![]() But to treat Catalan citizens, in their entirety, as a mass of criminals and act against them with disproportionate violence can also be considered criminal – or seen as a measure of the poor democratic quality of the government”.Īnna Comas, a 54-year-old interior designer who took part in Sunday’s protest in Calella, said she and others had gone to the hotel spontaneously. Now they know it’s also about professional dignity.”Ī Catalan police union responded to Sunday’s events with a statement reading: “The police are always on the side of the law. It also tweeted a video of an angry encounter between members of the two forces and later wrote: “A lot of people thought that the difference between a guardia civil and a mosso was about salaries. One Guardia Civil association lamented the fact that some Mossos had been involved in “confrontational situations with Guardia Civil officers who were only trying to obey orders”. While all three police forces were under a judge’s orders to stop the referendum going ahead, several national police and Guardia Civil groups have accused the Mossos of failing to do their duty and demonstrating both “clear disobedience” and an “unacceptable passivity” when it came to halting the vote. Spain’s attorney general insisted the police action to prevent the referendum on Sunday didn’t affect “normal life of citizens” and criticised the Catalan government for “irresponsibly” summoning people to vote in “tumultuous” gatherings.īut the continuing presence of thousands of officers from the Guardia Civil and national police has angered the Catalan government and highlighted tensions with the Mossos d’Esquadra and Catalan firefighters, some of whom formed human barriers to protect voters on Sunday. A further 30,000 marched in Girona and there were protests in virtually every Catalan town and village. How can we not be outraged?”Īccording to Barcelona city hall, some 300,000 people took part in the various demonstrations held in the city. They have beaten people who were holding their hands up. “People are angry, very angry,” said Josep Llavina, 53, a self-employed worker who had travelled to Barcelona from a nearby town to participate in the protest outside the Catalan headquarters of the Spanish national police. There were no reports of disruptions affecting big industry or Barcelona’s airport. Elsewhere, the response to the strike call was patchy. Metro stations in Barcelona that are usually busy were deserted as services were cut back sharply, and the Boqueria market was almost empty. Schools and universities were shut and most small businesses were closed after unions called for the stoppage to “vigorously condemn” the police response to the poll, in which Catalonia’s leader said 90% of voters had backed independence from Spain. The protest came as several small labour unions and grassroots pro-independence groups urged workers throughout Catalonia to go on partial or full-day strikes. Municipal police said about 15,000 people had stopped traffic as they rallied, many draped in the blue, yellow and red Estelada flag used by Catalan separatists, shouting: “The streets will always be ours.” With Madrid under growing international pressure to resolve its worst political crisis in decades, crowds gathered in Barcelona on Tuesday, chanting “independence”, repeating the cries of “occupying force” and urging Spanish police to leave the region. ![]() The Unión de Guardias Civiles went further, saying the “harassment” of its officers in Catalonia was “more like Nazi Germany than what you see in any other country where democracy reigns and rights are guaranteed”. But now people here are scared.”īy Monday night, the Guardia Civil had left Calella, leading Ramón Cosio, a spokesman for Spain’s main police union, to complain that officers were “fleeing from hotel to hotel they are like rats who have to hide”. All the bars around here used to be full of them. ![]() “There had never been problems until now. “We’ve had Guardia Civil and national police staying here for years before big football matches and nothing’s ever happened,” said one local business owner, who did not wish to be named. According to the town’s mayor, 14 people were injured, of whom four were taken to hospital. A group of officers – some carrying batons – emerged and, despite the intervention of members of the Catalan police force, allegedly attacked the protesters. ![]()
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