THE Government of Catalonia attempted to negotiate with the Spanish Government a referendum of self-determination in the face of a massive popular demand since 2010. Spain denied the dialogue and Catalonia pressed on with unilaterally organising a referendum in 2017, but kept the offer of dialogue.

Spain sent 3,700 policemen to prevent it, but the people disobeyed with non-violence. Although the police injured more than a thousand people, the referendum allowed more than two million people to vote, with 90.18% voting yes.

The Catalan Government offered to negotiate an agreed referendum with Spain, but the answer was the imprisonment of the entire Catalan Government – although President Puigdemont and others managed to go into exile in Belgium. On October 14, the Spanish judiciary sentenced seven politicians and two activists to between nine and 13 years in prison. Spain had previously sent more than 2,000 riot police to Catalonia.

When the sentence came out, hundreds of thousands of people peacefully blocked Barcelona Airport and 150 flights were suspended. There have followed thousands of demonstrations throughout Catalonia and in a number of Spanish cities.

The rallies, as always, have been completely peaceful for hours, but for the first time in nine years, at the end of the day there have been clashes with the police. The trigger: small provocations towards the police generated by young pro-independence supporters who are simply fed up; young anti-system youths from different parts of Spain showing their solidarity; or even infiltrated police. The police vans then recklessly chased the demonstrators, running over two people, and generated panic by firing hundreds of rubber bullets. To defend themselves against the advance of the police vans, the demonstrators placed rubbish containers as a barrier and set them on fire.

The shocking images of hundreds of bonfires have been broadcast by all television stations, and the Spanish Government has begun to talk about applying the National Security Law. It was to be expected that, fed up with so much humiliation and violence, at some point the young people would eventually be sparked off into action by the provocations Spanish police. Also, the immense police deployment may even have attracted antifascist groups from all over Spain.

These riots have helped to further internationalise the conflict, but can also serve the Spanish Government to criminalise independence. The pro-independence movement has taken up the initiative again with six impressive marches, with crowds walking for three days from all over Catalonia, emulating Martin Luther King’s 1968 march. The radial marches came together in Barcelona on October 18, the day of general strike against the sentences. Barcelona collapsed.

Spain tries to criminalise the independence movement in order to activate a repressive solution and not be forced to accept a democratic solution.

Massive actions of non-violent disobedience will follow until the right to self-determination is allowed to be exercised.

Jordi Oriola Folch
Barcelona

THE announcement that the erstwhile leader of the Scottish branch of the Tories had gained a well-paid position reminds me of the story of the two friends one becoming a banker while the other became a politician. The banker finished up a branch manager while his politician friend became chairman of the bank.

Neil M Shaw
Edinburgh