Catalans March to Barcelona After Violent Protests

Date: 16 October 2019 - 22:14

News ID: ۷۱۷۸۵

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Thousands of people on Wednesday joined five large protest marches across Catalonia that were set to converge on Barcelona, as the restive region reeled from two straight days of violent clashes between police and protesters.
The marches set off from several Catalan towns and aimed to reach the Catalan capital by Friday.
They included families with children, elderly and young people, and banners reading "Libertat Presos Politics” (Freedom for political prisoners) — a reference to nine separatist Catalan leaders given to lengthy prison sentences by the Supreme Court on Monday, which ignited the protests.
Catalan regional president Quim Torra left Barcelona, the seat of the regional government, to join one of the marches, saying he wanted to be next to the people.
"These peaceful marches happening across the country (Catalonia) are the Catalan people’s best response” to the court’s verdict, Torra said.
Torra, one of the leaders of Catalonia’s separatist movement which wants the wealthy northeastern region to be independent from Spain, didn’t criticize the recent street violence, which national political leaders have condemned.
Peaceful protests turned ugly in Barcelona and other towns after Monday’s verdict. Barcelona’s police said 40,000 protesters packed the streets near the office of Spain’s government representative Tuesday evening and a running melee broke out when they turned over metal barriers and threw objects at police.
The outnumbered police used foam bullets, batons and shields to battle groups that rained down rocks, firecrackers and other objects on them.
An organization representing downtown Barcelona businesses, called Barcelona Abierta, said the violence in the city had caused "significant losses” and "deeply damaged” its image abroad.
Spain’s Interior Ministry said 54 members of Catalonia’s regional police force and 18 National Police officers were hurt in the protests Tuesday. Health authorities say they treated 125 people, both police and protesters.
Police made 29 arrests in Barcelona, the Catalan capital. More than 150 barricades in the streets were set ablaze by protesters, according to the ministry.
Similar protests turned toward violence in other towns in Catalonia, which has seen a rise in separatist sentiment for the past decade. Roughly half of the region’s 7.5 million residents support independence, with the other half opposing a breakaway, according to polls.
Students in the restive region went on strike Wednesday, with organizers urging them to remain peaceful, like the majority of separatist rallies have been before this week.
Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday found nine of 12 Catalan politicians and activists guilty of sedition and gave them prison sentences of nine to 13 years.