Chaos in Catalonia
Strike shuts schools, businesses; king says Spain at crossroads
Protesters toss referendum ballots into the air Tuesday in Barcelona, Spain, as tens of thousands of workers and students demonstrate over the use of force by police during a weekend referendum on Catalonia’s secession. King Felipe VI of Spain, in a televised address, said the decision to push ahead with independence had “undermined coexistence” in Catalonia.
BARCELONA, Spain — Highways were blocked, schools closed and business mostly halted across Catalonia on Tuesday as tens of thousands of workers and students joined strikes and took to the streets to protest the use of force by police that left hundreds injured during a referendum on the region’s secession.
Spain’s King Felipe VI, delivering an address to the nation by television, said Catalan authorities have deliberately bent the law with “irresponsible conduct” and that the Spanish state needs to ensure constitutional order and the rule of law in Catalonia.
The king said the bid by authorities in the northeastern region to push ahead with independence had “undermined coexistence” in Catalonia.
“Today, Catalan society is fractured and confronted,” Felipe said, referring to the political crisis as “very serious moments for our democratic life.”
In the regional capital, Barcelona, where the strikes affected bus and subway services, tourists scrambled to find open restaurants and to avoid the protests. There were moments of tension when a handful of picketers forced the closure of shops that had remained open along the city’s Las Ramblas boulevard, but elsewhere the demonstrations were largely peaceful.
Separatist groups and unions had initially called on strikes to be held Tuesday in support for Catalan leaders pushing ahead with a declaration of independence from Spain. But many nonseparatists were also drawn to the streets after the crackdown on voters on Sunday.
In Barcelona’s Catalonia and University squares, a sea of demonstrators waved flags, most of them “esteladas” embraced by those advocating secession, but also plenty of Spanish national flags were on display.
“People are angry, very angry,” said Josep Llavina, a 53-year-old self-employed worker who had traveled to Barcelona from a nearby town to participate in the protest outside the regional offices of Spain’s national police.
The building became a focal point for protesters, gathering thousands at midday who shouted that the police were an “occupying force” and urged Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to resign.
“They brought violence with them,” Llavina said. They have beaten people who were holding their hands up. How can we not be outraged?”
Catalan officials said 90 percent of the 2.3 million people who voted Sunday were in favor of independence. But fewer than half of those eligible to vote turned out. The vote was boycotted by most of Spain’s national parties on grounds that it was illegal and lacked basic guarantees, such as transparency, a proper census or an independent electoral governing body.
The central government in Madrid blamed Catalan separatist politicians and grassroots groups for the violence, saying they “plotted to break the law” and drew citizens to an unlawful vote.
“Nothing of this would have happened if the [Catalan] government hadn’t declared itself in rebellion, breaking the orders of the courts and lying and tricking people,” Enric Millo, Spain’s top official in Catalonia, said Tuesday.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has declared the vote valid and has announced that Catalonia will present the final results this week to the regional parliament, which would trigger the process of breaking away from Spain.
The Spanish national government has said it will respond with “all necessary measures” to counter such a move, and it is holding talks with national opposition leaders to find multipartisan consensus on the response.
The general strike in Catalonia called by pro-independence groups was not fully backed by Spain’s two main unions, who invited workers to decide individually whether to participate, either in support of secession or to protest police violence, or both.
Port workers also held a demonstration outside the regional headquarters of Spain’s ruling Popular Party, while firefighters planned a rally outside the Interior Ministry’s regional office in Barcelona. Protests were also to be staged outside schools that were used as polling stations where police acted with force to try to prevent Sunday’s poll being held.
More than 890 civilians were treated for injuries, most of them not serious, attained in clashes during Sunday’s referendum, according to Catalan regional health authorities. Police using batons, and some firing rubber bullets, cleared protesters hoping to vote. Spain’s Interior Ministry said 431 National Police and Civil Guard agents were injured, too.
The police action prompted criticism worldwide, although the European Union and most governments backed Spain’s stance in what is its most serious political crisis in decades.
Nigel Farage, one of the leaders in Britain’s vote to leave the EU, condemned the bloc’s failure to clearly condemn the police violence.
“It is quite extraordinary to realize that this union is prepared to turn a blind eye,” Farage told EU lawmakers.
Cyprus said Spain’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity need to be respected, arguing that the referendum on Catalonia’s independence was carried out in violation of the Spanish constitution.
Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu also said respect for Spain’s territorial integrity was the main principle, adding that it was important that both sides abide by Spain’s laws and avoid violence.
Information for this article was contributed by Hernan Munoz and Alex Oller of The Associated Press.