TENSIONS are again rising in Catalonia after Spain’s interior ministry reportedly revealed it would send 1000 officers from the Guardia Civil to Barcelona for a meeting of Pedro Sanchez’s cabinet next week.
His council of ministers is due to meet in the Catalan capital Barcelona next Friday and mass protests have already been planned.
Interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has already penned an open letter warning that the civil guard could be sent in after he criticised the Catalan police force, Mossos d’Esquadra, for taking no action to prevent protests that blocked a major motorway for 15 hours over the weekend.
READ MORE: Spain PM Pedro Sanchez likens Catalan independence to Brexit
However, according to El Confidencial, he is sending in 1000 officers for several days to guarantee the ministers’ security should the Mossos fail to intervene during the scheduled demonstrations.
Catalans remain bitter about the role played by the civil guard during last year’s October 1 referendum, known as 1-O. Images were published worldwide showing its officers, helmeted and wearing visors, viciously beating would-be voters with riot batons and shields and firing rubber bullets at them.
The meeting will be held at Casa Llotja de Mar, a six century-old venue close to the Barcelona seafront and port which, although popular, does present logistical challenges.
It is a tourist magnet, packed with restaurants, museums, galleries and shops and within a few minutes walking distance of Las Ramblas, Barcelona’s busiest street.
By holding his council of ministers there, Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, has ignored a report from the Mossos, which advised against holding the meeting there because of the complexity of shielding the venue.
Catalan government spokesperson, Elsa Artadi, told TV3 yesterday it was not the best location, saying: “There are places that favour mobility better than others. If the concern of the state government is mobility, the meeting in the middle of the centre of Barcelona is probably not the best choice.”
She said other options had been put to the Madrid government, all of which had been considered by the Mossos, but she said the Catalan government would guarantee the council’s right of assembly and also people’s right to protest.
Artadi added: “If there is a perception of the Spanish government that there are lacking agents of the body of the Mossos d’Esquadra, perfect. Give us the financing that is agreed and we will expand the [number of] agents.”
Almost as soon as the meeting was announced, demonstrations were being planned across social media.
Universities for the Republic said: “The council of ministers arrives: we stop the classes,” adding that the state did not respect their right to self-determination and had threatened to reintroduce Article 155 – direct rule – as happened after last year’s declaration of independence. Committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDRs) joined the call to action, with a gathering planned for first thing next Friday.
The Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Omnium Cultural are also planning demonstrations.
READ MORE: Catalan ex-minister Turull signs living will amid hunger strike
Meanwhile, the mayor of the medieval south-western Catalan town of Montblanc, has joined the political prisoners who have been on hunger strike for almost two weeks.
Josep Andreu said yesterday he would continue in solidarity with Jordi Sanchez and Jordi Turull, who have not eaten for 13 days, and Quim Forn and Josep Rull (10 days), for as long as his body felt good. He said: “I feel better with myself now, I wasn’t feeling good not going along with my colleagues in their hunger strike, so I did it out of conviction.”
Sanchez tweeted: “Dear Mayor @jandreud, all the gratitude in your support action. Your #vagadefam it makes us more strong.”
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