Catalonia
https://www.theguardian.com/world/catalonia
Catalan government: '337 injured by Spanish police violence' during referendum - live
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2017/oct/01/catalan-independence-referendum-spain-catalonia-vote-live
Jeremy Corbyn calls on Spanish government to end ‘shocking’ police violence as Catalans vote in independence referendum
Radio Catalonia journalist Mar Riera Sola has posted footage of police charging at a crowd while entering the village of Sant Iscle de Vallalta, 30 miles north-east of Barcelona.
The Guardian’s Sam Jones has spoken to Jesús López Rodríguez, a 51-year-old administrator who lives opposite the Ramon Llull school, who witnessed this morning’s violent police raid on the polling station.
We were in the street from 5am. Hundreds of us were waiting to vote peacefully. The ballot boxes came at about 7.30am. Around eight o’clock, we saw seven national police vans. Half an hour later, the police came in riot gear with shields and helmets. They told us that the Catalan high court had ordered them to take the ballot boxes and they told us that we needed to disperse. We said, ‘No! No! No!’. Then about 20 police officers charged us. It was short – about two minutes – and we stayed together. I heard the chief officer telling them to retreat. But they just stopped and stayed there for about 15 minutes.
Then eight or nine national vans came and they cordoned off the surrounding streets. We were pushing back and forth until they started to arrest people. They dragged people out violently. We stood our ground but they dragged people away, kicking them and throwing them to the ground … Lots more police came - maybe 100 or more. When they saw they couldn’t get into the main building, they jumped over the fence and went in. They came out with ballot boxes 10 minutes later and they broke down the doors [of the school] with axes. They left with the ballot boxes.
There were a lot of police but we stayed there trying to vote. We looked around for other places to vote and then we came back. Half an hour later, we saw lots of police vans on Gran Vía. Then, at about 10.25am, they started to shoot rubber bullets – at least 30 or 40. People were running away, scared and totally defenceless. I ran towards the shots but my wife pulled me back. I was down there for a lot of hours this morning and I didn’t hear one insult [towards the police] … I feel really angry about it but I also hope that people in Europe and around the world see what’s happening in Catalonia.
Catalan government says millions will turn out for referendum
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/29/catalan-referendum-independence-vote
Independence leaders call on voters to behave responsibly while Madrid maintains poll will not take place
The Catalan government has laid out its plans for the referendum on independence from Spain, claiming that more than 7,200 people will staff 2,315 polling stations across the region to stage a vote that has triggered the country’s worst territorial crisis since its return to democracy four decades ago.
On Friday afternoon, the pro-independence regional government unveiled plastic ballot boxes and predicted that 60% of Catalonia’s 5.3 million eligible voters would head to the polls on Sunday in defiance of the Spanish government, the police and the courts.
“Catalans will be able to vote,” said the region’s vice-president, Oriol Junqueras. “Even if someone attacks a polling station, Catalans will still be able to vote.”
Junqueras gave no further details but called on people to behave responsibly and to ignore the “provocations of those who want to stop the vote”.
His words were echoed by the Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, who told Reuters: “I don’t believe there will be anyone who will use violence or who will want to provoke violence that will tarnish the irreproachable image of the Catalan independence movement as pacifist.”
On Friday afternoon, a large convoy of tractors driven by Catalan farmers and flying independence flags rolled into Barcelona to show support for the vote and to protest against moves to halt it.
Both the Spanish government and the country’s constitutional court have declared the vote illegal. Over the past 10 days, the authorities have stepped up their efforts to stop the referendum, arresting 14 senior Catalan government officials, shutting down referendum websites, and seizing millions of ballot papers.
Spain’s interior ministry has deployed thousands of extra police officers to the region and the infrastructure ministry announced on Friday that the airspace over Barcelona would be closed to helicopters and light aircraft until Monday.
ACN | Barcelona 01 October 2017 09:27 AM
http://www.catalannews.com
Emissió en directe de: agenciaACN 1-oct
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccCe-O1Fcvs
Spain's national police start seizing ballot boxes and voting papers from Catalan polling stations
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/catalan-referendum-live-updates-results-polls-spain-catalonia-independence-votes-a7975901.html
CATALONIA
http://www.independent.co.uk/topic/Catalonia
Hundreds Injured as Spanish Police Clash with Defiant Voters in Catalonia
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/catalonia-independence-poll-spanish-police-scuffle-defiant-voters-n806291
Catalan Independence Referendum: What’s Behind Divisive Spanish Vote?
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/catalan-independence-referendum-what-s-behind-divisive-spanish-vote-n805421