By Sarah Lafen
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Europe
MADRID, Spain — Approximately 80,000 people gathered in Barcelona at the Plaza de España on Sunday to show their support for Catalan leaders who are currently stuck in negotiations with Madrid over the independence of the Catalan region. The Catalan separatists were protesting a series of legal challenges that the Spanish government has made against pro-independence Catalan political leaders.
Grassroots activist groups organized about 150 busses to transport protestors from all different parts of the region to the demonstration. Fueled by the economic downturn in other parts of Spain, many in the wealthy region of Catalonia believe they pay higher taxes than they should to the Spanish government. They resent supporting the poorer regions in Spain as a result of the decline of the economy in those other regions.
Catalan politicians are facing legal sanctions from the Spanish government for their participation in a 2014 secession referendum, as well as regional laws they developed in order to shape a path towards secession from Spain.
Specifically, former President of Catalonia Artur Mas, Speaker of the Parliament Carme Forcadell, and lawmakers Francesc Homs, Irene Rigau, and Joana Ortega are all being charged with disobeying the orders of the Constitutional Court of Spain. Mas is scheduled to stand trial for charges of “serious disobedience” and “malfeasance. If convicted, Mas faces a 10-year ban on holding any political office. Both Mas and Forcadell attended the protest in Barcelona on Sunday.
Jodi Cuixart, president of the separatist group Omnium, spoke at the demonstration. He spoke to the Spanish government, telling them that if they “attack our democratically elected representatives, you attack our institutions, all our people and our sovereignty, and we will never allow that.” Cuixart ensured the Spanish government that the separatists “will never let our elected representatives down.”
The Spanish government has repeatedly maintained the position that regions such as Catalonia do not have a constitutional right to hold a referendum of separatist nature – a referendum that concerns the integrity of the country.
Catalonia’s current president, Carles Puigdemont, plans to hold another referendum regarding secession and independence by next September. Puigdemont stated that this is a situation which “can only be solved politically.”
For more information, please see:
Expatica — 80,000 Gather for Catalan Pro-Independence Demo — 13 November 2016
The Scotsman — Thousands Protest Spain’s Legal Challenge to Catalan Independence — 13 November 2016
