Some 80,000 people march in Madrid against agreement for Catalan separatists
Nov 12, 2023. Posted by Balkan
Periscope - Hellas
Tens of
thousands of people across Spain demonstrated on Sunday against Prime Minister
Pedro Sánchez’s plans to grant amnesty to Catalan separatists in order to
secure support for another term in office.
Sánchez signed the controversial agreement last week after the Catalan separatist Junts party gave its backing to the prime minister’s Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) to form a new government.
The deal,
which came four months after the Spanish election resulted in no single party
gaining a majority in parliament, was criticized by judicial groups and almost
immediately triggered protests. The protests escalated on Sunday, spurred by
the conservative opposition People’s Party, with Madrid authorities estimating
80,000 people took to the streets in the capital and demonstrations also held
in other cities.
In exchange
for the Junts party’s backing, Sánchez’s Socialists agreed to propose a law
granting a blanket amnesty to everyone involved in the failed 2017 Catalan
independence referendum. The deal includes an as-yet unspecified proposal for
legal reform, which critics charge risks undermining judicial independence in
Spain.
In
Barcelona, 6,000 people demonstrated, while numbers reached 30,000 in Granada
and 50,000 in Seville, Reuters reported, citing local authorities. Other
protests took place in cities including Malaga, Palma and Valencia.
Politico
--