Madrid: New major demonstration against amnesty for Catalans
Once again, well over a hundred thousand people have demonstrated in the Spanish capital Madrid against the planned amnesty for Catalan separatists and other concessions. The socialist head of government Pedro Sánchez, who was re-elected on Thursday, had promised these in return for support from two Catalan separatist parties.
Banners read "Sánchez in prison", "Sánchez traitor to the fatherland" and "Pedro Sánchez, the Judas of the XXI century", as seen on state TV station RTVE. Just last Sunday, hundreds of thousands protested against Sánchez and the amnesty at nationwide rallies.
The organizers of the rally in Madrid, several dozen civil society associations, spoke of one million participants, while the government representation in the capital estimated the number at 170,000. The demonstration was held under the slogan "Not in my name: Neither amnesty nor self-determination. For freedom, unity and equality".
Conservatives call for new elections
The leader of the largest opposition party, the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and the leader of the right-wing populist Vox, Santiago Abascal, also called for the demonstration. Although the PP had emerged as the strongest party in the election on July 23, Feijóo had failed to secure a parliamentary majority. This was also due to his intention to form a coalition with Vox.
On the sidelines of the rally, Feijóo repeated that Sánchez had betrayed the voters because he had ruled out an amnesty before the election. The PP is calling for a new election. Abascal once again accused the socialist of wanting to establish a dictatorship.
Sánchez is hoping to defuse the Catalonia conflict through dialog and compromise. Patxi López, spokesperson for the Socialist group in parliament, accused the opposition of protesting not so much against the amnesty, but because they had suffered a defeat in the July elections that they were unwilling to accept.
After the end of the meeting in the center of Madrid, several hundred of the participants marched to the head of government's official residence, temporarily blocking a highway. Around 3,000 demonstrators also marched outside the headquarters of Sánchez's socialist PSOE party. There had already been some violent demonstrations by right-wing extremists there on the previous 15 nights. Among other things, they sang the song "Cara al Sol", the party anthem of the fascist-oriented Falange movement of dictator Francisco Franco, who died in 1975.
Source: www.dpa.com
