Some 500 people, according to the Barcelona Urban Guard, demonstrated this morning in Plaza Sant Jaume against the amnesty. The rally has been organized by entities such as Catalunya suma por Espanya, Convivencia Cívica Catalana, Españoles de a pie or Somatemps, under the motto ‘No to amnesty, no to impunity’, against the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and to demand that Carles Puigdemont be brought to justice, after the Amnesty Law has taken a new step this week in its parliamentary processing. Yesterday, in Madrid, some 15,000 people also gathered in Cibeles against the amnesty and to demand the resignation of the President of the Government.
The mobilization, in which cries such as “Socialist Party, whoremonger and coup plotter!”, “Spain is not for sale, Spain defends itself!”, “Puigdemont, to prison!”, “Puigdemont is Spanish!” ” or “Pedro Sánchez, son of a bitch!”, has had the presence of political representatives of PP, Vox and Cs who, despite not being among the organizers, have captured the attention at the beginning and at the end of the event, which has lasted just over half an hour.
The PP spokesperson in the Parliament, Lorena Roldán, has accused the President of the Government of granting an “a la carte amnesty” to Puigdemont, in statements to journalists. “Pedro Sánchez has decided to sell the Presidency and governability to the independence movement in exchange for an a la carte amnesty for Puigdemont and for all those who trampled on the rights and the law here in Catalonia,” criticized Roldan, who has also charged against the PSC. and its leader, Salvador Illa, accusing him of leaving the Catalans in the lurch. Roldán has warned that her party is going to take this case to the European Parliament and to the courts.
Also attending the rally in Barcelona was Carlos Carrizosa, leader of Cs in the Parliament, who said about the amnesty law that it means “the creation of a caste of untouchables” and has criticized the Sánchez government: “The coexistence that it alleges “The PSOE is only an alibi to sell out the majority of Catalans by seven votes.”
The general secretary of Vox and leader of the party in Parliament, Ignacio Garriga, has pointed out the PSC and Salvador Illa, whom he has called the “great traitor of the Catalans”, and has accused him, along with Sánchez, of selling out “for a handful of votes” and to stay in power.
A few minutes before the start of the protest, called for 12:00 p.m., the groups of tourists walking through the square looked at the protesters in surprise. “Are they proclaiming independence again?” a clueless foreigner asked in English. “Excuse me, which building is the Generalitat and which is the City Hall? Why is there so much fuss?” another woman asked. “Because the president of Spain wants to break up the country, making an agreement with some coup plotters and separatists to stay in power,” she responded, raising her voice, a protester with a scarf of the Spanish flag around her neck. “They will not silence us. We must save Spain!” added another.
At twelve o’clock, a few hundred people had gathered in the square. “There are fewer people than last time. It’s very strong, they are carrying out a coup d’état and people don’t even flinch. They are laughing at us. We have to go out into the streets!” one of the attendees admitted and cried out. protest. In the Plaza Sant Jaume the flags waved by the protesters were then mixed with the umbrellas with which the tour guides direct the groups, who were joined by other tourists who were out on bicycles and the runners who were returning home from the Zurich Marathon. Barcelona.
The attendees have accused Sánchez of being a liar and have demanded that the processing of the Amnesty Law be paralyzed. “P. S. Facha. Corructo. Traitor.”, said one poster, “Pedro Sánchez sells us for 7 votes to stay,” said another. On a banner Puigdemont appeared inside a prison and there was a photograph of the former Minister of Transport and former Secretary of Organization of the PSOE, José Luis Ábalos, and his former advisor Koldo García, accompanied by the phrase “Koldoesfera buy masks and ‘fruits'” . Some carried dolls, one of the head of Pedro Sánchez with a Pinocchio nose and another of Puigdemont dressed as a prisoner, and others played the Spanish anthem through megaphones.
In reading the manifesto, the organization of the event has maintained that “we find ourselves in a sad and painful hour for our country” due to a “corrupt” president and a law that “attacks the separation of powers and subjects the judiciary to the particular interests of the Government”. “Sánchez is lying because this law does not end the separatist process, but rather paves the way for a new process,” exclaimed Miquel Giménez. And he has launched a petition and a warning to all deputies: “Think and vote with conscience. Because those parliamentarians who vote in favor of the amnesty will be Puigdemont’s accomplices.”
Once the manifesto was finished, and after a couple of minutes of shouts like “Long live Spain!”, “Puigdemont, go to prison!”, “Sánchez, son of a bitch!” and “Puigdemont is Spanish!”, Plaza Sant Jaume has been left without any flag and with hardly any protesters, and tourists have once again roamed freely. “The main façade is in the Renaissance style with Gothic elements, it was built in 1403…”, explained a guide to a group of about 20 people just in front of the entrance door to the Palau de la Generalitat, with a red umbrella in his hand. hand.
