Iraqi Kurdistan has not been oppressed since 1991. In fact, it's the Iraqi Kurds who now oppress their minorities, religious and ethnic.
On topic, I find the desire for independence stupid. There is no issue for oppression, as the largely invented Catalan identity hasn't been suffocated since the death of the Caudillo.
Yes, like the Croats and the Slovenes, they believe that they are being taxed disproportionately, in the sense that "they pay for roads and healthcare in Andalusia". Not a very altruistic sentiment, not to mention that prosperity is not guaranteed in a geopolitically isolated Catalonia.
Still, if that's what the majority wants (I doubt it, according to most polls, only a minority is pro-independence and its numbers fall dramatically, in the hypothetical scenario of a tax decrease), then they should enjoy their rights, after negotiating with the Spanish government without violating the Spanish constitutions.
Instead, they acted like jerks, Madrid responded in kind and we have alt-right crusaders that they actually predict that Islamists will exploit the chaos to establish the Ummayad Caliphate.
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