Catalans ready to declare independence as Spain denies legitimacy of vote

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This was published 6 years ago

Catalans ready to declare independence as Spain denies legitimacy of vote

By Nick Miller
Updated

Angry Catalans are on the verge of declaring independence from Spain after a referendum that the government tried to violently suppress ended with millions voting 'Yes'.

However Spain's Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, said he did not recognise the result as legitimate.

On Monday he was to hold an emergency meeting with Spain's political leaders to discuss a response to the crisis.

Mr Rajoy said his government had "done what we had to do" and was "firm and determined" to uphold the rule of law.

Catalan independence supporters gather in Barcelona's main square on Sunday.

Catalan independence supporters gather in Barcelona's main square on Sunday.Credit: AP

More than 800 people were treated for injuries on Sunday after Spanish riot police armed with batons and rubber bullets broke through human shields to seize ballot boxes and shut down some polling stations.

The bloody scenes were captured on video and spread virally on social media, leading to calls for Mr Rajoy to resign and for the European Union to intervene.

"The citizens of Catalonia have won the right to have an independent state," Catalan's president Carles Puigdemont said on Sunday evening.

According to the Catalan authorities, of the 2.3 million who turned out to vote, more than 90 per cent voted for independence.

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Catalan president Carles Puigdemont arrives at a sports centre in Sant Julia de Ramis, near Girona, Spain.

Catalan president Carles Puigdemont arrives at a sports centre in Sant Julia de Ramis, near Girona, Spain.Credit: AP

The turnout was less than half of the region's 5.3 million registered voters, and the numbers did not include votes seized by police on Sunday.

Mr Puigdemont condemned the "unjustified, abusive and severe police violence committed by the Spanish government", and said the Spanish state had "written a shameful page in its history".

An elderly lady is applauded as she celebrates after voting at a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government in the Gracia neighbourhood of Barcelona.

An elderly lady is applauded as she celebrates after voting at a school assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government in the Gracia neighbourhood of Barcelona.Credit: AP

He said his government would present the result to the parliament of Catalonia. Under that parliament's referendum law, a win for "Yes" means a declaration of independence should follow within two days.

A Spanish court has declared the vote illegal, and Spain may respond with its own constitutional power to seize direct control of the region's administration – a move that could provoke further confrontation.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy addresses the nation after the banned Catalan referendum.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy addresses the nation after the banned Catalan referendum.Credit: Bloomberg

The citizens of Catalonia have won the right to have an independent state.

Catalan president Carles Puigdemont

Local unions have also threatened a general strike for Tuesday.

Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau called for Mr Rajoy to resign, saying he had "crossed all the red lines".

The message is clear for many wishing for independence.

The message is clear for many wishing for independence.Credit: AP

Video shared on social media showed riot police using force to take the ballot boxes and move would-be voters away, leaving some voters with head wounds and one with a reported broken hand.

They successfully closed around 350 of the more than 2000 polling stations in the region, though some reopened after police left.

Pro-independence supporters wrapped in ''esteleda'' or Catalan flags stand in front a balcony while people protest with a banner reading ''self determination''.

Pro-independence supporters wrapped in ''esteleda'' or Catalan flags stand in front a balcony while people protest with a banner reading ''self determination''.Credit: AP

Spain's Interior Ministry said 19 police and 14 Guardia Civil were injured in clashes at polling stations. It tweeted video which it said showed protesters pelting police with rocks.

Spain's Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said police had "acted with professionalism and in a proportionate way".

Spanish riot police fire rubber bullets trying to stop people reaching a voting site.

Spanish riot police fire rubber bullets trying to stop people reaching a voting site. Credit: AP

One Barcelona voter, Mireia Bosch, arrived at her polling station to find a notice saying "you can't vote here, police have seized the ballot boxes".

She said she had planned to vote against independence but "now I am voting 'yes' because of the repression". She would go to another polling station, she said.

Pro-independence Catalans raise their arms while gathering outside the Escola de la Concepci polling station in Barcelona on Sunday.

Pro-independence Catalans raise their arms while gathering outside the Escola de la Concepci polling station in Barcelona on Sunday.Credit: Bloomberg

The Spanish government had responded "in the worst way", she said.

One of the most violent clashes in Barcelona came at a polling station in the Ramon Llull school.

People hold Spanish national flags while being escorted by Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan police force.

People hold Spanish national flags while being escorted by Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan police force.Credit: Bloomberg

Volunteer Marc Carrasco said hundreds of people had gathered at the school before daylight, aiming to peacefully prevent police from entering.

Half an hour before the polls opened "they tried to enter but it was impossible – people linked arms", he said.

A man and his child listen to a televised speech by Mariano Rajoy, Spain's Prime Minister.

A man and his child listen to a televised speech by Mariano Rajoy, Spain's Prime Minister.Credit: Bloomberg

"A half hour later the police came back with guns and helmets. They jumped the fence. We went inside and closed the door but they crashed the door and seized the ballot boxes – and that was it.

"A few minutes later when they were leaving they were shooting plastic (rubber) bullets. There was a lot of that. They shot one guy in the eye."

Mr Carrasco shook his head at the Spanish police action.

"It's so, so sad, it's incredible," he said. "Yes, yes, we have anger."

"The Spanish answer was only police and the law – never a conversation, never, never democracy".

There were more peaceful scenes at other polling stations, where voters put up with Spanish rain and slow queues.

They cheered and chanted "votarem!" ('we will vote').

Pol, 26, said he had waited all night, in a group of locals guarding the polling place from police. He was finally getting his chance at 1pm on Sunday, 17 hours since he arrived.

"It's a special feeling," he said, beaming as he emerged from the voting station. "The most important thing is democracy, and the expression of democracy is to vote.

"I think the Spanish government has not done a good thing for its reputation today."

But not all Catalans approved of the vote. One flag-draped pro-unity group took to the streets of Barcelona on Sunday chanting "you can't fool us – Catalonia is Spain".

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Maria, a Barcelona local, said she was not going to vote "because it's illegal".

She wanted a united Spain because it would give the country more strength, she said. In the lead-up to the referendum there had been lies "on both sides", she added.

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