Pro-Spanish unity groups lead rally in Barcelona after 350,000 gather in support of separatists

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

Tens of thousands of people joined a protest in Barcelona yesterday demonstrating against independence from Spain, and calling for unity across the country and peaceful co-existence in Catalonia, following the violent unrest of the past fortnight.

The demonstration on Sunday, organised by Societat Civil Catalana, an umbrella group of political parties and civic bodies that want Catalonia to remain part of Spain, was attended by about 80,000 people, according to local police, although SCC put the attendance at 400,000.

On Saturday, a pro-independence demonstration brought 350,000 people into central Barcelona to protest against the Spanish supreme court’s decision to imprison nine separatist leaders for sedition over their roles in the failed push for independence two years ago.

Although the demonstration on Saturday was peaceful, it was followed by further violent scenes overnight as a crowd of about 10,000 people clashed with police, throwing bottles and balls at officers.

The pro-union march on Sunday took place under the slogan: “For coexistence, democracy and Catalonia. Enough!”

It was backed by Spain’s governing Socialist party, the conservative People’s party (PP) and the centre-right Citizens party. However, the far-right Vox party was asked to stay away.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators carried Spanish and Catalan flags and placards that read “We are Catalans too” as they marched down Passeig de Gràcia, the scene of some of the worst rioting last week.

The PP and Citizens leaders, Pablo Casado and Albert Rivera respectively, joined the march, as did prominent members of the Socialist party, though not the acting prime minister, Pedro Sánchez.

Miquel Iceta, the Catalan Socialists’ party leader, said the SCC had invited his party to join the march “behind a slogan that we unequivocally support: coexistence and opposition to the independence process”.

Casado said Catalonia was a “fundamental part of Spain”, adding: “Above all, it’s a land totally opposed to the violence, intolerance and sectarianism of the independence movement.”

Rivera said: “There are more of us who want to be united than want separation.”

On Sunday, the pro-independence Committees for the Defence of the Republic set up roadblocks and blocked railway lines with tree trunks in an attempt to prevent protesters from reaching the march in central Barcelona. A sit-in was also staged at the city’s main railway station.

Play Video 1:27 Catalonia protests: key moments from a week of unrest – video

On Saturday, about 20,000 people had joined a rally in support of Spanish unity staged in central Madrid by Vox.

A huge Spanish flag, 50 metres long and 20 metres wide, was unfurled over the crowd, who called for the imprisonment of Carles Puigdemont, the former Catalan president who fled to Belgium two years ago to avoid arrest for leading the push for secession.

Vox’s leader, Santiago Abascal, urged the suspension of Catalan self-government, saying: “Spain isn’t up for discussion; Spain is to be defended at all costs.”

Catalonia is deeply divided over the issue of independence. Popular support for seceding from Spain – which reached a record high of 48.7% in October 2017 – currently stands at 44%, with 48.3% of Catalans opposing it.

The protest on Sunday took place on the second anniversary of the illegal unilateral declaration of independence by the Catalan parliament. The Spanish government responded by sacking Puigdemont’s administration and assuming direct control of Catalonia.

Following the supreme court verdict on 14 October, a judge reissued the international arrest warrant for Puigdemont, and an extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.