Dear Sirs of the American Radio Relay League, ARRL Awards Committee:
Catalonia, a nation of Europe from more than one thousand years, and the catalan radio amateurs has the right to ask the DXAC Committee to add Catalonia in the DXCC countries/entities list. We just would like to correct the historical injustice and draw the close attention of the DXAC Committee and the American Radio League (ARRL) board of directors to this fact.
The radio amateurs of Catalonia has permanent relations with the Generalitat of Catalunya (Government of Catalonia) that processes the radio amateur licenses and we collaborate with the drafting of the regulations of radio amateurs and the general telecommunications laws. We also collaborate with the Civil Protection of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
We request that they grant a DXCC country for Catalonia, which we already have own prefixes, EA3, EB3, EC3, ED3, EE3, EF3, EG3, EH3, AM3, AN3 & AO3.
We have this right because Catalonia is exactly the same case such others territories that have the status of DXCC country/entity such Scotland, England, Wales, Man, Northern Ireland and Jersey although are not managed by their governments. They are simply historical territories but are not independent states. In Scotland a referendum was held for the independence in 2014 and the people voted NO. In Catalonia a referendum was held for the independence, they won YES by majority on October 1, 2017.
Another example, Kaliningrad is a province of Russia and is recognized a DXCC country. Catalonia has more powers of government than all these territories, has 4 provinces, 7.5 million inhabitants and more than 5,000 radio amateurs.
We do not understand why 1A0C, Sovereign Military Order of Malta which is only an NGO with a call sign not authorized by the ITU, is a DXCC country and Mount Athos where some radio amateurs of this territory lives in Catalonia. In Catalonia we have the Monastery of Montserrat where 10 radio amateurs live there.
The Parliament of Catalonia is one of the oldest and most exemplary in the world, dating from the 11th century. Even Catalonia is present all over the world today, from the name of California, which is believed to have been due to the heat it does, according to the catalan expression “it looks like a lime kiln” in catalan “sembla un forn de calç” used when it is very hot, the origin of the word would come from the union of “lime” (calç) and “oven” (forn) and it is believed that it was put by the first Governor of California, the catalan Gaspar de Portolà who was also the founder of the cities of San Diego and Monterrey.
Some catalan radio mateurs have translated software such TQSL, WSJT-X and JTDX in catalan language to facilitate understanding for catalan fans who do not speak english. WSJT-X had catalan as its first language apart from the original one in english, thanks to the collaboration and
interest of Joe Taylor K1JT whom we want to thank for his work. Also thank Rick Murphy, K1MU for his work with TQSL who from day one helped us to have catalan translation in this excellent software.
There is an initiative of a catalan radio amateur at change.org where he has already collected more than 2,000 signatures to request and include Catalonia in the DXCC countries/entities list. The ARRL can not ignore and disparage the majority (51%) of catalan radio amateurs who have signed this petition.
We request the ARRL board directors, Mr. Richard A. Roderick (K5UR), President of the American Radio Relay League, grant DXCC country status to Catalonia very soon. Today? Why not?
EA3FHP 