Catalonia

[Pauls' Revere]

The Spanish government has authorized the transfer of six secessionist leaders from prisons in Madrid to prisons in Catalonia, El Pais reported July 3.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...atalan-prisons

Thank you for the follow up on this story.

+rep (I.O.U.)

[Firestarter]

There are 9 jailed Catalan leaders altogether and by now they've all been moved to prisons closer to home.
Last week, their defence lawyers demanded their release, after judges in Germany ruled that charges of rebellion against Carles Puigdemont were unacceptable: https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/07/13...9.html?rel=mas


Yesterday Judge Llarena withdrew the European Arrest Warrants (again), not just for Puigdemont, but for all the exiled politicians.

Lawyers for the “rebels” still held in Spanish jail argue that it strengthens their case that accusations of rebellion have been rejected by the European courts.
Judge Llarena says that the ruling in Germany is all the more reason to keep the 9 accused in prison, because they might try to flee the country to avoid charges: https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/07/19...#1532071127177

[Firestarter]

Earlier this month, almost 5 months after he replaced Carles Puigdemont as regional head, Catalan leader Quim Torra again called on the central government in Madrid to agree to a referendum on independence. Of course on 1 October, Catalonia already voted for independence in a referendum that was banned by Felipe’s government.
Torra said:

The Oct. 1 mandate is in force and we are working to bring it into effect;
only an agreed, binding and internationally recognized referendum on self-determination can renew that mandate.

King Felipe’s Prime minister, Pedro Sanchez that took over that role from Mariano Rajoy (after several corruption scandals involving the Spanish Royal family and Rajoy’s party) in June, ruled out a referendum on independence.
Sanchez proposed a referendum on greater Catalan autonomy instead: https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018...catalonia.html


Yesterday, Quim Torra rejected anything other than a full independence referendum:

If the Spanish government doesn’t see this as a negotiable position then we will press ahead because we have a democratic mandate.

Hundreds of thousands of Catalan secessionists are expected to take the streets in Barcelona on September 11 to mark a regional holiday, which could become a mass protest for independence from Spain.

Torra has also repeated demands that charges are dropped against 9 separatist leaders for their role in last year’s banned referendum and the subsequent declaration of independence: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...-idUSKCN1LP0BG

[goldenequity]

Earlier this month, almost 5 months after he replaced Carles Puigdemont as regional head, Catalan leader Quim Torra again called on the central government in Madrid to agree to a referendum on independence. Of course on 1 October, Catalonia already voted for independence in a referendum that was banned by Felipe’s government.
Torra said:

King Felipe’s Prime minister, Pedro Sanchez that took over that role from Mariano Rajoy (after several corruption scandals involving the Spanish Royal family and Rajoy’s party) in June, ruled out a referendum on independence.
Sanchez proposed a referendum on greater Catalan autonomy instead: https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018...catalonia.html


Yesterday, Quim Torra rejected anything other than a full independence referendum:
Hundreds of thousands of Catalan secessionists are expected to take the streets in Barcelona on September 11 to mark a regional holiday, which could become a mass protest for independence from Spain.

Torra has also repeated demands that charges are dropped against 9 separatist leaders for their role in last year’s banned referendum and the subsequent declaration of independence: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-s...-idUSKCN1LP0BG

Tomorrow might be krazeee town in Barcelona.. will be watching. thnx 4 the update.

[goldenequity]

many gathered... all peaceful.
=======

meanwhile...

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status...66013551685632

[Swordsmyth]

Catalan separatists clashed with police on Sept. 29 in Barcelona, as tensions increase before the Oct. 1 anniversary of the Spanish region's illegal referendum on secession that ended in violent raids by security forces, AP reported. Pro-secession protesters also clashed with pro-police marchers.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...lice-barcelona

[Firestarter]

Catalan separatists clashed with police on Sept. 29 in Barcelona, as tensions increase before the Oct. 1 anniversary of the Spanish region's illegal referendum on secession that ended in violent raids by security forces, AP reported. Pro-secession protesters also clashed with pro-police marchers.

Two days before the 1 October anniversary of Catalonia’s independence vote, the police staged a pro-police march in Barcelona to provoke a response from Catalans.
Independence supporter Montse Romero stated:

Outrageous! They shouldn’t be here. They came here to hit us a year ago and today they want to make an homage to that. It is pathetic.

Some 3000 people were protesting for higher pay for Spanish cops.
6000 separatists were protesting against the cops.
Separatists shouted “Get out of here, fascists!” and “Independence!” at the police supporters, who responded by shouting “We will be victorious!” and “Our cause is just!”.

According to the cops, clashes erupted after a separatist threw purple paint on a man marching in support of Spanish police.
The riot squad responded by brutally beating up the “separists” with batons, which left 14 people injured and led to six arrests. Three people had to be treated in hospital.
One police officer was “hurt”, although it was not immediately clear if the cop had suffered more harm than a broken hair.

Separatists threw coloured powder at the cops, which made it difficult for some of the cops to see through their face shields.
National police officer Ibon Dominguez, who was part of the pro-police march said:

They are kicking the national police and Guardia Civil out of the streets of our own country.

https://apnews.com/a63fdaf0d8ab415db096573976ea31d9

See the cops defending dictatorship in their brutal way…

[Swordsmyth]

Pro-independence protesters obstructed major roads and a high-speed railway line in Spain's Catalonia region on Monday, a year after a banned referendum on secession was marred by police violence.
"Everything began on October 1 and everything goes back to October 1," the region's separatist president Quim Torra said.


He spoke at a ceremony in Sant Julia de Ramis, northern Catalonia, on a stage near a big black and white banner that read "No forgetting, no forgiving."
Ten kilometres (six miles) away in Girona, hundreds of activists, many covering their faces with scarves, occupied high-speed railway tracks for around three hours, blocking services linking Figueres, Girona and Barcelona, Spain's state-owned rail operator Renfe said.


Central streets in Barcelona and Lleida were blocked, as was the AP-7 motorway south of Barcelona, and the A2 that links the city with Madrid, Catalan TV images showed.
Activists swarmed into Catalonia's regional government building in Girona and took down the facade's Spanish flag, replacing it with a red, yellow and blue separatist flag.
Torra praised their actions, saying they were "doing well in putting on the pressure."

More at: https://www.afp.com/en/news/205/sepa...te-doc-19n7bn5

[r3volution 3.0]

The three largest political parties in Spain are PP (leftist), PSOE (more-leftist) and Podemos (more-leftist).

The latter two are quite keen on Chavez/Maduro, as explained in this article.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...s-A-Love-Story

Now, one of the crucial questions re Catalonia, beyond nationalisme pour nationalisme, is how it would be governed post-independence.

Here are the vote shares by party for Spain as a whole and Catalonia alone.


Spain

PP = 33

PSOE + Podemos = 43.8 (+10.8)


Catalonia

PP = 13.36

PSOE + Podemos = 40.63 (+27.27)


...might be something to consider.

[Swordsmyth]

The three largest political parties in Spain are PP (leftist), PSOE (more-leftist) and Podemos (more-leftist).

The latter two are quite keen on Chavez/Maduro, as explained in this article.

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...s-A-Love-Story

Now, one of the crucial questions re Catalonia, beyond nationalisme pour nationalisme, is how it would be governed post-independence.

Here are the vote shares by party for Spain as a whole and Catalonia alone.


Spain

PP = 33

PSOE + Podemos = 43.8 (+10.8)


Catalonia

PP = 13.36

PSOE + Podemos = 40.63 (+27.27)


...might be something to consider.

Spain would be better off without them.

[r3volution 3.0]

Spain would be better off without them.

Would they be better off without Spain?

[Swordsmyth]

Would they be better off without Spain?

No but that is their problem and they wouldn't be much worse off.

[Pauls' Revere]

UPDATE: Trial Ordered for former Catalan Leaders

https://www.thelocal.es/20181025/spa...atalan-leaders

The trial is expected to start in early 2019 and will likely revive tensions between Catalonia and Spain's central government, which have eased since new socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez came to power in June.

The court said nine of the jailed former leaders including Catalonia's ex-vice president Oriol Junqueras should be tried for rebellion, which carries a prison sentence of up to 25 years.

But the region's former president Carles Puigdemont -- who is also accused of rebellion over his role in the separatist drive and is in self-imposed exile in Belgium -- is not among the group because Spain does not allow trials in absentia.

[Swordsmyth]

SPAIN’S Interior Minister has threatened to send national police to Catalonia if local authorities fail to stop a repeat of protests which shut down main roads at the weekend.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska accused the local Catalan police, the Mossos d’Esquadra, of doing nothing to prevent pro-independence protesters blocking the main AP-7 toll road for 15 hours.
The pro-independence groups blocked a highway and broke toll machines on a day of national holiday which saw an increase in traffic volumes.
In an open letter, the minister wrote: "Serious disruptions of public order and traffic security, such as those seen in the last few days, need to be dealt with by the regional police.
“If this does not happen, the government will order an intervention by the state police.”


The involvement of national police would spark havoc in Catalonia, where up to half of the populations want to split away from Spain and they have they own law enforcement administration.
Mr Grande-Marlaska said the local authorities needed to show they were able to keep order and prevent any repeat of the protests.
In a radio interview, he said: “It was observed that there was no intervention by the regional police, a reality that is difficult to deny.”
Spain’s new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said he would be open to a referendum and plans to come up with a proposal for parliament on Wednesday.

More at: https://www.express.co.uk/news/world...rande-Marlaska

[Firestarter]

Former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont and two of his former ministers - Clara Ponsatí, and Toni Comín - are excluded from next month’s European elections after Spain’s central electoral board accepted a petition from the conservative People’s party and centre-right Citizens party that their candidacies should be ineligible because they are “fugitives” abroad.
Puigdemont and Comín currently stay in Belgium, while Ponsatí is in Scotland.

A spokesman for Puigdemont promised that the decision will be appealed:

Together for Catalonia – Free for Europe intends to respond to this brazen violation of their fundamental right to stand as candidates by taking any necessary legal actions in Spain and Europe to defend the rights of all three candidates and the right of voters to cast their vote for this republican list.
We will not simply accept a resolution that clearly breaks Spanish and European law and undermines a pillar of democracy, as so often happens in the Spanish legal system when pro-independence politicians are involved.

The two main independence parties, the Catalan Republican Left and Together for Catalonia, went from 17 to 22 seats of Catalonia´s 47 in the last election: https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ctions-catalan

[Swordsmyth]

The five separatist leaders on trial for Catalonia's 2017 secession attempt who were elected to the Spanish Parliament last month picked up their official credentials under police escort on Monday.The Supreme Court allowed the five to get their credentials and to also attend the opening session of the new Parliament on Tuesday.
However, it did not permit them to participate in any meetings or speak to the press while at the Parliament in Madrid.
Former Catalan regional vice president, Oriol Junqueras, and three other high-profile separatists won seats in the Lower Chamber, while Raül Romeva won a seat in the Senate.
Police transported them from prison to the Parliament buildings. They all wore suits and spoke with fellow lawmakers without the visible presence of uniformed police escorts once inside, as seen in televised images.
Despite the media ban, Junqueras posted a short video on Twitter in which he said "we are well because we are with friends" and asked for support for his party in Sunday's European and municipal Spanish elections.
Junqueras is running for a seat in the European Parliament. He has said he will renounce his seat in the Spanish Parliament if he wins one in Europe.

More at: https://news.yahoo.com/spain-5-catal...100454912.html

[Swordsmyth]

https://twitter.com/CatalansForYes/s...17371968909312

[Pauls' Revere]

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/10/11...02_689645.html

All 12 individuals were tried at the Supreme Court in Madrid earlier this year at a high-profile trial involving four months of hearings and testimony from around 400 witnesses. The ruling will be made public early next week, and it is expected that the seven justices who heard the case have sought a unanimous decision.
The defendants


It is believed that at least nine convictions will be handed down because nine defendants remain in custody after being arrested in late October 2017, but penalties will vary depending on each defendant’s participation in the secession attempt.
The crime of rebellion requires an element of violence, and in this particular case, it had to be proven that the defendants instigated violence as a tool to achieve independence from Spain. According to legal sources briefed on the matter, the court has found that the defendants did not commit these actions.

[Pauls' Revere]

https://www.thelocal.es/20191001/sep...ders-convicted

Two years after a controversial referendum that triggered Spain's worst political crisis in decades, Catalan separatists called Tuesday for mass "civil disobedience" if their leaders are convicted over a failed independence bid.

[Swordsmyth]

Thousands of protesters are currently blocking roads in Barcelona and other large Catalonian cities after the Spanish Supreme Court sentenced nine local pro-independence politicians and activists to prison, Reuters reported Oct. 14.

More at: https://worldview.stratfor.com/situa...ratist-leaders

[Pauls' Revere]

In a message on Twitter, the grassroots pro-independence group Committees to Defend the Republic (CDR) called for “disobedience,” writing: “Now is the time to rise up against the authoritarian fascism of the Spanish state and its accomplices.”

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/10/14...52_313835.html

[Swordsmyth]

In a message on Twitter, the grassroots pro-independence group Committees to Defend the Republic (CDR) called for “disobedience,” writing: “Now is the time to rise up against the authoritarian fascism of the Spanish state and its accomplices.”

https://elpais.com/elpais/2019/10/14...52_313835.html

They are going to regret not letting Catalonia go, it already lost the (relative) Conservatives power. (That's why the left won't let them go either, without their votes the right will take over in Spain)

[Swordsmyth]

Military Police Deployed As 500,000 Catalan Independence Protesters Shut Down Barcelona

[Pauls' Revere]

https://www.thelocal.es/20191026/nea...rotests-madrid

300 Police injured.

More protest planned this weekend.

https://www.thelocal.es/20191025/bar...ve-of-protests

Far right VOX rallies in Madrid,

Thousands of people joined a rally called by Spain's Vox in Madrid on Saturday, with leader Santiago Abascal telling the crowds only his far-right faction could handle the Catalan crisis.

Shouting "Viva Espana", they turned the city's Columbus Square into a sea of red-and-yellow, as the crowds waved thousands of Spanish flags, cheering and chanting, among them many youngsters and families with children.
Addressing the crowds, Abascal took aim at the ruling Socialists, largely focusing on the crisis in Catalonia, which has been gripped by violent protests after the Supreme Court jailed nine separatist leaders over a failed independence bid.
"Faced with the betrayals of the Socialists, there is only Vox, and faced with criminal separatism, there is only Vox!" he roared, after also denouncing the conservative opposition People's Party (PP) as "useless" and the centre-right Ciudadanos as "opportunists".


Oh boy, if these two should meet...

[Pauls' Revere]

All this activity as they exhume the body of Franco. Great timing.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/spain-f...ay-2019-10-24/

[Swordsmyth]

https://www.thelocal.es/20191026/nea...rotests-madrid

300 Police injured.

More protest planned this weekend.

https://www.thelocal.es/20191025/bar...ve-of-protests

Far right VOX rallies in Madrid,

Thousands of people joined a rally called by Spain's Vox in Madrid on Saturday, with leader Santiago Abascal telling the crowds only his far-right faction could handle the Catalan crisis.

Shouting "Viva Espana", they turned the city's Columbus Square into a sea of red-and-yellow, as the crowds waved thousands of Spanish flags, cheering and chanting, among them many youngsters and families with children.
Addressing the crowds, Abascal took aim at the ruling Socialists, largely focusing on the crisis in Catalonia, which has been gripped by violent protests after the Supreme Court jailed nine separatist leaders over a failed independence bid.
"Faced with the betrayals of the Socialists, there is only Vox, and faced with criminal separatism, there is only Vox!" he roared, after also denouncing the conservative opposition People's Party (PP) as "useless" and the centre-right Ciudadanos as "opportunists".


Oh boy, if these two should meet...

Spanish civil war 2.0

[Pauls' Revere]

Spanish civil war 2.0

I hope not, cuz the first was called "The Little World War". Then came the bigger version were all familiar with.

[Swordsmyth]

I hope not, cuz the first was called "The Little World War". Then came the bigger version were all familiar with.

History never repeats itself.

But it often rhymes.

[Pauls' Revere]

History never repeats itself.

But it often rhymes.

[Swordsmyth]

Hopefully we can stay out of it this time.