Catalonia is once again at the center of attention, this time due to the activities of so-called “independent” paramilitary camps. These groups, often led by avowed Israel supporters, fuel the debate about the region’s future with provocative statements like “We will clean up after 3 centuries.” The “Grup Zulu,” the practical and paramilitary section of the Society for Military Studies (SEM) of Catalonia, announced its summer school for this year from August 29 to 31 in Lluçanès, as reported in a tweet on May 29.
The Societat d’Estudis Militars (SEM) dreams of a future Catalan army. Given the geopolitical and legal impossibilities of realizing this, they prepare reports and proposals for a hypothetical Catalan army. At the same time, they train pro-independence cadres in self-defense techniques and focus on small elite groups with military skills, even if the handling of weapons is strictly avoided in these courses.
Who is Pol Molas? The Brains Behind Catalonia’s Separatist “Military Exercises”
“And you, have you trained today?” is a recurring slogan used by the administrators of Grup Zulu on X (formerly Twitter). While the Zulu Group’s presence there does not show overtly anti-Spanish provocations, this contrasts with the rhetoric of Pol Molas, the chairman of the SEM. Molas, who regularly writes in Catalan media, even called for the dissolution of the Espanyol football club in an article in “Esperit” two years ago. He also spoke of “finishing the work and cleaning up after three centuries of domination” and aims to “prevent any attempt at a (Spanish) uprising in a cold and methodical way.”
The separatist think tank SEM, founded in 2014, aims to design a defense model for a hypothetical independent Catalonia. It draws heavily on countries such as the Nordic nations, but particularly on Israel, which holds a great fascination for Pol Molas. While Molas is not an unknown name in the most extravagant separatist circles, his “military training courses ‘de indepes'” regularly attract attention from Spanish media.
Especially during holidays and summer, for the past five years, the SEM has been recruiting “patriots” willing to “die” for the Estelada – though only in simulated situations or in training formats without the use of weapons. Their activities are usually conducted discreetly; for instance, the coordinates of their paramilitary exercises are not published, but their organization is not concealed, as political provocation is a clear objective.
Intense Training and Theoretical Debates: The SEM Program
This year’s call for the Grup Zulu course in August does not differ significantly from previous editions. The spirit of the 2021 edition, which the group referenced in their tweet, aimed to “provide participants with an intense experience of physical and mental training, inspired by the training of elite military units, but adapted to a civilian and training environment.”
In their subscription bulletin for this year, they also clarify that the course costs 20 Euros for SEM members and 30 Euros for others. Those willing to pay this modest symbolic amount are promised to be “exposed to conditions of uncertainty and stress, through exhaustion, hunger, sleep deprivation, and certain situations where they face physical and mental challenges.”
One of the major differences between these practical SEM courses and recreational Airsoft – apart from its political component – is that the Zulu Group’s camps are not designed for enjoyment but for suffering for the homeland. Their stated goal is to prepare Catalan independence cadres for physical and mental endurance, leadership under pressure, survival techniques, orientation, camouflage, patrols, self-defense, and special operations exercises.
Unlike other Catalan groups that also “play war,” such as the Special Unit of Catalonia, SEM courses do not even use Airsoft guns (much less firearms), although the approach, they claim, is much more demanding and formative. Without weapons, it’s like “adventures in nature,” but with hunger, sleep deprivation, some hiking, and many patriotic songs.
This year, the practical training is scheduled to take place in Lluçanès, a region in the northeast of the central Catalan plain. As far as documented, there is no evidence that they have employed foreign professional instructors in this area. The practical lessons of the Zulu Group are led and coordinated by President Pol Molas himself and the co-founder and secretary of the SEM, Daniel Soler, whose qualifications as military instructors are unknown. The SEM General Staff also includes some collaborators and prominent members who claim more or less advanced competencies in various military matters and survival tactics. None of them have regulated military knowledge, apart from a master’s degree or a course in international “things.”
The “Grup Alfa”: Theory and Fascination with Israel
In addition to the military-inspired courses organized by the SEM this summer, there are also theoretical courses led by the “Grup Alfa.” This summer, these will take place on June 29 and 30 at a summer camp in Baix Penedès.
The central theme is the outbreak of conflicts in the Middle East. Specifically, the program includes “analysis of house-to-house combat with particular attention to the battles of Fallujah (Iraq); a specific study of the war in Libya, as well as debates, workshops, and case analyses of the geopolitical, strategic, and military factors that determine current conflicts in the region.” And between lessons, there’s a “solemn flag-raising.”
In this year’s practical call, they clarify that the methodology is inspired by selection tests of special forces like the British Special Air Service (SAS), the American Green Berets (SF), or the German Kommando Spezialkräfte. They do not mention Israel explicitly, adding “an etcetera,” into which one assumes some of the elite troops of the State of the Jews fit.
Molas’s fascination with the Israeli defense model is evident. He has repeatedly sought inspiration in Israel for the creation of Catalan armed forces and has published articles analyzing Israeli military strategies, proposing them as a paradigm for well-executed defense work (“Més estratègia, menys sentiments”, Esperit). Furthermore, the SEM has organized seminars on the Israeli model, attended by high-profile figures such as the former advisor to the Israeli Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, Ben-Dror Yemini, and the father of the Israeli missile defense system, Uzu Rubin.
Molas’s pro-Israel stance is by no means unknown in independence circles. Historically, several members of the Exèrcit Popular Català (EPOCA), the direct predecessor of the terrorist organization Terra Lliure, sought refuge abroad in Israel after the amnesty was lifted by Minister Martín Villa. Some, like Josep Lluís Pérez, even served in the Israeli army, although eyewitnesses at the time claimed this was in the medical corps to avoid carrying weapons.
Just a few weeks ago, Molas again positioned himself clearly on the side of the Israeli arms lobby in an interview with Radio Estel, which he himself shared on the SEM’s X page. The same gentleman who advocated in Esperit for “finishing the job” and “purging the Spaniards after three centuries of domination” expressed in his speech his deep concern about the consequences for the Spanish armed forces resulting from the termination of purchase agreements with Israeli defense companies. Molas claims that “if they stop buying, for example, the Spike (fourth-generation anti-tank guided missiles developed by the Israeli company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems) now, there will obviously be a time when Spain runs out of missiles because periodic exercises are carried out where they are used.”
The careful analyses of the Catalan geostrategist on the consequences of Spain’s decision to decouple from Israeli technologies and interrupt weapon acquisition also indicate that “all components requiring sophisticated electronics will be very difficult to replace because Spain is not at the level of Israeli technology, and not only in terms of certain systems but also its updating and maintenance.” In addition to the Spike, Molas mentioned SILAM, a project developing a highly mobile missile launcher system carried out by a Spanish consortium in cooperation with the Israeli company Elbit Systems.
It is widely acknowledged that a complete decoupling from Israeli technology could pose problems for Spain. The Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcarce, has admitted that some industrial programs are “technologically dependent” on products manufactured by Israeli companies. What the SEM president has naturally forgotten to mention, according to a Spanish threat expert, is that “the Spanish government’s plan for ‘technological decoupling’ also affects Catalonia, among other things, due to its strategy to develop autonomous digital capabilities.”
“As a result of 1:0, Cesicat (Cybersecurity Agency of Catalonia) was equipped with many new technologies, although they did not achieve everything they wanted, and now it depends not only on the hardware and software they got but also on maintenance and update services that require the constant intervention of Israeli companies,” says the expert. In other words, Cesicat has made progress in developing cybersecurity capabilities with Israeli technology, but interrupting these connections could impair the ability to maintain and update critical systems. The strategy of creating a Catalan Smart Nation requires continuity in technological support, which is now compromised.
Airsoft Groups and “Catalanism” as a Unifying Element
Besides the military-inspired courses organized by the SEM this summer, there are also those of the aforementioned Special Unit of Catalonia (UEC). Despite the publicity they have gained in the press and their pretentious name, they are little more than a recreational Airsoft group with Senyera and “steroids” (they not only play soldiers but also climb and spend many hours on Arma III, a PC simulator popular in MilSim or military simulation environments).
The UEC members look much more martial in photos than the SEM members because they use replicas of weapons and sophisticated equipment, including “super cool” uniforms with a “red beret,” a Barretina-type “Red Beret,” and a flag patch with the silhouette of a wolf on the four red stripes on a golden background of the royal sign of Aragon.
However, they lack defense advisors, ideologues, and world experts in geostrategy like Pol Molas, who adorn their war games with books and public interventions about “cold and methodical” cleansing projects of Spanish Catalans who do not share their secessionist drive.
This is how they define themselves: “We are a Catalan unit of a formative and relaxing nature, aimed at Catalans who love military simulation and survival techniques. It is not an official or police unit, but a civilian collective that seeks to channel the vocation for service and interest in tactics, survival, and airsoft among those who, for ideological reasons, do not want to be part of the Spanish Armed Forces.”
They say they are apolitical because they are not tied to specific parties or ideologies (and do not explicitly mention independence either). They probably mean they are “non-partisan” because “politicians” are.
Although they admit that there are Catalans with different views in their ranks, it is mandatory to join them “to speak Catalan, have an acceptable physical condition, and affirm the Catalan national feeling.” In other words, they claim to be an Airsoft group where “Catalanism is the common link within the ideological diversity of the group.” Someone asks them on Instagram if they include Catalans who perceive themselves as Spanish in “the ideological diversity of the group,” and the administrator clarifies: “But you already have thousands of similar Spanish units that need to sign up!” Another, more generous user tells him: “You can come here, but you all end up in the Cado (the hole).”
