BARCELONA, Spain— Thousands of Catalan separatists
thronged the streets of Barcelona on Saturday in a test of their strength ahead
of fresh negotiations with Spain's government.
اضافة اعلان
The protest coincides with Catalonia's national day, or
"Diada", which commemorates the 1714 fall of Barcelona in the War of
the Spanish Succession and the region's subsequent loss of institutions.
As in other years, the march began at 5:14pm — a nod to the
year 1714. The slogan this year is: "We will fight for independence and
win."
At its peak in 2014, the annual demonstration brought an
estimated 1.8 million people onto the streets. Though there were no provisional
figures by early evening on Saturday's attendance, thousands answered the call
to gather and show their support for the cause as the afternoon drew on.
While Catalonia was the epicenter in July of a fresh wave of
COVID-19 infections, the situation has since improved and a ban on gatherings
of more than 10 people was recently lifted.
Jordi Cuixart, the leader of grassroots separatist movement
Omnium Cultural, said he hoped to "bring hundreds of thousands of people
onto the streets" this year to "prove once again that our movement is
more alive than ever".
But much has changed since the frenetic autumn of 2017 when Catalonia's
bid to break away from Spain triggered the country's worst political crisis in
decades going back to the end of the Franco dictatorship.
Leaders of the wealthy northeastern region, which has a
population of 7.8 million, defied a government ban to organize a secession
referendum and then issued a short-lived declaration of independence.
Those behind the move were arrested, tried and sentenced to
long jail terms by Spain's top court, while others fled abroad to avoid
prosecution, leaving the movement sharply at odds over how to move forward.
The Spanish government's pardon in June of nine Catalan
separatist leaders, including Cuixart, has also removed a rallying cry for the
pro-independence camp.
Only 600,000 people turned out for the Diada in 2019. Last
year, coronavirus-related health restrictions reduced the celebrations to
separate events which drew fewer than 60,000 people.
Some, including 70-year-old pensioner Narcis Vilar, say some
pro-independence supporters feel a certain loss of faith in some of their
leaders.
His friends, he told AFP, "have not stopped being
independents but they are fed up with the politicians", while he conceded
the pandemic — which has hit the region hard — was another factor cooling
passion for the cause.
This year's protest comes as top-level talks on resolving
the Catalan crisis are set to resume next week between Prime Minister Pedro
Sanchez's minority government and the separatist regional government of
Catalonia.
Sanchez tweeted Saturday that he wanted "to advance
towards what unites us" and work for a positive outcome for the region.
The separatists have two key demands — an amnesty for those
involved in the failed independence bid, which would exonerate those who fled
abroad, and a referendum on self-determination, this time with Spain's
approval.
But Madrid is implacably opposed to both.
Mireia Nieto, a 21-year-old student demonstrating Saturday,
declared herself "totally opposed to this dialogue" in putting the
hardline pro-independence case.
Tensions rose sharply this week after Spain's central
government suspended plans to expand Barcelona airport, citing a "lack of
confidence" in Catalonia's regional leadership.
Catalonia's regional leader Pere Aragones denounced the
suspension as "blackmail".
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