Catalonia on Fire: The 2019 Protests for Independence: The protester erupted after the Supreme Court judgement on Monday; Oriol Junqueras, the former vice president of Catalonia, was sentenced to 13 years in prison and banned from holding public office for the same amount of time. Large aggressive Catalonia protests flooded the streets of Barcelona in Spain.
Catalonia on Fire:
The protesters have been out in force every night since Monday, when nine Catalan politicians were handed heavy sentences by the Spanish Supreme Court for their role in an independence movement that tried to separate Catalonia from the rest of Spain two years ago.
Thousands of pro-Catalan independence supporters rallied this week in the city’s centre and its international airport, leading to cancelled flights, angry clashes with police, and the fog of tear gas. Police said that while they know about the plans, no tents have been put up yet.
What sparked the Catalonia protests?
The mass protests follow Spain’s Supreme Court ruling that sentenced a group of Catalan independence leaders. The court charged them with up to 13 years in jail on charges of sedition following Catalonia’s independence referendum in 2017. In that referendum, 90% of ballots voted for independence, with a turnout of 435 Catalans, and it led to a unilateral declaration of independence not recognised by the international community.
Catalan separatists accuse the Spanish government of increasing authoritarianism and the courts of denying the human right to freedom of assembly, expression and the right to a fair trial.
Projectiles were fired, and at least six people were hospitalised with injuries as barricades were set alight after officers charged a rabble of demonstrators – many young and masking their faces – who had amassed outside Spanish police headquarters. The violent standoff in the city’s tourist heartland offered stark evidence of the faultlines developing between hardline and conciliatory elements within the region’s independent movement.
Catalonia protests: How far will they go?
This after the Supreme Court handed 12 Catalan leaders prison sentences of up to 13 years for involvement with 2017’s independence referendum – a political action Spain’s central government declared unconstitutional and illegal.
Protests against the court actions have been wide-ranging. A mostly peaceful march in Barcelona of over half a million Catalans last Friday was immediately followed by vandalism and violent confrontations with the police. To date, Barcelona officials say there’s been nearly 600 people injured and at least $3 million in city damage from the unrest.
Why are people protesting?
The separatists were convicted of sedition over their role in a 2017 referendum outlawed by the Spanish courts and a subsequent declaration of independence. And the other three were found guilty of disobedience and fined but not jailed. All 12 defendants denied the charges.
Former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont is still wanted by the Spanish authorities for his role in the referendum. If he returns to Spain, he will be arrested. At least 96 people were hurt as the protest spread across Spain’s northeastern region.
Five other officials and activists were sentenced to between nine and 11 years each, with three more people sentenced for shorter periods of time for lesser offences. Their supporters accuse Madrid of being political and careless, calling for another independence referendum, which Madrid says would be illegal. And the pro-independence group CDR has called for demonstrators to set up a permanent camp in the city centre. And the police said that while they know about the plans, no tents have been put up yet.
This can not continue. Barcelona does deserve it, Catalan interior chief Miquel Buch, who oversees the region police, told the AP that the violence at night does not peacefully resolve. More than 2 million Catalans voted in October 2017 for Catalunya to become an independent state in the form of a republic, according to the Catalan government. The referendum was unauthorised and took place despite Madrid’s opposition.
Conclusion
In this article we discussed Catalonia on Fire: The 2019 Protests for Independence: The protester erupted after the Supreme Court judgement on Monday; Oriol Junqueras, the former vice president of Catalonia. The pro-independence group CDR has called for demonstrators to set up a permanent camp in the city centre. Police said that while they know about the plans, no tents have been put up yet. The referendum was unauthorised and took place despite Madrid’s opposition.
