Spain: PM Pedro Sanchez holds emergency meeting amidst protests

Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez reportedly held emergency talks with the leaders of the opposition on October 16 to discuss the violent protests by the separatists in Catalonia. After the court sentenced the nine separatist Catalan leaders for playing part in an independence bid of 2017, protesters are furious with dozens being arrested and many, injured. After the failed independence bid of 2017, a deep political crisis prevailed. The convictions on October 14 have restarted the tensions between Catalans who are loyal to Madrid and the ones who wish to go a different way than Spain. 

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Protests in Catalonia

Thousands of demonstrators walked along highways from five Catalan towns towards Barcelona. Moreover, they also plan to gather there on October 18 when the unions have called a general strike in the area. The separatist movement, which has currently erupted in Catalonia after the conviction of 12 Catalan leaders under the sedition of the 2017 referendum and the short-lived declaration of independence. The prison sentences to the convicted to sentences of nine years to 13 years. Amidst the protests, the police authorities have reportedly arrested 29 people in the province of Barcelona, 14 in Tarragona province and eight in Lleida. Nearly 125 people have also been injured during the protests, 72 among them were police officials. 

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Angered separatist camp

After the failure of Catalan regional president Quim Torra to deliver the promise of independence, the separatist camp is frustrated. Reportedly, on the wall of a luxury watch shop, someone had scrawled “Torra, Traitor”. A radical separatist movement, the committees for the Defence of the Republic (CDR) took on Twitter to say that they have embarked on a road of no return. While Catalonia's vice president Pere Aragones has urged the protesters to avoid violence, the recent violent demonstrations marked a break from the earlier peaceful rallies. Moreover, the conservative parties of Spain have marked Sanchez as a traitor for agreeing to back the Catalan separatist parties which will also help him secure the power in 2018. 

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(With agency inputs)