End havoc, 750,000 Catalan marchers told
SPAIN’S prime minister Mariano Rajoy yesterday urged Catalans to vote in a new election to end “separatist havoc” after 750,000 marched to demand the release of pro-independence leaders.
In his first visit to Barcelona since Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia, Mr Rajoy pleaded with them to “restore normality” to a region rocked by attempts to split from Spain.
He said the election next month would safeguard the economy and stop key businesses leaving.
Yesterday at a campaign event he said the “silent majority” must “convert their voice into a vote”. But his comments came after 750,000 people marched through Barcelona to angrily call for the release of the key Catalan leaders from prison.
The Spanish High Court has jailed eight former government members while investigations continue following the holding of a referendum on leaving Spain.
The protesters carried photos with the faces of those in prison, waved the red-and-yellow striped Catalan independence flag and shone lights from their phones.
Wearing yellow ribbons on their lapels, they filled the length of the Avenue Marina to Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia church, while the jailed leaders’ families made speeches.
Mr Rajoy said: “We must reclaim Catalonia from the havoc of separatism.
“With democracy, we want to reclaim Catalonia for everyone.”
He added: “We want a massive turnout to begin a new political era of tranquillity, normality, coexistence and respect.
“We must urgently bring back normality to Catalonia... to reduce social tension and stop damage to the economy.”