THEY wanted to vote but, instead, hundreds of Catalonians were left injured after police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at them before seizing ballot boxes.
Shocking violence erupted on Barcelona’s streets yesterday as Spanish police and the Civil Guard turned on voters taking part in Catalonia’s banned independence referendum.
The event had been condemned by Madrid but, as the day wore on, it was the Spanish government that would be on the receiving end of condemnation, as chaos descended and police moved in to prevent people from casting their vote.
David Torrance: 'Today...they lost Catalonia' say referendum organisers as police brutality sickens world
By the end, hundreds of people had been injured, including 11 police officers, while calls grew for the EU community to react.
As news of the violence emerged, hundreds gathered in Edinburgh outside the European Commission office in the west end, waving Catalan flags and chanting pro-independence slogans in support of the referendum and in protest at the Spanish government’s response.
Meanwhile, Scottish referendum observers in Catalonia – part of an international team put together to oversee voting – called for EU action.
Former SNP MP George Kerevan, who spent most of the day at Barcelona polling stations, said: “There is a whole series of areas where the Spanish government is in breach of European convention and European treaties.
“It’s questionable whether the Civil Guard, which is a paramilitary force, should be engaged in a civil situation.
“The wholesale interference with social media and internet by the Spanish government in order to close down anything to do with the referendum, or free speech regarding it, is in breach of all sorts of internal rules.”
David Torrance: 'Today...they lost Catalonia' say referendum organisers as police brutality sickens world
Former Scottish Parliament presiding officer Tricia Marwick, who was also overseeing voting at polling stations, said the images of voters being turned on by police were “simply horrendous”.
She added: “This is supposed to be a democracy. The foundation of democracy is you make your own choice – and this is being denied to them. The Spanish state has intimidated them, and brought violence on its own people.
“We have seen fascism from the Spanish state. Franco’s ghost is at the table.”
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson called for restraint.
She said: “If the situation in Catalonia is to be resolved, the answer will come through dialogue and diplomacy, and not through violence.”
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the violence was “shocking”.
In a series of tweets, he urged Prime Minister Theresa May to appeal directly to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to end police violence and “find a political solution to this constitutional crisis”.
Meanwhile, former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale tweeted: “Using batons and rubber bullets to deny people ballot papers is brutal and the opposite of a healthy, democratic process.”
Trouble flared within an hour of the polling stations opening.
Catalonia’s government spokesman, Jordi Turull, said the actions of Spanish National Police and Civil Guard forces were politically motivated and showed “a clear motivation to harm citizens”.
Tensions were running high after Spain’s Constitutional Court had earlier suspended the vote.
Regional separatist leaders pledged to hold it anyway, promising to declare independence if the “Yes” side wins.
They called on 5.3 million eligible voters to cast ballots.
David Torrance: 'Today...they lost Catalonia' say referendum organisers as police brutality sickens world
However, Civil Guard agents dismantled the technology to connect voting stations, count the votes and vote online, leading the Spanish government to announce that holding the referendum would be “impossible”.
Enric Millo, the Spanish government’s representative in the region, said police and National Guard forces had acted “professionally” to enforce court orders.
He insisted any attempt to claim the referendum as valid was doomed.
Mr Millo added: “Today’s events in Catalonia can never be portrayed as a referendum or anything similar.”
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