People dressed in yellow T-shirts waved the red and yellow Catalan independence flag, marked with a white star, and bore banners reading "Now is the time" and "We are ready".
Some in the separatist movement want Catalonia's leader Artur Mas to call early regional elections as a proxy vote on secession, a move likely to benefit the more radical independence party ERC, a coalition partner of Mas's CiU party.
"President, call elections, we want to vote in the next three months. We want to start in the spring of 2015 with a new parliament," said Carme Forcadell, head of pro-independence National Catalan Assembly as she addressed the crowds.
More than 100,000 people attended the demonstration, according to media reports. Police could not be reached to confirm this figure.
Mas said on Tuesday he had dropped plans to hold a referendum on independence from Spain but would instead hold a "consultation of citizens" with ballots and ballot boxes which he said would be within the law.
The Spanish government last month asked the constitutional court to declare the referendum planned for November 9 illegal on the grounds it breached the constitution. The court suspended the vote until it ruled on the case, which could take years.
About half of Catalans want more independence from Spain and a vast majority favour holding a vote on their future, polls show.
[buenosairesherald.com]
19/10/14
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Tens of thousands of Catalans rally, demand early elections (VIDEO, PHOTOS)...
ReplyDeleteAbout 110,000 people gathered in the center of Barcelona to call for snap regional elections after Catalonia was forced to cancel its November 9 independence referendum under pressure from Madrid.
The action, dubbed “Now is the Time,” was organized by Òmnium Cultural – a Catalan cultural organization – and the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), which campaigns for Catalonian independence.
The demonstrators flooded the city’s main Catalonia Square, wearing yellow t-shirts and waving the Catalan flag while carrying banners reading "Now is the time" and "We are ready."
According to the police, about 110,000 people took part in the rally, El Pais reported............http://rt.com/news/197296-catalonia-independence-protest-elections/
19/10/14