Two hundred thousand protest in Barcelona against show trial of Catalan separatists
At least 200,000 people—500,000 according to the organizers—marched in Barcelona on Saturday against the show trial of 12 Catalan nationalist leaders, which began last week in Madrid. The trial is being held in the aftermath of last Wednesday’s collapse of the Spanish government. The defendants are being prosecuted on fraudulent charges of sedition and rebellion for organizing the 2017 referendum on Catalan independence from Spain. They face a possible sentence of up to 25 years in prison.
The march was called by the pro-secessionist National Catalan Assembly (ANC) and Òmnium Cultural, as well as a number of political parties. These include Together for Catalonia, Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP) and the Podemos-backed Catalonia in Common. Several trade unions also endorsed the demonstration.
Demonstrators marched peacefully under banners reading “Self-determination is a right, not a crime,” “They are judging us all,” and “J’accuse.” Catalan Regional Premier Quim Torra led the march.
The mass participation was an indication of far broader opposition, centered above all in the working class, to the bourgeoisie’s drive to establish a police state in Spain. This is proceeding now with European Union support, based on anti-Catalan propaganda that employs the political falsifications that form the basis for the show trial in Madrid.
Read more: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/02/18/spai-f18.html
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Saw lots of this:
Pretty much everywhere we went.