Hundreds of people in the Catalonia region of Spain have been injured after law enforcement authorities moved to quash a referendum on Catalan independence.
BBC reports as many as 761 people have been hurt, after national police employed force to stop voters from participating in what Spain’s constitutional court deemed an illegal vote.
Confronting footage from regional capital Barcelona and surrounding cities shows shows police beating protesters and would-be voters with batons. Armed police were also filmed firing rubber bullets into packed crowds.
Heads up: the footage is confronting.
Esta es vuestra proporcionalidad @zoidoJI? No tenéis vergüenza. pic.twitter.com/pP3A0g31iR
— Gabriel Rufián (@gabrielrufian) October 1, 2017
Of all the police brutality videos I have seen from #Catalonia today this is hands down the most shocking.
This is unworthy of any democracy pic.twitter.com/OYaQ8yvDwF— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) October 1, 2017
We are suffering a lot, fighting for democracy. Europe please!! Listen to us and do something! #CatalanReferendum pic.twitter.com/q50rYYGoMP
— Iolanda Arboleas (@iolandagalaxi) October 1, 2017
In some areas, Catalan firefighters worked to protect protesters from the paramilitary Guardia Civil forces. Those federal police were deployed after regional law enforcement authorities were accused of not closing the illegal polling centres.
#Catalonia: even firefighters are getting kicked and beaten by the Spanish police, simply for protecting citizens from police brutality pic.twitter.com/lCTHcARyiC
— Thomas van Linge (@ThomasVLinge) October 1, 2017
FC Barcelona, which usually plays in front of eighty thousand fans, played behind closed doors in protest of what club president Josep Bartomeu called an “exceptional and unacceptable situation.”
https://twitter.com/jmbartomeu/status/914526398320201729
https://twitter.com/Kowal__30/status/914499458599149568
Catalonia, which has a distinct language and culture, has maintained a level of autonomy from the central Spanish government for decades. Catalonian authorities intended the vote to be a democratic method of moving towards total independence.
Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said that if a “Yes” vote was recorded, the region would move towards independence within 48 hours.
However, the referendum had already been deemed constitutionally invalid by the Spanish courts. After the vote’s stated deadline, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said that no referendum had taken place, and reiterated that the vote was invalid under Spanish law.
The violence has drawn some condemnation from other European states, with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel saying “violence can never be the answer!”
Violence can never be the answer! We condemn all forms of violence and reaffirm our call for political dialogue #CatalanReferendum #Spain
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) October 1, 2017
Tensions are expected to remain high, and the push for sovereignty is unlikely to stop here.
