support for autonomy from Madrid. Photo: Supporters demonstrate in
Barcelona in an unprecedented show of mass support for autonomy from
Madrid. (AFP: Lluis Gene)
Map: Spain
Hundreds of thousands of Catalans have taken to the streets of
Barcelona in an unprecedented show of mass support for autonomy from
Madrid, blaming Spain's economic crisis for dragging their wealthy
region down. Surging unemployment and financial disarray have stoked
calls for separatism in Catalonia, a comparatively prosperous part of
Spain whose political leaders say their wealth is being sucked dry by
the central government.
Crowds waved red and yellow striped Catalan flags - one of the oldest
still in use in Europe - and sang the Catalan anthem on a national day
marking the conquest of Catalonia by Spain's King Philip V in 1714
after a 13-month siege of Barcelona. The regional government said the
crowd was 600,000 strong. Local police gave figures as high as 1.5
million.
Marchers said the sheer size of the crowd - swollen with people from
around the region who descended on its capital in bright sunshine -
would at last make Madrid hear their message. "This is a blow for the
government. People like me came from everywhere. I don't think they
were expecting something as big," said 53-year-old Teresa Cabanes, who
came from Santa Coloma de Gramanet in the outskirts of Barcelona.
"We feel that the central government is fooling with us. We Catalans
are giving away a lot of money to Spain." They held up banners and
signs saying "No to the Fourth Reich", "No to Europe", "Independence
Now!" and "Catalonia: the New European State". The huge volume of
people overwhelmed the mobile phone network, which shut down for hours
under the strain.
Marchers who had attended Catalan national day rallies for decades,
including others that attracted hundreds of thousands, said this was
the biggest they could recall. The show of anger and ethnic pride will
play into the hands of regional authorities, who are trying to force
the central government to yield control over taxes raised in
Catalonia. Catalans speak a language similar to, but distinct from,
the Castillian Spanish spoken in the rest of Spain. The region
accounts for 15 per cent of Spain's population but 20 per cent of its
economy.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-12/thousands-turn-out-for-autonomy-rally-in-barcelona/4256036
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