Tag: Catalan

Spain king denounces Catalan independence bid

by Marianne Barriaux with Roland Lloyd Parry in Madrid Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Spain’s King Felipe intervened dramatically Tuesday in the crisis over Catalan leaders’ bid for independence, accusing them of threatening the country’s stability and urging the state to defend “constitutional order.” The 49-year-old king abandoned his previously measured tone over tensions with Catalonia as the standoff dragged the country into its deepest political crisis in decades. He spoke after hundreds […]

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EU breaks cover to urge Catalonia crisis dialogue

by Danny Kemp and Damon Wake Agence France Presse Brussels, Belgium (AFP) — EU leaders on Monday called for dialogue to solve the crisis over Catalonia’s banned independence referendum and urged an end to violence in a cautious first reaction to a thorny subject for the bloc. Breaking weeks of virtual silence on the subject after scores were hurt in clashes in Catalonia, the European Commission said the referendum was “not legal” under Spanish law […]

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Watch: Barcelona residents rally against police violence in Catalan vote

https://youtu.be/w5puocJ-NtA   Residents in Barcelona, Spain took to the streets on October 2, 2017 to protest the violent police crackdown during Catalonia’s banned independence referendum on October 1, 2017. People waved Catalan pro-independence ‘Estelada’ flags as they took part in a protest in Barcelona. “The central government has been consistent with its historical performance until the end, that is to say that mean every time they have not been able to solve any issue that […]

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Catalans describe moment they were hurt in vote chaos

by Laurence Boutreux Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — From a grandmother whose wrist was broken to an independence supporter violently hit in the head, several people who were injured by police during Catalonia’s independence referendum banned by Madrid told AFP of their ordeal. Shocking footage of police violence went round the world, sparking controversy over what critics described as “the disproportionate use” of police force and the “humiliation” of voters — sometimes elderly […]

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Catalonia set for general strike over independence poll violence

by Marianne Barriaux Agence France Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) — Large numbers of Catalans are expected to observe a general strike on Tuesday to condemn police violence at a banned weekend referendum on independence, as Madrid comes under growing international pressure to resolve its worst political crisis in decades. Flights and train services could be disrupted as well as port operations, after unions called for the stoppage to “vigorously condemn” the police response to the […]

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Spain in crisis after police violence in Catalan vote

by Patrick Rahir with Marianne Barriaux in Barcelona  with Marianne Barriaux Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain – Spain came under international pressure Monday to resolve a spiralling crisis with its Catalan region after a banned independence referendum was marred by shocking scenes of police violence. The country’s central government vowed to stop its northeastern region breaking away from Spain after Catalonia’s leader claimed that 90 percent of voters backed independence in Sunday’s referendum, which Madrid says is unconstitutional […]

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Barricades and sit-ins as Catalan voters face police

by Marianne Barriaux and Anna Cuenca Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain – It was still pitch black when would-be voters lined up in Barcelona early Sunday, braving rain as they hoped to cast ballots in referendum, banned by Spain’s government, on independence for Catalonia. As dawn broke, though, those hopes diminished as news spread that riot police were on the way. And then they arrived. At one polling station, armed, helmeted police broke in to seize ballot boxes prepared […]

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Catalan police warn of public disorder if polling stations closed

by Daniel Bosque with Antonio Rodriguez in Madrid Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain – Catalan police warned Wednesday that public disorder may erupt as Spain orders the authorities to seal polling stations and stop the region holding a referendum on independence. The Catalan government has vowed to press ahead with Sunday’s plebiscite despite a crackdown by Madrid which wants to prevent a vote deemed unconstitutional by the courts. The referendum has deeply divided the wealthy northeastern region which is […]

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Alleged Barcelona killer was ‘a normal factory worker’

by Laurence Boutreux Agence France Presse RIPOLL, Spain (AFP) — The alleged Barcelona attacker who was killed Monday grew up in a small Catalan town where he seemed “nicely integrated” like his younger brother who also died as part of the same terror cell, residents said. Younes Abouyaaqoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan, was shot by police not far from Barcelona in northeastern Spain after a four-day manhunt for the man who allegedly drove a van through […]

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