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Catalans to plan human shield to block Madrid takeover

Esteban Duarte (Bloomberg)
Madrid, Spain
Mon, October 23, 2017

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Catalans to plan human shield to block Madrid takeover People hold candles and a Catalan pro-independence 'Estelada' flag during a demonstration in Barcelona against the arrest of two Catalan separatist leaders on Oct. 17, 2017. Catalonia braced for protests after a judge ordered the detention of two powerful separatist leaders, further inflaming tensions in the crisis over the Spanish region's chaotic independence referendum. (Agence France -Presse/Pau Barrena)

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atalan separatists are mobilizing a human shield to block efforts by the Spanish authorities to take control of the breakaway region as both sides prepare to escalate the political conflict, according to two people familiar with the plans.

Groups will concentrate their activists around the regional government’s headquarters in Barcelona’s Gothic quarter and the nearby parliament building, the people said, asking not to be identified by name. They expect Spanish police to use force to try to shut down the administration and will put their bodies on the line, said one person.

"We are calling for a peaceful and democratic defense of the institutions," Lluis Corominas, the leader of the main separatist group in the Catalan Parliament, said at a press conference in Barcelona.

It’s a critical week of brinkmanship. The Catalan leadership was left to plot its next move following Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s declaration of unprecedented measures to reassert his authority. The rebels in Barcelona are running out of options while Madrid attempts to bring an end to the country’s most dramatic political crisis for four decades.

The showdown may come at the end of the week. Regional President Carles Puigdemont, who accused Rajoy of a "coup d’etat," is set to be ousted by the Spanish government and his allies are signaling he could declare independence. The legislature in Barcelona, which is controlled by separatist parties, will convene on Thursday and Friday just as Rajoy is expected to win approval from the Senate for his crackdown.

Rajoy on Saturday shocked many observers with plans to clear out the entire separatist administration in Barcelona and take control of key institutions including public media and the regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra. Spain’s chief prosecutor said that if Puigdemont declares independence he would face as much as 30 years in jail and signaled that he could be arrested immediately.

The separatists have shown they can rally support. A crowd estimated by local police at around 450,000 joined him to protest in central Barcelona after Rajoy announced his plans. CUP, a pro-secessionist party, on Monday called for mass civil disobedience in Catalonia, Ara newspaper reported.

 

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