#Europe agenda: As anti-police strike hits public services, Claims of Spanish police brutality probed…

Rights groups probe police brutality claims with about 900 civilians injured in referendum, allegedly by Spanish forces.
Mass protests grip Catalonia over police violence that marred Sunday’s independence vote

The PP may be seen as sole guarantor of Spanish unity, while support for pro-independence parties morphs into a reaction against repression by the Spanish government and its conservative values.

People protest as police try to control the area in their attempt to cast their ballot at a polling station in the referendum vote on October 1, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. NurPhoto/Press Association. All rights reserved.There may be disagreement about whether what happened yesterday in Catalonia was a referendum of self-determination. The Catalonian president, Carles Puigdemont, has declared that yesterday’s events has given Catalonia “the right to have an independent State”, while the Spanish government has congratulated itself for avoiding any resemblance to a lawful plebiscite. Choosing the middle ground between these two sides, the Spanish left has defined it as a legitimate form of political expression with no legal implications, and has heavily criticized the violence from Spanish policemen against peaceful protesters.

The European Commission on Monday called for “relevant players” in Spain and Catalonia “to move very swiftly from confrontation to dialogue”, adding that “violence can never be an instrument in politics”. The EU executive maintains that it sees no role for itself to mediate. “For the European Commission this is an internal matter for Spain that has to dealt with under the constitutional order of Spain,” spokesman Margaritis Schinas sai
The Commission called today Catalonia’s independence referendum “illegal”, while the Catalan government said Sunday’s vote had given it the right to declare independence from Spain.
Battle of wills

Who will move first after Sunday’s vote and will Catalan leaders declare independence?

As the Spanish government was hacking the Catalonian independence movement, shutting down the .cat top-level domain, and engaging mass-blocking of websites and apps to control information about yesterday’s referendum on Catalonian independence, the Xnet collective published a basic (but wide-ranging) guide to “preserving fundamental rights on the Internet,” suitable for anyone living under the kind of state suppression that Spain underwent.

 

The regional leader says Sunday’s vote, which Madrid says is illegal, paves the way to independence.

More than 760 injured in Catalonia during referendum-Catalan regional government

Around 760 people have been injured in disturbances across Catalonia on Sunday (1 October) according to the latest figures released by the regional government, as riot police clashed with people who had gathered for a banned r
Catalan authorities say 761 people are hurt as police use force to try to stop an independence vote.

Catalonia referendum: Thousands turn out for closing rally

Catalan separatists hold a final event ahead of Sunday’s vote, which is fiercely resisted by Madrid.
They will be used to help keep polling stations open for the independence vote Spain wants to ban.

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