Angry Catalans turn up the heat
Masses of flag-waving demonstrators demanding Catalonia’s independence and the release from prison of separatist leaders jammed downtown Barcelona yesterday as the northeastern Spanish region endured its fifth straight night of unrest.
Chaotic scenes of violence erupted after more than half a million protesters, including families with children, marched in the Catalan capital, according to local police. Many were clad in pro-independence flags Some had walked for three days in five massive ‘‘freedom marches’’ from towns across the region.
They converged on Barcelona and joined students and workers who also took to the streets during a 24-hour general strike.
Police resorted again to rubber bullets and, for the first time this week, to tear gas and water cannon to repel masked youths hurling cobblestones and flaming bottles, building barricades and setting dozens of bonfires with large rubbish bins.
About 400 people, roughly half of them police officers, have been injured and 128 arrested since separatist sentiment surged on Tuesday, when the Supreme Court sentenced nine separatist politicians and activists to lengthy prison terms. The nine had led a 2017 push for independence that triggered Spain’s deepest political crisis in decades.
Yesterday’s huge displays of support were mostly peaceful, but protesters and police battled for control of Barcelona’s centre after protesters circled the gates of the national police headquarters.
The separatist movement is proud of its history of mostly peaceful campaigning. Officials have accused a relatively small number of agitators of provoking the recent riots.
Spanish authorities suspect that a secretive new group called Tsunami Democratic is using encrypted messages to orchestrate some of the attacks, which have included torched cars and burning barricades in the streets.
The group appeared on September 2, and in just over six weeks has gained nearly 340,000 followers on its main channel on messaging app Telegram. A Spanish judge yesterday ordered the closure of websites linked to the group.
Interim Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska defended the police’s actions as ‘‘proportionate’’ and warned the separatists that Spain would apply the criminal code ‘‘with all its force’’, threatening them with prison terms of up to six years.
Tourists also felt the turmoil. At least two large cruise operators diverted their ships to other ports, and those that had already docked at Barcelona cancelled passenger excursions to the city. The famous Sagrada Familia church also closed its doors due to a protest blocking access to the basilica.
Dozens of flights into and out of the region were cancelled due to the strike, called by proindependence unions. Picketers also blocked roads to the border with France and elsewhere, sometimes with burning tyres. Many shops and factories didn’t open for business.
The former head of the Catalan government, Carles Puigdemont, yesterday avoided being jailed after he voluntarily testified before Belgian judicial authorities over a new arrest warrant that Spain issued this week following the Supreme Court sentences. He is also wanted for his part in the 2017 independence bid.
A Belgian judge ordered his release without bail but instructed him to remain in Belgium while awaiting an October 29 extradition hearing.