Activists block roads and railway to mark a year since referendum result was overruled by Madrid

This article is more than 11 months old

This article is more than 11 months old

Tens of thousands of Catalans congregated in Barcelona on Monday to mark the first anniversary of the region’s unilateral and illegal independence referendum as groups of pro-independence activists blocked roads, motorways and a high-speed rail line and surrounded the Catalan parliament.

Police in the city estimated that about 180,000 people took part in a rally in the city on Monday evening. Tensions flared between police and protesters as some hardline demonstrators jumped over barriers at the entrance to the parliament. There were similar scenes outside the Barcelona headquarters of Spain’s national police.

Crowds of students filled the city’s central square on Monday afternoon, waving yellow, red and blue separatist flags and chanting “1 October, no forgiving, no forgetting”. Nearby, others let off smoke bombs and fireworks.

The huge rallies came after members of the grassroots Committees for the Defence of the Republic occupied streets in Barcelona and Lleida and the motorways to Madrid and France. They also obstructed the train line between Figueres, Girona and Barcelona but services were restored by 10am local time.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Catalonia’s pro-independence supporters march in Barcelona, Spain. Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images

In Girona, protesters stormed a government office, tearing down the Spanish flag and replacing it with the pro-independence estelada (starred) banner.

Catalonia’s nationalist president, Quim Torra, made a symbolic visit to a polling station in the small town of Sant Julià de Ramis, where police prevented his predecessor Carles Puigdemont from voting last October.

Speaking on Monday morning, Torra had urged the protesters to “keep up the pressure”.

“Everything began on 1 October and everything goes back to 1 October,” he said. “The lesson of 1 October and its values are what we need as we face the coming weeks and months.”

In a video message released on Monday, Puigdemont said: “Let us not stray from the only possible way to live in a full democracy: the [Catalan] republic and its international recognition.”

Puigdemont later criticised the protesters who forced their way into the regional parliament, tweeting: “If they’re wearing hoods, they aren’t 1 October people. If they use violence, they aren’t 1 October people. We did it with our faces uncovered and in a peaceful way. That is how, a year ago, we overcame an authoritarian state.”

Torra’s call for continued direct action had led Spain’s foreign minister, Josep Borrell, to remind the Catalan president of his official duties.

“We’ll keep trying to reduce tensions and maintain dialogue, and ask everyone to fulfil their responsibilities,” he said. “Order means order, and public order in Catalonia has to be guaranteed by the Catalan government, which is led by Mr Torra.”

Catalonia remains deeply divided over the issue of independence a year after Puigdemont’s administration staged the vote in defiance of the Spanish government.

The referendum was marred by violence as officers from the Guardia Civil and national police stormed polling stations, beat voters with batons and fired rubber bullets.

The central government responded to the subsequent unilateral declaration of independence by sacking Puigdemont and his cabinet, taking control of the wealthy north-eastern region and calling a snap regional election.

Although pro-independence parties retained their majority in last December’s vote, the staunchly unionist Citizens party took the most seats and polls suggest Catalans are evenly split over whether to secede.

The new socialist government of Pedro Sánchez has taken a more conciliatory approach than the conservative government it replaced, offering a vote on increased self-government but categorically ruling out a referendum on self-determination or independence.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Thousands of people attend a protest on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Catalan illegal independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain. Photograph: Alberto Estevez/EPA

Cracks have appeared in the independence movement, with moderate figures calling for a more realistic, long-term strategy to achieve a sovereign republic, while Puigdemont and Torra advocate pushing ahead with what they see as their mandate from the referendum.

In last year’s poll, 90% of those who voted opted for independence, but turnout was 42% as unionist Catalans boycotted the poll.

However, the biggest obstacle to negotiations is the continuing detention of nine Catalan independence leaders who are due to be tried early next year for their roles in the push for secession. Puigdemont fled to Belgium days after declaring independence and several other pro-independence politicians remain in self-imposed exile.

Spanish government ministers have acknowledged that it would be better if the jailed leaders were allowed out on bail, but have stressed that it is a judicial question rather than a political one.

On Saturday, 24 people were injured and six arrested in Barcelona after scuffles broke out at a rally held to honour the police deployed to prevent the referendum.

Reuters contributed to this report</s>The following content is sourced from external partners. We cannot guarantee that it is suitable for the visually or hearing impaired.

This content was published on October 1, 2018 10:43 AM

A combo picture shows Spanish civil guards breaking through a door of a polling station used for Catalonia's October 1, 2017 banned independence referendum where dismissed Catalan President Carles Puigdemont was to vote (L) and a woman entering the same door during events marking the first anniversary of the referendum in Sant Julia de Ramis, Spain, October 1, 2018. REUTERS/Juan Medina/Jon Nazca

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters attempted to block roads and train tracks in the Spanish region of Catalonia on Monday while students marched in Barcelona to mark the one-year anniversary of an ill-fated referendum on independence from Spain.

In Sant Julia de Ramis, regional leaders gave speeches and people queued to re-enact the vote that was banned by Madrid and the courts for being against Spain's constitution.

A year ago, the village saw violent clashes between riot police and those attempting to vote.

"The first of October will be the seed of the republic," said regional parliament speaker Roger Torrent, speaking on a platform backed with a slogan reading 'Oct. 1: do not forget or forgive'.

In the town of Girona, protesters attempted to shut a train station by sitting on the tracks and laying out the Catalan regional flag on the tracks, video footage showed. Protesters also laid out tyres along a motorway to impede traffic.

Six people were arrested in Barcelona on Saturday after pro-independence protesters clashed with riot police, and as thousands joined rival demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of the polarising vote.

The protests were much smaller than last year and demonstrators later called off the attempted blockages. Traffic was circulating normally around Barcelona's main streets, municipal police said.

Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia after it declared independence following the vote. Regional elections later reinstated parties favouring a split with Spain, although the popular vote went to those wanting to remain part of it.

Polls in Catalonia show a fairly even split between those who favour remaining in Spain and those who want independence.

Maria del Mar Lladro, 55, walking her dog in a Barcelona park on Monday said she didn't support the independence movement and said others like her were often ignored.

"There are a lot of us but we don't make much noise. It could be seen badly, you could be singled out," she said.</s>BARCELONA (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters attempted to block roads and train tracks in the Spanish region of Catalonia on Monday while students marched in Barcelona to mark the one-year anniversary of an ill-fated referendum on independence from Spain.

In Sant Julia de Ramis, regional leaders gave speeches and people queued to re-enact the vote that was banned by Madrid and the courts for being against Spain’s constitution.

A year ago, the village saw violent clashes between riot police and those attempting to vote.

“The first of October will be the seed of the republic,” said regional parliament speaker Roger Torrent, speaking on a platform backed with a slogan reading ‘Oct. 1: do not forget or forgive’.

In the town of Girona, protesters attempted to shut a train station by sitting on the tracks and laying out the Catalan regional flag on the tracks, video footage showed. Protesters also laid out tyres along a motorway to impede traffic.

Six people were arrested in Barcelona on Saturday after pro-independence protesters clashed with riot police, and as thousands joined rival demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of the polarising vote.

The protests were much smaller than last year and demonstrators later called off the attempted blockages. Traffic was circulating normally around Barcelona’s main streets, municipal police said.

Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia after it declared independence following the vote. Regional elections later reinstated parties favouring a split with Spain, although the popular vote went to those wanting to remain part of it.

Polls in Catalonia show a fairly even split between those who favour remaining in Spain and those who want independence.

Maria del Mar Lladro, 55, walking her dog in a Barcelona park on Monday said she didn’t support the independence movement and said others like her were often ignored.

“There are a lot of us but we don’t make much noise. It could be seen badly, you could be singled out,” she said.</s>BARCELONA: Pro-independence protesters obstructed major roads and a high-speed railway line in Spain's Catalonia region on Monday, one year after a banned referendum on secession that was marred by police violence.

Hundreds of activists, many covering their faces with scarves, occupied high-speed railway tracks in Girona, north of the Catalan capital of Barcelona.

ALSO READ | Spain lifts financial controls on Catalonia, rules out referendum

Central streets in Barcelona and Lleida were blocked, as was the AP-7 motorway which leads to the French border, and A2 linking Barcelona to Madrid, images on Catalan TV showed.

The high-speed rail service linking Figueres, Girona and Barcelona "was interrupted" since the "tracks in Girona are occupied," Spanish state-owned rail operator Renfe said on Twitter.

The protests were called online by a grassroots group calling itself the Committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDRs), founded to help stage last year's banned referendum and now demanding a clean break with the Spanish state.

The group tweeted a picture of a red, yellow and blue Catalan separatist flag on the track of the station in Girona as protesters stood around it.

Twenty-four people were injured and six detained on Saturday during a rally -- and a counter demonstration -- in Barcelona by police paying tribute to colleagues deployed to prevent the 2017 Catalan independence referendum.

The Catalan government, then led by Carles Puigdemont, on October 1, 2017, pushed ahead with a referendum on independence for the region despite it having been deemed illegal by the Spanish courts.

The vote was marred by a violent police crackdown on polling stations.

Even if it was illegal and therefore non-binding, 2.3 million people cast their ballots out of 5.5 million eligible voters, 90 per cent of whom voted to break from Spain. Opponents of independence largely boycotted the vote.

After the Catalan government declared independence on October 27, Madrid swiftly sacked the Catalan government, prompting several key figures to flee abroad, including Puigdemont.Others were jailed.</s>BARCELONA (Reuters) - Riot police charged in to break up a demonstration in front of Catalonia’s regional parliament on Monday, after thousands marched in Barcelona to mark the first anniversary of an ill-fated independence referendum to split from Spain.

The Catalan police used batons to control protesters after some waving yellow, red and blue separatist flags and chanting ‘October 1, no forgiving, no forgetting’ surrounded the regional parliament and displayed posters reading “Republic under construction”.

During the day there were short-lived attempts to block roads and train tracks in the Spanish northeastern region, and around 180,000 people marched in Barcelona, hanging ballot boxes and chanting the regional anthem.

Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia after it declared independence following the referendum. Elections later returned a regional government favouring a split with Spain through a party supporting union won most votes.

Polls in Catalonia show a relatively even split between those who favour remaining in Spain and those wanting to secede. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he favours dialogue on the region’s future but has ruled out any moves towards independence.

Pau Benito, a 22-year-old medical student attending the protest with friends, said he supports leaving Spain but thinks the independence movement must be careful not to alienate other Catalans.

“Half of Catalonia doesn’t support independence. In the same way we are asking for better treatment from Spain we also need to respect those who don’t agree with us,” he said.

Elsewhere in the region, hundreds of protesters attempted during the morning to block train tracks and roads, with some laying tyres across a motorway, but they were quickly dispersed.

Events passed off with little drama in Sant Julia de Ramis, a village where violent clashes broke out a year ago between riot police and those attempting to vote.

People queued there on Monday to re-enact the ballot, which Madrid banned as anti-constitutional, while regional leaders gave speeches. “The first of October will be the seed of the republic,” said regional parliament speaker Roger Torrent.

On Saturday, six people were arrested in Barcelona after pro-independence protesters clashed with police, as thousands joined rival demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the polarising vote.</s>Student strikes, emotional speeches and mass demonstrations were planned to commemorate the Oct. 1, 2017, vote that Spanish courts had deemed illegal and that caused the country’s gravest political crisis in decades.

SANT JULIA DE RAMIS, SPAIN—Pro-secession activists in Catalonia blocked major highways, train lines and avenues across the northeastern region Monday on the anniversary of a banned referendum that was crushed by police and failed to deliver independence from Spain.

In Girona, north of Barcelona, hundreds of activists on Monday occupied high-speed railway tracks, halting train traffic for more than two hours before they peacefully left the local station. Some protesters then moved to the local headquarters of the Spanish government’s delegation, demanding the removal of the national flag from the building.

The day began with early protests called via online messaging apps by the Committees for the Defence of the Republic, or CDRs. They are local activist groups that emerged after last year’s independence declaration, based on the referendum’s results, was never implemented. Central authorities took control of Catalonia and a judicial investigation landed top separatist leaders in jail while others fled the country.

The anniversary is being marked by a fractured Catalan independence movement amid a timid dialogue with the central government, now in the hands of a minority Socialist administration.

The CDRs also shared photos and posts on social media showing road blockages on regional roads and along the AP-7 highway, the main north-south artery running through eastern Catalonia and leading to the French border.

Maria Vila, a protester who was placing “Republic under construction” stickers in Barcelona’s main thoroughfare, said she wanted to highlight last year’s violence and demand more progress on secession.

Their presence also disturbed traffic on the main roads of Catalan cities like Lleida and Barcelona, the regional capital, where marches are planned throughout the day.

“The Catalan government has not done much and we are determined to make the Catalan Republic happen, in any way we can, even if it is by holding another referendum, a legal one,” she told The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, members of the regional government and other top authorities returned to Sant Julia de Ramis, the northern town that has become a symbolic place for Catalan separatists because one year ago police stormed into the local school to prevent people from voting.

Carles Puigdemont, Catalonia’s president at the time, had been scheduled to vote there but had to find an alternative polling station when anti-riot police broke the gates of the school to confiscate ballot boxes and used batons to disperse and injure voters refusing to leave.

The incidents were broadcast live and brought pressure on the Spanish central government, at the time in the hands of conservatives. Separatists claimed a victory for independence in the vote despite its illegal nature, the police violence and a lack of oversight.

In a brief speech Monday, Catalonia’s current president, Quim Torra, called on supporters gathered outside of the Sant Julia de Ramis school to remember the lessons of the referendum and to press ahead with efforts to secede from Spain.

He spoke while some people held a banner behind him reading, in Catalan, “People demand, the government obeys,” a message that could be aimed at the Spanish government that says the country’s constitution doesn’t allow a referendum on a region’s secession, but also at regional separatist politicians who have been criticized for not delivering on the promise of independence.

Torra was hand-picked by Puigdemont from Belgium, where the separatist leader successfully fought off extradition and has been advocating for an independent Catalonia. On Monday, he released a video on Twitter calling on Catalans to remain united in persevering with the goal of breaking away from Spain.

“Let us not stray from the only possible way to live in a full democracy: the (Catalan) Republic and its international recognition,” Puigdemont said.

Torra has asked the government of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to authorize a binding vote on secession, and also to release the nine separatist leaders that are in pre-trial detention on rebellion and other charges.

Dialogue between the regional and national administrations has so far delivered some economic deals for funding the region but remains mired amid internal discord among separatists on the best strategy going forward and the weak parliamentary support for Sanchez’s government.

The spokesperson of his new centre-left government on Monday called last year’s police violence “a mistake” and blamed it for damaging the country’s reputation internationally. But Isabel Celaa also said the vote didn’t succeed: “There is nothing to celebrate” on Oct. 1, she told Cadena Ser radio.

Polls and recent elections show that the region’s 7.5 million residents are roughly equally divided by the secession question.</s>BARCELONA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of Catalans filled central Barcelona on Monday to mark the first anniversary of an ill-fated independence referendum, as protesters made short-lived attempts to block roads and train tracks in the northeastern region.

Crowds of students filled the city’s central square, waving yellow, red and blue separatist flags and chanting ‘October 1, no forgiving, no forgetting’. Nearby, others let off smoke bombs and fireworks.

Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia after it declared independence following the referendum. Elections later returned a regional government favouring a split with Spain though a party supporting union won most votes.

Polls in Catalonia show a fairly even split between those who favour remaining in Spain and those who want to secede, while Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he favours dialogue on the region’s future but has ruled out any moves towards independence.

Monday’s protests showed the independence movement was not beaten, said 57-year-old warehouse worker Marcal Mata.

“We want to send the message that it didn’t end on that day (last year). And although the world’s eyes are no longer on us, we will push on,” he said.

Maria del Mar Lladro, 55, walking her dog in a Barcelona park on Monday said she was in the pro-union camp. “There are a lot of us but we don’t make much noise. It could be seen badly, you could be singled out,” she said.

Elsewhere in the region, hundreds of protesters attempted to block train tracks and roads, with some laying tyres across a motorway, but they were quickly dispersed.

Events also passed off with little drama in Sant Julia de Ramis, a village where violent clashes broke out a year ago between riot police and those attempting to vote.

People queued there on Monday to re-enact the ballot - which Madrid banned as anti-constitutional - while regional leaders gave speeches. “The first of October will be the seed of the republic,” said regional parliament speaker Roger Torrent.

On Saturday, six people were arrested in Barcelona after pro-independence protesters clashed with police, as thousands joined rival demonstrations to mark the anniversary of the polarising vote.</s>Protesters blocked roads and railways in Spain's prosperous northeastern region of Catalonia on Monday to mark the first anniversary of an illegal independence referendum that prompted the Spanish government to take constitutional measures that restricted Catalan autonomy.

Activists from the Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), a network of civic groups set up in a bid to uphold the legitimacy of the 2017 ballot and the creation of a Catalan republic, forced traffic to divert on the Passeig de Gracia, one of Barcelona's main thoroughfares, where they gathered with pro-secessionist banners.</s>After the referendum Madrid invoked Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, imposing direct rule over Catalonia, and put some of the organisers in jail.

Carles Puigdemont, president of the Catalan government at the time, is now in exile in Belgium.

Madrid employed the Guardia Civil police force, who clashed with voters and tried to shut down polling stations.

In the end the Catalan government said that a massive 90.18 percent of the 2,286,217 people that voted were in favour of independence.

But critics say that registered voter turnout was only 43.03 percent, so that in fact a “yes” for-independence vote would come down to a meagre 38 % of all Catalan voters.

But if one listens today to the pro-independence camp, there is still hope for a separate Catalan state.

“What we have achieved in one year is that the Catalan people have shown their resilience and strength and its commitment to democracy and human rights,” says Joan Maria Pique, communications director with the Catalan government, in Barcelona.

“We endured the beating that the Spanish government used to try to avoid the referendum. And people resisted and at the end we voted in 95 percent of the polling stations.

“And in this year of Law 155, we have to suffer the reality of political prisoners and exiles and the intervention in the Catalan government. But one year after that, we are showing our commitment to the cause of the Catalan republic and we are willing, once again, to show it through a democratic referendum."

Pique was referring to Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, which says that “If an Autonomous Community does not fulfil the obligations imposed upon it by the Constitution ... the Government ... may take the measures necessary in order to compel the latter forcibly to meet said obligations ... and ... issue instructions to all the authorities of the Autonomous Communities,” relieving the existing Catalan government from real power.

“Spain as a whole has a constitution, a democratic constitution,” says Luiz Moreno Fernandez, a research professor with the Institute of Public Goods and Policies in Madrid.

“There was a coup attempt last year with this illegal referendum. And since then, I’m afraid the situation has been under strain and a difficult situation and I cannot see really now an easy way out.”

And the Catalan independence movement may not have as much popular support as its partisans suggest.

"The 1 October 2017 was a defeat for the Catalan independence movement,” says Andrew Dowling, an expert in modern Spanish history at the University of Cardiff.

“But it was also very, very damaging for the image of Spain internationally, because of those incredibly powerful images of the police hitting peaceful protesters."

Some of the Catalan independence movement's key claims have proved untrue, he believes. "It said that if Catalonia became independent, it would achieve international recognition very quickly. That has proven to be false.

"It also told the story that it be very easy to break from Spain, that has also proven to be false; it won’t be easy.

“And the third thing that has become apparent is that Catalan independence has only obtained 48 percent of the votes and in varying elections, and that is clearly not enough."

On the economic front Catalonia is as strong as it ever was, in spite of initial hiccups.

“In the very short term there was an enormous increase of uncertainty and even some big companies in Catalonia decided to leave,” says Xavier Cuadras Morato, an economist with the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona.

“Nobody knew what the effect of the political conflict would be on the economy. But then after a year, looking at the data on economic growth, the effect has been relatively small. Catalonia is growing at a faster rate than the rest of Spain."

The region has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Spain and it has been creating employment at a faster rate, he says.

As for independence, both sides seem far away from any compromise, leaving an uneasy stalemate with no prospect of a solution for now.</s>In Sant Julia de Ramis, regional leaders gave speeches and people queued to re-enact the vote that was banned by Madrid and the courts for being against Spain's constitution.

A year ago, the village saw violent clashes between riot police and those attempting to vote.

"The first of October will be the seed of the republic," said regional parliament speaker Roger Torrent, speaking on a platform backed with a slogan reading 'Oct. 1: do not forget or forgive'.

In the town of Girona, protesters attempted to shut a train station by sitting on the tracks and laying out the Catalan regional flag on the tracks, video footage showed. Protesters also laid out tyres along a motorway to impede traffic.

Six people were arrested in Barcelona on Saturday after pro-independence protesters clashed with riot police, and as thousands joined rival demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of the polarising vote.

The protests were much smaller than last year and demonstrators later called off the attempted blockages. Traffic was circulating normally around Barcelona's main streets, municipal police said.

Madrid imposed direct rule on Catalonia after it declared independence following the vote. Regional elections later reinstated parties favouring a split with Spain, although the popular vote went to those wanting to remain part of it.

Polls in Catalonia show a fairly even split between those who favour remaining in Spain and those who want independence.
On the one-year anniversary of the Catalan independence referendum, protesters block roads, train tracks and the entrance of the Barcelona stock exchange and students go on strike.