Here's the Tóibín piece I was going to post it anyway. It matches very much what i've heard. The Right wing in Madrid have managed to inspire the Opera goers and Conservatives of Catalonia. As if Boris Johnson and Theresa May sent the Met to try and stop the Scottish Referendum
Voting has begun now - looking at Twitter, several videos of riot police entering polling stations. Catalan Government saying it's a universal registry, so if one station is shut, people can move to the neatest open one.
Twitter is awash with videos of riot police clashing with peaceful and elderly protestors - whatever your views on this referendum, it's not a good look for the central government in Madrid
Twitter is awash with videos of riot police clashing with peaceful and elderly protestors - whatever your views on this referendum, it's not a good look for the central government in Madrid
It's the sort of response more akin to a dictatorship putting down protests. Surely the Spanish authorities would have come out of it looking a lot better had they just let it happen whilst confirming their stance from the start that they did not recognise the referendum. Whatever the result now there will always be the belief that it has been skewed by state intervention and oppressive violence.
The Deputy Mayor of Barcelona has just posted a video on Twitter of Guardia Civil firing rubber bullets at a crowd of people wanting to vote. Democracy?
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