Barcelona paralyzed by fifth day of protests

World Today

Barcelona Paralyzed by Fifth Day of ProtestsPeople applaud during a demonstration in Barcelona, on October 18, 2019, on the day that separatists have called a general strike and a mass rally. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP)

In Barcelona, bands of protesters were still clashing with police at midnight Friday as a general strike and a fifth day of demonstrations crippled the city. The violence was triggered by anger over the sentencing of nine Catalan leaders for sedition. CGTN’s Layah Heilpern has details.

A fifth day of protests have brought Barcelona to standstill. In what is being described as Spain’s biggest political crisis in 40 years, thousands marched to the city from five different areas of the Catalonian region.

Friday’s general strike saw planes canceled, and public transport reduced to a minimum.  The Spanish government says people have a right to protest but it must be done peacefully.

“ The right to protest must be protected by all public powers and that is what the Spanish government does, but it should be also be exercised in a totally peaceful manner,” said Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Meanwhile, some Barcelona businesses and residents expressed fears the protests would hurt the economy, with many shops and cafés in the city center closed on Friday night.  With Barcelona attracting approximately 20 million tourists a year, there are also fears that the increased violence could put visitors off.

“Tourism’s very sensitive to changes, to movements, to violence, and of course if you have such a movement here which, as you can see, a specific movement, it can have consequences for tourism,” said Ricard Ballera with the Catalan Confederation of Trade Unions. 

The entrances of many of Barcelona’s historic sites were blocked off by protestors earlier in the day, including Sagrada Familia, where tourists were briefly trapped inside.

“I’ve been living in Denmark 20 years, Denmark is a country with free expression, it’s the top of the list of human rights,” said one demonstrator. “In Denmark, you are allowed to talk, you are allowed to express yourself and nobody is going to put you in jail, and nobody is going to stop you.”

“Today, I am not missing a day’s pay so that I can be here,” said another. “But the people who are really making sacrifices are those who’ve been jailed, because they’ve lost their family life.”

“In my situation with this disability, if they cancel trains and block off highways, it’s more difficult for me,” complained a woman who was not part of the protest. “I arrived by underground. I had to come into the city at midnight when things were calm and when before the metro closed.

But the peaceful protests turned quickly violent, as Spanish police forces clashed with separatist protestors for a sixth night in a row. 

As the political uncertainty continues to build, the future of Catalonia hangs in the balance. And many here they understand the demand for independence may not have a chance, they will want to be heard- and respected.