Barcelona, Sept. 12, (dpa/GNA) - Almost five years after the failed secession of Catalonia from Spain, 150,000 people demonstrated in Barcelona for the independence of the region on the Catalan holiday of Diada, according to police.
The rally on Sunday was held under the slogan: “Let’s Return to Win: Independence!”
The organizer, the separatist civic movement ANC, on the other hand, spoke of 700,000 participants, the newspaper La Vanguardia reported.
Observers had expected fewer people to take part than last year. In 2021, the police had counted 108,000 participants, but the ANC said there were 400,000.
In the years before the pandemic, more than 1 million people took part.
Lower participation may also be due to disputes within the separatist movement. The left-wing ERC party of regional president Pere Aragonès, which is willing to negotiate with Madrid, and the Junts party, which is banking on a break with Madrid, are at odds.
Both are part of the governing coalition. For the first time in a long time, a regional head of government was absent from the rally.
Aragonès withdrew after being severely criticized by the ANC.
In a short speech, Aragonès again called for a referendum on independence.
However, the government in Madrid rejects this and it is not provided for in the constitution. The population of Catalonia is divided. According to surveys, about half want independence, while the rest do not.
Five years ago, on October 1, the separatist regional government held a referendum on secession that was ruled ilegal by Madrid. As a result, Catalonia was temporarily placed under forced administration by the central government.
The regional head of government at the time, Carles Puigdemont, and some of his fellow campaigners fled abroad. Other separatists were sentenced to long prison terms but pardoned in 2021.
The Diada, or Catalan National Day, is celebrated every year on September 11 and commemorates the loss of Catalan autonomy in 1714.
GNA