Flash protests
for secession from Spain marked Spanish "king" Felipe's visit
to Barcelona to inaugurate an international exhibit of cell phone
producers. It was his first trip to the Catalan capital since an October 1st vote for independence.
Democrats poured onto streets, squares and balconies Sunday banging pots in what has become a ritual act of defiance since Spain's central government imposed direct rule in November, dissolving the regional government. The Barcelona football stadium also became a cry for freedom.
A swelling crowd of protestors surrounded the city's Baroque Music Palace as the King arrived for the inaugural dinner, forming a symbolic yellow ribbon around the building to highlight the detention of leaders. The Republican anthem was played from flats near de Palace when the Bourbon arrived and left the palace.
The Catalan police cut off several streets as Via Laietana, one of the main roads that runs through the centre of the city, in an attempt to prevent protesters from advancing further. Pero-independence supporters shouted chants such as “out with the Bourbon (monarchy)”, “freedom for political prisoners,” and “the streets will always be ours.” Many brought pans, whistles and yellow-coloured items (a sign of solidarity with jailed Catalan leaders.) Unfortunately the Spanish answer to Catalan peaceful protests was violence: at least 19 people where wounded by police units under Spanish command trying to repress the peaceful protests on Sunday evening.
The mayoress of Barcelona, Ada Colau, and the Parliament speaker, Roger Torrent, alongside other Catalan officials did not attend the official welcoming reception of the monarch. Ada Colau will, however, take part in the inaugurating dinner of the MWC. Colau said that the reception for the king was “improper for a democracy of the 21st century,” in the context of his response to the Spanish police violence that took place in Catalonia on October 1 last year. Felipe VI “endorsed the repressive line instead of trying to appease the conflict and bring serenity,” Colau stated.
Democrats poured onto streets, squares and balconies Sunday banging pots in what has become a ritual act of defiance since Spain's central government imposed direct rule in November, dissolving the regional government. The Barcelona football stadium also became a cry for freedom.
A swelling crowd of protestors surrounded the city's Baroque Music Palace as the King arrived for the inaugural dinner, forming a symbolic yellow ribbon around the building to highlight the detention of leaders. The Republican anthem was played from flats near de Palace when the Bourbon arrived and left the palace.
The Catalan police cut off several streets as Via Laietana, one of the main roads that runs through the centre of the city, in an attempt to prevent protesters from advancing further. Pero-independence supporters shouted chants such as “out with the Bourbon (monarchy)”, “freedom for political prisoners,” and “the streets will always be ours.” Many brought pans, whistles and yellow-coloured items (a sign of solidarity with jailed Catalan leaders.) Unfortunately the Spanish answer to Catalan peaceful protests was violence: at least 19 people where wounded by police units under Spanish command trying to repress the peaceful protests on Sunday evening.
The mayoress of Barcelona, Ada Colau, and the Parliament speaker, Roger Torrent, alongside other Catalan officials did not attend the official welcoming reception of the monarch. Ada Colau will, however, take part in the inaugurating dinner of the MWC. Colau said that the reception for the king was “improper for a democracy of the 21st century,” in the context of his response to the Spanish police violence that took place in Catalonia on October 1 last year. Felipe VI “endorsed the repressive line instead of trying to appease the conflict and bring serenity,” Colau stated.
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