This archive report was first published on 26 October 2019.
October 14 marked a turning point in Catalonia's history, as the Supreme Court verdict sparked widespread unrest and protests that quickly turned violent. The region has been plagued by demonstrations, with angry protesters clashing with riot police.
Despite the violence easing off last week, the protests continued, with thousands of students marching peacefully through the city on Friday, waving flags and chanting slogans. However, activists were gearing up for a mass rally on Saturday called by the ANC and Omnium Cultural, the region's two biggest grassroots pro-independence groups.
A counter-demonstration has been planned by activists from Catalan Civil Society (SCC), a group representing those who want the region to remain part of Spain. The SCC has organised several large protests in the past, including during the failed independence bid of 2017.
Catalans remain sharply divided over the question of separating from Spain, with a September poll showing 44 percent in favour but 48.3 percent against. The violent protests over the verdict have only deepened that division.
Following the sentence, the protests turned violent, with demonstrators torching barricades, hurling Molotov cocktails, rocks, and even acid at the police who responded with teargas, foam rounds, and rubber bullets. More than 600 people were injured, among them 367 civilians, four of whom lost an eye, Catalan regional health officials said, with another 289 police hurt, the Spanish government said on Friday.
As the region teeters on the brink of chaos, activists are gearing up for a weekend of mass protests in Barcelona. The ANC and Omnium Cultural have called for a mass rally on Saturday, while the SCC has planned a counter-demonstration. The march is expected to draw several senior political figures, including Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, who himself is Catalan.
Until now, the Socialist government of Pedro Sanchez has turned a deaf ear to repeated calls for dialogue from regional president Quim Torra, who wants to secure Madrid's agreement for a referendum on independence. "What we will not talk about is the right to self-determination," Carmen Calvo, Sanchez's deputy, told journalists on Saturday. "If, as president Torra has said every day, the aim is to break up Spain's territorial unity and separate Catalonia from Spain, we simply cannot talk," she said.
