Catalonia referendum: Welsh politician calls for 'solidarity' with region after Spanish government crackdown on separatists

A Welsh Assembly member has called on fellow politicians to show solidarity with Catalan independence campaigners as demonstrations were planned in Scotland against the Spanish government’s crackdown on separatists.

Plaid Cymru AM Adam Price told colleagues: “The Catalan president has declared that Catalan autonomy is effectively now suspended by the Spanish state.”

He asked for Wales to “send a message of solidarity” to the region “as the Scottish government has done”, amid police raids on Catalan government offices, the BBC reported.

Spain’s Constitutional Court has ruled a Catalan law enabling planned 1 October referendum on regional independence—the area is currently semi-autonomous—should be suspended. On Wednesday the Guardia Civil seized 10 million ballot papers and other documents as government officials were put under arrest.

The Scottish newspaper The National has also expressed support for the separatist cause, printing a “Sí” poster with every copy on Thursday and asking readers to post photos of themselves holding it on social media.

Rallies in support of Catalan self-determination were planned in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered outside the regional government offices in the centre of Barcelona’s tourist district as well as in several Catalan cities, waving the red-and-yellow Catalan flag and chanting “Occupying forces out” and “Where is Europe?”.

“The Spanish state has by all rights intervened in Catalonia’s government and has established emergency rule,” Catalan President Carles Puigdemont said in a televised address.

“We condemn and reject the anti-democratic and totalitarian actions of the Spanish state,” he said, adding Catalans should turn out in force to vote in the Oct. 1 referendum on a split from Spain that Madrid has declared illegal.

State police arrested Catalonia’s junior economy minister Josep Maria Jove on Wednesday in their first raid of government offices in the region, Catalan government sources said. The raid targeted several regional government departments.

A dozen high-ranking local officials were arrested, La Vanguardia newspaper said. Police confirmed they were carrying out raids connected with the banned referendum, but did not give details. The Catalan government sources could not confirm the other arrests.

In several Barcelona districts, people banged on balcony railings and bins while passing cars hooted noisily.

Additional reporting by agencies