EPAProtesters and police at PSOE headquarters
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 04:01
Riots broke out at a protest outside the headquarters of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) in Madrid last night. Thousands of Spaniards, about 7,000 according to authorities, took to the streets to protest against the amnesty that Prime Minister Sánchez wants to grant to the Catalans who tried to declare independence in 2017.
The action started around 8 p.m. and violence broke out around 10 p.m. last night, the newspaper reports. The country. Some of the demonstrators threw stones, fireworks bombs, full beer bottles and other objects at the police. Some also gave the Hitler salute and some shouted “Viva Franco”, referring to the dictatorial regime of fascist leader Francisco Franco, who ruled in Spain between 1939 and 1975.
The police fired tear gas and used batons. Daily newspaper The vanguard reports that at least 39 people have been injured, including 29 police officers. At least six people are said to have been arrested.
Support from Catalan parties
The demonstrators are angry about Prime Minister Sánchez’s plan to grant amnesty to separatists who tried to gain independence through an illegal referendum in 2017. Sánchez hopes to form a majority in the Spanish parliament together with the Catalans.
Sánchez’s PSOE lost the elections to the right-wing Conservative Popular Party in July, but it was unable to form a coalition. If Sánchez were now supported by the left-wing and Catalan parties, he could still become prime minister again.
The amnesty plan is especially difficult for Spanish nationalists to digest. They have no interest in the Catalan struggle for independence and want to see the politicians behind the illegal referendum imprisoned. Protesters also chanted for Catalan separatist Carles Puigdemont to be jailed, as well as Sánchez himself.
Telegram
Thousands of people also demonstrated on Monday. Yesterday, parliamentarians from the radical right-wing party Vox were also among those present. El País reports that far-right groups on Telegram also called for demonstrations at the Socialists’ office. The protest also seems broader than just an action against the amnesty plan. Some of those present chanted “Spain is Christian, not Islamic,” writes El País.
Prime Minister Sánchez has condemned the violence. “Social progress and coexistence are worth it. They will not break the PSOE,” he writes on X.
2023-11-08 03:01:30
#Riots #protest #amnesty #Catalan #separatists #Madrid
