Anti-independence protests fill streets of Tarragona and Barcelona
Friday, September 12, 2014 @ 5:30 PM
AN ESTIMATED total of 7,000 people turned out in Tarragona yesterday (Thursday) to protest over the forthcoming independence referendum due to be held on November 9 to decide whether the region of Catalunya should become a separate country from Spain.
Thousands more gathered in Barcelona (pictured).
September 11 is Catalunya regional day, known as the Diada Catalana, and for the past two years has served as a giant demonstration in favour of the secession with a human chain formed last year reaching from the French border in the north of the province of Girona down to the south of Tarragona at the frontier with the region of Valencia.
In both cities, demonstrators carried a flag measuring over 50 metres in length – one half with two red and one yellow stripe, the Spanish national flag, and the other with multiple yellow and red stripes, being that of the region of Catalunya.
The demonstrations were supported by the regional branches of the PP party and Ciutadans, and whilst the regional socialists – the PSC – did not openly back the protest, they allowed their members to attend if they wished.
Leading politicians who joined in include head of the Catalunya PP, or PPC Alicia Sánchez-Camacho, former central government minister of defence Carme Chacón, head of UPyD for the region Ramon de Veciana, and Ciutadans leader Albert Rivera.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com