Catalonia LIVE vid: Thousands take to streets in MASS uprising to bring Spain to its knees
CATALONIA is at a standstill after thousands of protesters took to the streets during a mass strike to protest the Spanish government’s violent crackdown on voters during the independence referendum.
By AURORA BOSOTTI
Express.co.uk
Tue, Oct 3, 2017
Shocking aerial footage shows thousands of people marching on the streets of Barcelona to protest against the Spanish Government’s decision to ignore the results of the independence referendum in Catalonia.
Catalans are observing a day of mass strikes all over the region against police brutality that saw nearly 900 people injured during the vote.
Protesters are expected to come together in a massive rally in the city’s Plaza de la Universidad in the late afternoon.
Catalan trade unions and associates called for the action due to “the grave violation of rights and freedoms” seen when heavily armed Spanish officers clashed with voters on Sunday.
Madrid, which deemed the referendum illegal, deployed hundreds of officers in a last desperate attempt to stop the ballot from going ahead.
But more than 2.2m Catalans were able to vote, with 90 per cent favouring freedom from Spain.
Still the brutal police crackdown left 893 people injured, as officers armed in riot-gear stormed polling stations, fired rubber bullets and pulled women by their hair.
Reacting to the violence, today’s strike saw public transport, schools and clinics in Catalonia closed.
Many services under the control of the Catalan government did see some stoppages, with public transport running at around 40 percent, according to reports, while port workers and civil servants also walked out.
Normally busy metro stations in Barcelona were deserted as services were cut back sharply, pickets blocked traffic on Gran Via street and traffic on six major highways in the region was disrupted by protests.
Barcelona’s famous football team FC Barcelona, the city’s public universities and contemporary art museum are also expected to strike.
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