Catalan independence referendum in chaos
SPAIN - Catalonia’s disputed independence referendum was in chaos on Sunday, with reports of hundreds injured as Spain’s national police launched a widespread crackdown on the vote. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont condemned “indiscriminate aggression” against peaceful voters. Spanish authorities appeared determined to deny the vote legitimacy by preventing as many people as possible from casting ballots. Regional authorities said 337 people were injured after Madrid deployed the national police force to close down polling stations. Catalan emergency services confirmed the number to CNN. Barcelona’s deputy mayor said police fired rubber bullets at people as they attempted to vote in the referendum, which Spain’s top court has declared illegal. There were reports that police in Girona used batons. Spain’s Interior Ministry said nine members of the national police force and two members of the Civil Guard had been injured in scuffles. The national government is implacably opposed to any breakaway moves by the northeastern region In a press conference in Madrid Sunday, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría blamed the violence on the “crazy rush” of the Catalan regional government to hold the “unconstitutional” vote. “The referendum couldn’t be held, and it’s not been held. To carry on with this farce makes no sense, it doesn’t lead anywhere,” she said. Defending the national police actions, Saenz de Santamaria said their objective had been to seize material associated with the referendum and not to target Catalans. She called on the Catalan government to halt its “irresponsible behavior” and call off the vote. “Despite the blatant illegality of this, they wanted to continue, using children and old people recklessly.”
In Girona, where Puigdemont was due to vote, police smashed their way into a polling station by breaking a glass window. Puigdemont cast his ballot in a nearby village.
Catalan authorities said Education Minister Clara Ponsati i Obiols was forcibly removed from her polling station. Regional government spokesperson Jordi Turull told a press conference in Barcelona two hours after polling began that despite the Spanish government’s efforts, 73% of the polling stations, 4,661 in total, were open.
He accused Madrid of being responsible for “a state violence unknown to Spain since the age of Franco,” referring to the former military dictator Francisco Franco who ruled the country with an iron fist for 36 years until 1975. The Catalan government has not yet made clear how it will respond in the event of a “yes” vote. (CNN)