Status: 11.09.2021 10:53 p.m.
On the Catalan holiday of Diada, many people took to the streets in Barcelona for the independence of the Spanish region. Central and regional governments want to meet soon to discuss the future of Catalonia.
A few days before new official talks between the Spanish central government and the Catalan regional government on the future of Catalonia, tens of thousands of supporters of independence demonstrated in Barcelona. The motto of the demonstration was: “We will fight for independence and win”.
According to the separatist citizens’ movement of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), which, like every year on the Catalan national holiday, called Diada for the march through Barcelona, around 400,000 people took part. The police estimated the number, however, only at 108,000, as the newspaper “La Vanguardia” reported. That was significantly fewer than in the years before the corona pandemic, when in some cases more than a million people took part.
Sea of flags on the streets of Barcelona
Many demonstrators waved Catalan flags, in the meantime there was a commotion when some threw toilet paper and rubbish at a police station. They fought scuffle with police officers, as reported by the AP news agency.
The Diada is celebrated on September 11th every year. A rather unusual reminder is a defeat: On this day, in 1714, Barcelona was conquered by the troops of the Spanish King Philip V after the Catalans had supported his opponent in the War of the Spanish Succession. Catalonia lost its self-government.
New talks between central and regional government
On the occasion of the holiday, spokesmen for the separatists reaffirmed their demand for self-determination. They want the independence and separation of Catalonia from Spain. The central government in Madrid wants to give the region in northeastern Spain at most more autonomy.
In a few days – the exact date has not yet been determined – the central government plans to meet with the Catalan regional government to discuss ways out of the political crisis. It is controversial among the separatists whether such talks even make sense, because Madrid is rejecting an official referendum on the secession of Catalonia. In addition, the Spanish constitution does not allow such a referendum. The population of Catalonia is divided. According to surveys, about half want independence, the other half don’t.
Illegal referendum in 2017
Four years ago, on October 1, 2017, the separatists organized a referendum and unilaterally declared Catalonia’s independence. That triggered a serious political crisis. The then conservative central government in Madrid responded by overturning the regional government and bringing leaders of the independence movement to justice. Nine supporters of independence were sentenced to between nine and 13 years in prison.
Today’s Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pardoned the convicts last June. In the run-up to the talks, the head of government wrote on Twitter that in the upcoming dialogue with the Catalan regional government he wanted to advance what “unites us” and achieve positive results for Catalonia.