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The separatists marched through the streets with numerous Catalan flags
Photo: Jordi Boixareu / dpa
A few days before new official talks on the future of the Spanish province of Catalonia, supporters of independence demonstrated in Barcelona.
The motto of the demonstration on Saturday in the Catalan metropolis was: "We will fight for independence and win."
According to the separatist citizens' movement of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), which, like every year on the Catalan national holiday, called Diada for the march through Barcelona, around 400,000 people took part. The police, however, estimated the number at only 108,000, as the newspaper "La Vanguardia" reported. That was significantly fewer than in the years before the corona pandemic, when in some cases more than a million people took part.
Every year on September 11th there are demonstrations in Barcelona for the secession of Catalonia from Spain.
At the height of the independence movement in 2014, an estimated 1.8 million people had flocked to the city.
This year the demonstration took place shortly before the resumption of official talks between the government in Madrid and the separatist Catalan regional government, planned for next week.
As in previous years, the demonstration in Barcelona began at exactly 5.14 p.m. local time - symbolically referring to the year 1714.
On September 11, 1714, Spanish and French troops captured Barcelona during the War of the Spanish Succession.
The separatists have two central demands: the pardon of all protagonists of the independence movement and a new referendum on independence, which this time is to take place with the approval of the central government.
The central government strictly rejects both demands.
The population of Catalonia is divided.
According to surveys, about half want independence, the other half don't.
ANC President Elisenda Paluzie called on all separatists to unite on the day of Diada.
But they are divided over the path to independence: some want to persuade the central government to agree to a referendum on independence;
Others consider this to be hopeless and want to separate the region in the north-east of the country from Spain, even against the resistance of Madrid.
Four years ago, an illegal referendum and a subsequent unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan regional government triggered a serious political crisis in Spain.
The then conservative central government in Madrid responded by overturning the regional government and bringing leaders of the independence movement to justice.
Nine pro-independence activists were sentenced to between nine and 13 years in prison.
Today's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pardoned the convicts last June.
On Saturday, the head of government wrote on the online service Twitter that in the upcoming dialogue with the Catalan regional government he wanted to advance what “unites us” and achieve positive results for Catalonia.
Tensions have recently been fueled by the Madrid government putting plans to expand Barcelona airport on hold.
The reason given was a "lack of trust" in the regional government.
nek / dpa / AFP
