón, said that the current situation of the Galician language was “critical”. Speaking about education, Callón pointed out that, although progress had been made at primary level with the Galician-language schools, or Galescolas, universities and non-compulsory education do not meet the requirements of current language legislation.

A week of protests
Other pro-Galician events have also taken place this week. Galician Literature Day, held on 17 May each year, pays tribute to outstanding figures of Galician culture and literature. This year the achievements of Xosé María Álvarez Blázquez, a member of the Real Academia Galega (Royal Galician Academy) and an editor and author of poetry, short stories and essays, were recognized.

Last Friday saw the final leg of the Correlingua, an event similar to the Basque Korrika, the Breton Redadeg and the Catalan Correllengua. The Correlingua is a week-long race across Galicia that passes through the major towns and raises awareness for the Galician language.

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