For decades, Yasser Arafat was the incarnation of the Palestinian fight for independence. Ten years after his death on November 11, 2004, he remains a national hero for a still stateless people.
On November 9, the autonomous province of Catalonia held a non-binding vote on whether it should remain a part of Spain or strive for independence. The voters were asked two questions: “Do you want Catalonia to become a state?” and “If so, do you want Catalonia to be an independent state?”
Above: Spanish unionists protest in Madrid against the symbolic independence vote in Catalonia.
Above: Spanish unionists protest in Madrid against the symbolic independence vote in Catalonia.
6,430 ballot-boxes were installed in 1,255 schools and colleges. More than 40,000 volunteers assisted the Catalans during the consultation.
Above: People queue to cast their ballots in a symbolic independence vote at a polling station in Vilassar de Dalt, near Barcelona.
Above: People queue to cast their ballots in a symbolic independence vote at a polling station in Vilassar de Dalt, near Barcelona.
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© AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti
There is no official list of “voters”; more than 5,4 million Catalans aged 16 and older are eligible, so are foreigners permanently residing in Catalonia. 18 ballot stations are open abroad.
Above: A man with the estelada flag casts his ballot.
Above: A man with the estelada flag casts his ballot.
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© AP Photo / Emilio Morenatt
Eight observers from Belgium, France, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden and Great Britain have arrived in Catalonia to inspect the vote. They plan to visit about 30 schools.
Above: A Barcelona resident puts his voting paper in the ballot box.
Above: A Barcelona resident puts his voting paper in the ballot box.
After the announcement that the votes would be counted by the autonomy’s authorities, the Catalan government suffered a hacker attack.
Above: A queue to a polling station in Catalonia.
Above: A queue to a polling station in Catalonia.
Catalan President Artur Mas signed a decree on September 27 to set the independence referendum on November 9.
Above: Catalan President Artur Mas and his wife Helena Rakosnik vote in Barcelona on November 9, 2014.
Above: Catalan President Artur Mas and his wife Helena Rakosnik vote in Barcelona on November 9, 2014.
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© AP Photo / Emilio Morenatti
The Spanish Constitutional Court declared the vote illegal and the Supreme Court declined Catalonia’s appeal to challenge the decision.
Above: Independence supporters take part in a rally ahead of voting on an informal poll on November 7, 2014.
Above: Independence supporters take part in a rally ahead of voting on an informal poll on November 7, 2014.
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© East News / AP/FOTOLINK
Artur Mas decided the voting on November 9 would be carried out as an unofficial consultation despite the central government’s protests.
Above: Oriol Junqueras, head of the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia, center, holds a drawing of a ballot box during a rally ahead of voting on an informal poll on November 8.
Above: Oriol Junqueras, head of the pro-independence Republican Left of Catalonia, center, holds a drawing of a ballot box during a rally ahead of voting on an informal poll on November 8.
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© RIA Novosti . Vladimir Astapkovich
Catalonia became an autonomous province of Spain in 1479. The region’s autonomy has fluctuated from Catalonia’s almost breaking away in 1871 to its suppression by Franco.
Above: A rally in support of Catalonia’s independence in Barcelona.
Above: A rally in support of Catalonia’s independence in Barcelona.
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© East News / AP/FOTOLINK
Independence supporters won an absolute majority in the Parliament of Catalonia and in January 2014 voted to hold a referendum on independence.
Above: Fireworks are displayed after a rally in support of the independence of Catalonia in Barcelona.
Above: Fireworks are displayed after a rally in support of the independence of Catalonia in Barcelona.
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© Photo : Rex Features
Yasser Arafat delivering a press conference in 1970 during Black September. Arafat lead the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the civil war fought to determine control of Jordan
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© AP Photo
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, left, chats with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Cairo, June 1, 1974, before the start of the opening session of the Palestinian Parliament in exile
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© AP Photo
Yasser Arafat addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Nov. 14, 1974. The empty seats in foreground, left, were left unoccupied by the Israeli delegation
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© AP Photo / Herve Merliac
American cross carrier Arthur Blessitt, 41, of Los Angeles, Calif., with his 11 year old son Joshua pray with Palestinian guerrilla leader Yasser Arafat in Beirut, July 4, 1982
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© AP Photo / Yousef Allan
PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat waves one of the plastic identity cards Israel has imposed on Gaza Strip Palestinians working in Israel, in Amman, Jordan on August 22, 1989. He asked the US to condemn the card as a form of discrimination
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© Photo : Rex Features
Yasser Arafat shakes hands with Yitzhak Rabin on the Oslo Accord at the White House in 1993. A peace treaty designed to deliver the "right of the Palestinian people to self-determination"
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© Photo : Rex Features
Arafat and Bill Clinton meet again at the White House to sign the Oslo II accord that ensured safe passage for Palestinians from the West Bank to Gaza
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© Photo : Rex Features
Arafat and Shimon Peres acknowledging winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for "their efforts to create peace in the Middle East"
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© Photo : Rex Features
Nelson Mandela and Gracha Machel meet Arafat for his first diplomatic visit to South Africa. SA recognised the State of Palestine on 15 February 1995
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© Photo : Rex Features
Crowds gather to wave goodbye to Yasser Arafat as he leaves Palestine to receive medical treatment in Paris two weeks before he died on November 11, 2004
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© AP Photo / Abbas Momani
Children pose for a picture in front of Yasser Arafat poster during the opening of a museum for Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday, Nov. 9, 2014
