Poor, misguided Spain is apparently learning all of the wrong lessons from Brexit and the Scottish independence referendum. So far as I can tell - which is admittedly not very much as I know nothing of Catalonia - literally everything here has been done in the worst possible way.
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont says the Spanish region has won the right to statehood following a contentious referendum that was marred by violence. He said the door had been opened to a unilateral declaration of independence. Catalan officials later said 90% of those who voted backed independence in Sunday's vote. The turnout was 42.3%.
So 37% voted for independence then. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, except :
Spain's constitutional court had banned the vote and hundreds of people were injured as police used force to try to block voting. Officers seized ballot papers and boxes at polling stations. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Catalans had been fooled into taking part in an illegal vote.
The Spanish prime minister spoke of a "mockery" of democracy. "At this hour I can tell you in the strongest terms what you already know and what we have seen throughout this day. There has not been a referendum on self-determination in Catalonia," Mr Rajoy said. Large crowds of independence supporters gathered in the centre of the regional capital Barcelona on Sunday evening, waving flags and singing the Catalan anthem. Anti-independence protesters have also held rallies in Barcelona and other Spanish cities.
TV images showed Spanish police kicking would-be voters and pulling women out of polling stations by their hair. Catalan medical officials said 844 people had been hurt in clashes, including 33 police. The majority had minor injuries or had suffered from anxiety attacks.
In Girona, riot police smashed their way into a polling station where Mr Puigdemont was due to vote, and forcibly removed those inside. He voted at another station. The BBC's Tom Burridge in Barcelona witnessed police being chased away from one polling booth after they had raided it. TV footage showed riot police using batons to beat a group of firefighters who were protecting crowds in Girona.
Everyone's gone mad. "The beatings will continue until morale improves" isn't supposed to be taken literally.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41463719
No comments:
Post a Comment
Due to a small but consistent influx of spam, comments will now be checked before publishing. Only egregious spam/illegal/racist crap will be disapproved, everything else will be published.