Around 4,000 people have staged an act of “mass civil disobedience” in the Catalonian city of Barcelona. Protesters hurled projectiles at police and set fire to bins, while officers beat some activists with batons in an effort to control the crowd.
Thousands gathered in the center of Barcelona in an event the
organizers dubbed “Disobedience 2014” in protest of
government austerity measures. The protesters marched under a
large banner saying: “Disobedience 2014. They can’t control
us if we disobey. Let’s stop [Justice Minister Alberto
Ruiz-Gallardon’s] laws!”
The demonstration turned violent when the police moved in to try
and stop protesters from reaching Barcelona’s Cataluna Square.
Activists tussled with police, while others smashed the windows
of banks and financial institutions and set fire to bins.
The idea behind the demonstration is to protest austerity and
cuts through “acts of mass civil disobedience,” one of
the organizers told Spanish newspaper La Nacion.
“Through disobedience we will rebel against a system that is
dragging us into an abyss and replace it with one that respects
people,” said Luis Lopez who was holding a flag representing
a Spanish anarchist group.
The demonstrators also focused on several law reforms that they
regard as affronts to their rights as Spanish citizens. They
include new legislation that would radically restrict the right
to protest and an amendment to abortion law that would allow the
procedure only in case of rape or serious risk to mother’s
health.
Spain’s capital city also witnessed protests this weekend, with
around 100 people gathering in the center of Madrid calling for
the disbandment of the monarchy. Police dispersed activists who
had gathered in Neptune Square under the banner, “Checkmate
to the King!”
During the dispersal of the protests, one of RT video agency
Ruptly’s cameramen was attacked and injured by policemen.
Journalist Mario Munera said officers pushed him to the ground
and beat him with batons. Following the demonstration, he had to
seek medical attention in a nearby hospital. One person was
arrested in the protest and eight were reportedly injured.
The Spanish police said that both of the protests were illegal as
their organizers did not inform the authorities of their
itineraries.
Last week Spain witnessed some of its worst protesters violence
since the onset of the financial crisis during a so-called March
for Dignity in Madrid. Police arrested at least 29 protesters
following the clashes which took place after the march. According
to emergency service, 101 people were injured, including 67
police officers, El Mundo newspaper reports.
The organizers of the event told RT that the Spanish government
is trying to push Spain back into the Franco era with reactionary
reforms.
“What the government wants is to go back to the Franco years and
keep the working class from demonstrating in the streets and
saying what our main problems are. We won't allow that to happen
and they know it,” Pepe Caballero, one of the march’s
organizers, told RT, adding that the protest movement will change
Spain from the “bottom to the top.”