Thousands of people marched through the streets of Madrid on Saturday in support of Catalan politicians and activists who are currently on trial for attempting to secede from Spain in October 2017.
Organizers said 120,000 people attended the march, but police estimated about 18,000 people attended the first major separatist march in the Spanish capital.
Read more: Catalan independence — What you need to know
As the protesters marched through the city some waved the red-and-yellow striped Catalan flag and carried signs. A banner at the front of the march read: “Self-determination is not a crime.”
Speaking to reporters at the protest, Catalonia’s Regional President Quim Torra said the march in Madrid was needed in order to decry a trial that he described as a “farce.”
Catalan politicians face life sentences
Nine of the 12 Catalan politicians and activists on trial at Madrid’s Supreme Court face up to 25 years in prison on rebellion and other charges for holding a banned independence referendum for the northeastern region and pushing ahead with an independence declaration that Madrid said was illegal.
Read more: Who is former Catalan President Carles Puigdemont?
The trial is about to enter the fifth week of hearings, and sentencing is not expected until after Spain’s April 28 general election.
The Catalan crisis will play a major role in the upcoming vote, with three right-leaning parties, the conservative Popular Party (PP), center-right Ciudadanos and the relatively new far-right Vox party all calling for Spain to take a tougher position with separatists.
Polls show the support of Catalan parties may prove decisive if Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is to form a government after the vote.
Sanchez’s Socialists are expected to win the most seats, but they will likely fall short of a parliamentary majority.
Read more: How dangerous is Spain’s far-right Vox party?
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Rich ancient heritage
Catalonia has been settled by the Phoenicians, the Etruscans and the Greeks, who were mainly in the coastal areas of Rosas and Empuries (above). Then came the Romans, who built more settlements and infrastructure. Catalonia remained a part of the Roman Empire until it was conquered by the Visigoths in the fifth century.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Counties and independence
Catalonia was conquered by Arabs in 711 AD. The Frankish king Charlemagne stopped their advance at Tours on the Loire River and, by 759, the north of Catalonia was once again Christian. In 1137, the counties that made up Catalonia entered an alliance with the Crown of Aragon.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Autonomy and the war of succession
In the 13th century, the institutions of Catalan self-administration were created under the banner of the Generalitat de Catalunya. After the unification of the Crown of Aragon with that of Castile in 1476, Aragon was largely able to keep its autonomic institutions. However, the Catalan revolt — from 1640 to 1659 — saw parts of Catalonia ceded to present-day France.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Remembrance of defeat
After the conquest of Barcelona on September 11, 1714, by the Bourbon King Phillip V, Catalan instuitutions were dissolved and self-administration came to an end. Every year, on September 11, Catalans commemorate the end of their right to autonomy.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Federal ideas in wider republic
After the abdication of King Amadeo I of Spain, the first Spanish Republic was declared in February 1873. It lasted barely a year. The supporters of the Republic were split – one group supporting the idea of a centralized republic, the others wanting a federal system. Pictured here is Francisco Pi i Maragall, a supporter of federalism and one of five presidents of the short-lived republic.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Failed attempt
Catalonia sought to establish a new state within the Spanish republic, but this only served to exacerbate the differences between republicans, ultimately dividing and weakening them. In 1874, the monarchy and the House of Bourbon (led by King Alfonso XII, pictured here) took the helm.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Catalan Republic
Between 1923 — with the support of the monarchy, the army and the church — General Primo de Rivera declared a dictatorship. Catalonia became a center of opposition and resistance. After the end of the dictatorship, the politician Francesc Macia (pictured here) successfully pressed for important rights of autonomy for Catalonia.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
The end of freedom
In the Second Spanish Republic, Catalan lawmakers worked on the Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia. This was approved by the Spanish parliament in 1932. Francesc Macia was elected president of the Generalitat of Catalonia by the Catalan parliament. However, the victory of Franco at the end of the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939) put an end to all that.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Loss of liberties
The Franco regime ruled with an iron rod. Political parties were banned and the Catalan language and culture were surpressed.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
New autonomy by statute
After the first parliamentary elections that followed the end of the Franco dictatorship, the Generalitat of Catalonia was provisionally restored. Under the democratic Spanish constitution of 1978, Catalonia was given a new Statute of Autonomy just a year later.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
New and different statute
The new Statute of Autonomy recognized the autonomy of Catalonia and the importance of the Catalan language. In comparison to the 1932 statute, it was enhanced in the fields of culture and education but curtailed when it came to the realm of justice. Pictured here is Jordi Pujol, the long-time head of the government of Catalonia after the dictatorship.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Stronger self-awareness
A desire for independence has grown stronger in recent years. In 2006, Catalonia was given a new statute that broadened the Catalan government’s powers. However, it lost these after a complaint by the conservative Popular Party to the Constitutional Court of Spain.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
First referendum
A referendum on independence was already envisaged for November 9, 2014. The first question was “Do you want Catalonia to become a state?” In the case of an affirmative answer, the second question was posed: “Do you want this state to be independent?” However, the Constitutional Court suspended the vote.
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Catalonia’s independence movement — a brief history
Clash of the titans
Since January 2016, Carles Puigdemont has been president of the Catalan government. He proceeded with the separatist course of his predecessor Artur Mas and called the new referendum for October 1, 2017. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy dismissed this as unconstitutional.
Author: Richard Connor
law/cmk (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
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