BARCELONA – Thousands of Catalan separatist demonstrators have taken to the streets of Barcelona in protest at a visit by Spain’s King Felipe VI.
Protesters lit a bonfire on a major road and burned pictures of the king. Some banged on kitchen pots and chanted “Catalonia has no king!”
The region has been hit by weeks of protests triggered by the jailing of separatist leaders last month.
The unrest comes days before Spain’s second general election this year.
Sunday’s poll aims to break the stalemate that emerged from the last one in April.
Acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said that if his Socialist party were re-elected, he would change the law to make it clear that organizing an unsanctioned independence referendum was a serious crime.
The leader of the main opposition People’s Party, Pablo Casado, said he would lead a conservative government “whose legs don’t shake” when it comes to addressing the separatist issue.
The far-right Vox party leader, Santiago Abascal, went further and called for Catalan president Quim Torra to be “arrested, handcuffed and brought before the courts.” (BBC)
