500,000 march in defiance of terrorism in Barcelona

NARENDRA MODI, prime minister of India BARCELONA: Tens of thousands marched through the heart of Barcelona on Saturday in a defiant display of unity against terrorism.

They were joined by Spain’s King Felipe VI, who was nonetheless the target of jeers by Catalan separatists.

The municipal police said, in a Twitter post, that half a million people participated in the march to commemorate last week’s deadly vehicle rampage.

People who tended the victims of the attack were given pride of place at the front of the procession, behind a large white-andblack banner that read “No tinc por” (Catalan for “I’m not afraid”).

Signs on display carried messages such as “No to Islamophobia” and “The best response: Peace”.

They included uniformed police officers, doctors in their white coats, firefighters wearing their helmets, residents and shop owners who rushed to help after a van struck people on the Las Ramblas boulevard, as well as taxi drivers who transported people free.

“There were very difficult moments,” said Montse Rovira, the city hall’s head of social emergencies.

Marchers carried red, yellow and white flowers, the colours of Barcelona, as they made their way along the city’s main boulevard, the Paseo de Gracia.

Many also waved the red-andyellow Catalan flag, marked with a white star, a reminder of the simmering tensions between the central government and the separatist government of Catalonia. AFP