AFP
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 13:58
“Stop the amnesty, stop Sánchez“, it sounds again today in Spanish cities. Hundreds of thousands of people will take to the streets again today to protest against the controversial amnesty deal that the ruling Socialist Party concluded with Catalan separatists on Thursday. The right-conservative Partido Popular called for massive demonstrations throughout the country.
In Madrid, Valencia and Seville, among others, demonstrators are returning to the offices of the Socialist Party. In Madrid, near the party’s headquarters, protests turned into riots last night. At least seven people were injured and fourteen people were arrested.
Spain correspondent Miral de Bruijne:
“If you see how many people were at the demonstration here in Madrid alone, it becomes clear how many Spaniards are against such an amnesty law. The demonstrations were organized by the right-wing party Partido Popular. There were therefore a lot of PP supporters In recent weeks there were also many demonstrations in the evening, which also got out of hand. This afternoon there was a completely different crowd. There were many old people and families with children.
The message of the demonstrators is that they stand for a united Spain. They fear that if the Catalan separatists are granted amnesty, they will eventually fight for an independent Catalonia again.
There were also many slogans against Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. People demanded that he resign. They believe he wants to continue governing at all costs, even at the expense of democracy.”
The demonstrators are angry about the agreement that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has made with the leader of the Catalan party, Carles Puigdemont. In that deal, it is agreed that Sánchez wants to grant amnesty to Catalans who wanted to declare independence illegally in 2017.
In exchange for amnesty, the Catalans will work with the Social Democrats, who have been in government for two terms and are assured of a majority in parliament through this new coalition. Sánchez is heading for a third term as prime minister, despite the Partido Popular winning the recent elections. He failed to forge a coalition.
Images from the demonstration this afternoon in Madrid
AFP
2023-11-12 12:58:34
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