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Palma.—At least 14 local councils, despite their debts and deficits, have chartered a fleet of coaches in order to bus as many people as possible into the capital this Sunday to take part in a pro-Catalan march which has been organised by the Obra Cultural Balear.

All week, small demonstrations against the new government's plans to down grade the importance of Catalan have been taking place across the island but this Sunday will be the pinnacle of the campaign to protect the Catalan language and its culture to date.

Jaume Mateu, the President of the OCB, said yesterday that the demonstration will begin at 6pm in Plaza de España and make its way through Palma to the Consolat de Mar government headquarters. “I am convinced that the vast majority that want to save and protect the language of this land will join the demonstration,” he said outside Parliament. “We've got to join forces and show just how important the language and its culture is to us because we have just a matter of days to force the government to change its mind or at least agree to a more cohesive language policy,” he said. “We have elderly people on hunger strike and the government must be made to understand that language is transversal and therefore any decisions regarding its position in society should be taken in consensus with the general public,” he added.