San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Catalan separatists clash with police as tensions increase
BARCELONA, Spain — Catalan separatists battled police Saturday in Barcelona as tensions increase before the anniversary of the Spanish region’s illegal referendum on secession that ended in violent raids by security forces.
Separatists tossed and sprayed colored powder at officers, filling the air with a thick rainbow cloud and covering riot shields and police vans. Some protestors also threw eggs and other projectiles and engaged with officers, who used baton strikes to keep them back.
Authorities said 14 people were hurt and six arrested.
The clashes erupted after local Catalan police intervened to form a barrier when a separatist threw purple paint on a man who was part of another march of people in support of Spanish police demanding a pay raise. Officers used batons to push back the oncoming separatists and separate the opposing groups.
There were more confrontations between separatists and local police as the separatists tried to enter Barcelona’s main city square where 3,000 people supporting Spanish police had ended their march.
The pro-police march had originally planned to end in another square home to the regional and municipal government seats, but 6,000 separatists, according to local police, gathered in the square to force regional authorities to alter the march’s route.
Saturday’s demonstrations come two days before Catalonia’s separatists plan to remember last year’s referendum on secession that the regional government held despite its prohibition by the nation’s top court. That Oct. 1 referendum was marred when national police and Civil Guard officers clashed with voters, injuring hundreds.
Joseph Wilson is an Associated Press writer.