This archive report was first published on 28 October 2019.
On October 14, 2019, Spain's Supreme Court sentenced nine Catalan leaders to prison terms of up to 13 years for sedition over a failed 2017 independence bid, sparking widespread unrest in Barcelona and other Catalan cities.
ANC head Elisenda Paluzie acknowledged the negative and positive aspects of the international attention the conflict has received, saying, "The world is like that. It is these incidents which get us continuously in the international press, that is to say, that make the conflict visible."
"The world is like that. It is these incidents which get us continuously in the international press, that is to say, that make the conflict visible," said Elisenda Paluzie, head of the influential grassroots Catalan separatist organisation ANC.
Protests turned violent, with demonstrators setting fire to cars and garbage bins, and throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails, and steel balls at police, who responded with batons and rubber bullets.
Over 600 people were injured in the protests from October 14 to 18, with almost half of them being police officers.
Thousands of separatists clashed with police again in central Barcelona just hours after 350,000 demonstrators held a peaceful march to protest the sentences, organised by ANC and another powerful independence group, Omnium.
Paluzie called for a "constant mobilisation" by Catalan separatists to "wear down" the Spanish state, saying, "Its about weakening the pillars of power of the state in Catalonia."
"Its about weakening the pillars of power of the state in Catalonia," she said in the interview.
As the conflict deepens, more radical separatist groups have taken to the streets, blocking roads and railways, while the Democratic Tsunami blocked access to Barcelona airport the day the sentences were handed down.
However, not all Catalans support independence, with 80,000 people marching through the streets of Barcelona on Sunday for Spanish unity.
A poll published in July by a public Catalan institute showed support for an independent Catalonia at its lowest level in two years, with 48.3 percent of people against and 44 percent in favour.
