Luke Sistek
Crisis Director
Luke (he/him) is a freshman at Clark University studying Political Science and Geography. This is Luke’s first year with Clark Model UN, but he has experience in high school MUN. Luke is from North Andover, MA. This will be Luke’s first time as a crisis director in a formal setting and he is very excited to see what you will all come up with!
Email: LSistek@clarku.edu
¡Visca Catalunya! The 2017-18 Catalan Independence Crisis
On October 1st, 2017, Catalonia, an autonomous region within Spain, held an independence referendum. The referendum won with 92.01% of the vote, however it is believed the vast majority of anti-independence voters did not turn out to vote. The referendum was carried out by the pro-independence government of Catalan President Carles Puidgemont, without the consent of the Spanish government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. Following the results of the referendum, President Puidgemont presented a Catalan Declaration of Independence on October 27th, 2017. Opposition lawmakers boycotted the vote on the declaration, believing it to be unconstitutional under Spanish law. Delegates will be placed into this extremely volatile situation as pro-independence forces seek to force independence despite a shaky low-turnout mandate and a questionable legal basis, and pro-union forces consider federal intervention in Catalonia. Will a nation be born? Or will it be killed in its cradle? The future of the Catalan people is in your hands.