Spain's relationship with Catalonia was stretched to breaking point on Sunday, as the central government's attempts to prevent a controversial independence referendum in the northeastern region led to violent scenes and criticism from European politicians.
The referendum took place following weeks of uncertainty after the Spanish government and courts, deeming the vote illegal, took strident measures to thwart it.
The Catalan nationalist government, which organised the vote, hailed it as a success against the odds, announcing on Sunday night that about 2.26 million people had cast a ballot in the referendum, 90 per cent of whom had voted in favour of secession. This represents a turnout of about 42.3 per cent of Catalonia’s 5.34 million voters.
The Spanish government had deployed thousands of police to Catalonia in recent weeks, specifically for the referendum, raising concerns of possible violence on the day itself.
Those fears proved well-founded as riot police carried out raids on schools that were being used as voting stations and forcibly removed voters. Their use of batons and rubber bullets led to bloody scenes in Barcelona and other cities, and more than 800 people were injured, according to the Catalan government.
Riot police broke into the school in the town of Sant Julià de Aramis, where Catalan premier Carles Puigdemont was due to vote, having pulled voters away and smashed at the door of the building with an axe. Mr Puigdemont later voted in a town nearby.
‘Shame’
Denouncing the violence, he said the police’s tactics “would bring shame on the Spanish state for ever.”
The security forces' methods drew immediate criticism both within Catalonia and across Spain. Several European politicians also expressed concerns.
Former EU president Martin Schulz tweeted: "The escalation in Spain is worrying. Madrid and Barcelona must immediately de-escalate and search for the dialogue."
Guy Verhofstadt, president of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe and former Belgian prime minister, said: "I don't want to interfere with the domestic issues of Spain but I absolutely condemn what happened today in Catalonia."
The Spanish government had also sought to thwart the referendum on other fronts. Police occupied the Catalan IT headquarters on Saturday, and Madrid had taken control of part of the finances of the Catalan regional administration to prevent it from spending public money on the vote.
Several million voting slips and other electoral materials had been confiscated in the days leading up to the referendum and the civil guard had also arrested members of the Catalan government believed to be supervising it.
Historic vote
Nonetheless, there were festive scenes on Sunday morning as many Catalans saw the referendum as historic, despite its restrictions.
“The important thing is managing to vote. That is the important thing they said would never happen,” said Kevin Sánchez, a Catalan student who had travelled from his home in Venice to cast his vote. “Already being here and having the ballot boxes inside is a big success.”
With the day’s violence casting a shadow over the referendum, Catalonia’s already tense relationship with Madrid appears to have deteriorated further.
With the Spanish government insisting that the constitution does not allow for a referendum on a region’s independence, and the Catalan government determined to stage the referendum, neither side has appeared willing to give ground.
The leftist Podemos party called on Mr Rajoy to resign in order to end the stalemate and protests echoing that sentiment were staged in several cities across Spain yesterday.
Additional reporting: Reuters
