Using statistics below and current mass media materials make a comparative analysis of these two separatist movements. Write a research report (550-600 words) following the proposed plan: 

1. Introduction 

2. Main Body: 

– Similarities in separatist sentiments/movements in ….and ….. 

– Differences in separatist sentiments/movements in ….and ….. 

3. Conclusion  

SPAIN: 

Catalonia

-Population of proposed region vs population of country as a whole: 7.56m vs 46.7m 

-Year independence movement began: First stirrings date from the 17th century but political parties began campaigning for independence in the early 20th century. 

-Support for referendum: Catalonia’s devolved parliament plans referendum on the issue in 2014, in defiance of Spanish government objections -Land mass of proposed region: 32,114 sq km 

-Regional GDP vs country as whole: $255bn vs $1.39 trillion 

-Main separatist group: The Republican Left of Catalonia and the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) openly campaign for independence but the ruling Convergence and Union (CIU) coalition is seen as moderate nationalist. 

-Militancy: No recent record of violent struggle. All the main political groups support a referendum. Despite Catalonia’s status as an autonomous community, The Spanish constitutional court has ruled that its designation as a “nation” is a historical term without legal weight. 

Basque

-Population of proposed region vs population of country as a whole: 2.16m vs 46.7m 

-Year independence movement began: First assassinations in 1968, nine years after creation of Eta.

-Support for referendum: The separatist party EuskalHerriaBildu won a quarter of the vote in 2012 elections, while the biggest proportion of votes — one third – went to the Basque Nationalist Party, which seeks an undefined form of independence 

-Land mass of proposed region: 7,234 sq km 

-Regional GDP vs country as whole: $91.49bn vs $1.39 trillion 

-Main separatist group: Eta 

-Militancy: Eta has been blamed for 829 killings from 1968 to 2011. Several hundred activists are held in jail, mainly in Spain and France.