Leader booed on visit to Barcelona hospital
THE Spanish prime minister faced boos and angry protests during a visit to Barcelona yesterday following a week of Catalan unrest over lengthy prison sentences handed to pro-independence leaders.
Demonstrators blockaded the office of the Spanish government’s delegation in the city after it was reported by several media that Pedro Sánchez was planning to attend a meeting there.
When he arrived at Hospital Sant Pau to visit police officers injured in last week’s clashes, protesters gathered outside, jeering him and shouting: “Freedom for politician prisoners!”
Videos from inside the hospital showed the chanting continuing as Mr Sánchez walked along a corridor, with hospital workers in white gowns also shouting slogans such as “Shameless!”
Mr Sánchez left Barcelona shortly after midday, and a spokesman from his office denied claims that the protests had forced him to abandon the visit to the delegation, saying no such meeting had ever been scheduled.
Politicians from Catalan separatist forces and Left-wing parties criticised the Spanish leader’s decision to visit the region without taking the opportunity to meet Quim Torra, its president, after a week of chaos on the streets.
Close to 600 people have been injured in confrontations with security forces, including 288 police officers.
Mr Sánchez also drew criticism for failing to express any concern for injured protesters, with human rights groups such as Amnesty International having raised concerns about the use of excessive force by riot police.
The protests broke out a week ago when the supreme court jailed nine separatist leaders to up to 13 years for sedition over the banned independence referendum of October 2017.
“He either doesn’t want to, cannot or doesn’t know how to find a solution to the situation,” said Laura Borràs, spokesman for Mr Torra’s Junts per Catalunya party.
Mr Torra’s office released a video showing a moment in which he is told that Mr Sánchez is too busy to take his call, one of several attempts the Catalan president says he has made to talk to him in recent days. Mr Sánchez has sent a letter to Mr Torra demanding he condemn violence in a clear way.