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. 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. 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. “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. 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. After the referendum Madrid invoked Article 155 of the Spanish constitution, imposing direct rule over Catalonia, and put some of the organisers in jail. 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. 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.
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.