Catalan regional chief calls for independence vote

Demonstrators take shelter behind a barricade during clashes with police in Barcelona, Spain on Oct 16. Spain’s government said Wednesday it would do whatever it takes to stamp out violence in Catalonia, where clashes between regional

independence supporters and police have injured more than 200 people in two days. (AP) Catalonia should hold a new vote on independence from Spain within two years, the head of the region’s government said on Thursday in a fresh challenge to Madrid following days of unrest by pro-separatist protesters.

Nearly 100 people were injured across the northeastern region on Wednesday in a third day of violence after Spain’s Supreme Court sentenced nine Catalan leaders to lengthy jail terms over their failed effort to secure independence in 2017.

Cars and rubbish bins were torched in the Catalan capital Barcelona overnight and police said they had arrested 12 people in the city in some of the worst violence seen in Spain in years, which has sent a shockwave through national politics.

The Interior Ministry said it would send in reinforcements with further protests planned for Friday, when unions have called a strike and protesters from around the region are due to converge on Barcelona, one of Europe’s top tourist cities.

Addressing the Catalan parliament, pro-independence regional chief Quim Torra criticised the rioting, saying the separatist cause was a peaceful movement. (RTRS)