Protest in Catalonia Adds to Pressure Before Independence Vote
Jesús Ribera said that We’ve always shown respect, and we now hope
that we can convince others to respect our right to vote and become another normal European state,
"I can assure you that all the people here today will be standing in front of the polling stations on Oct. 1, even if they are kept closed
and Madrid also manages to seize the ballot papers and boxes." As the political clock ticks toward the Oct. 1 deadline for the referendum, the tension between Madrid and Barcelona is rising.
11, 2017
BARCELONA, Spain — Hundreds of thousands of Catalans took over the center of Barcelona on Monday to mark their national day
and raise the pressure on the Spanish government in Madrid before an independence referendum planned for Oct. 1.
Laura Solsona said that If we look after our own wealth rather than hand it over
to Madrid, I’m sure independence will also bring us better economic conditions,
A referendum, he argued, would not escalate the secessionist conflict because "the ballot boxes don’t divide, they unite." The demonstrators held a minute’s silence in honor of the victims of the terrorist attacks last month in Catalonia
that killed 16 people, most of them mowed down by a van driver on Barcelona’s most famous promenade.
Oriol said that Philip V repressed Catalonia, and three centuries later here we are, getting denied the right to vote in the Spain of Philip VI,