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Police close voting centres before Catalan referendum | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Police have sealed off more than half of the 2,315 schools in Catalonia designated as polling stations for a banned independence referendum. | Police have sealed off more than half of the 2,315 schools in Catalonia designated as polling stations for a banned independence referendum. |
Tens of thousands of Catalans are expected to vote in the ballot, which will have no legal status as it has been blocked by Spain’s constitutional court. Madrid has sent thousands of police to the north-eastern region to stop it taking place. | |
A Spanish government source said 163 schools designated as voting centres had been occupied by families. | |
People supporting the referendum have camped out overnight in schools in an effort to prevent an order by the head of the Catalan regional police to evacuate and close polling stations by 6am on Sunday. Voting is due to begin at 9am. | |
Catalan police have been instructed to empty the buildings by Sunday morning, but not to use violence to remove the people occupying schools. | |
How the 17,000 regional officers respond to their mandate and whether they can clear all the polling centres could be key to the success or failure of the referendum. | How the 17,000 regional officers respond to their mandate and whether they can clear all the polling centres could be key to the success or failure of the referendum. |
Quim Roy, a father of two, said officers told the few dozen parents and children at the Congrés-Indians primary school in Barcelona on Saturday not to display any propaganda supporting the vote and that they must leave by 6am Sunday. | Quim Roy, a father of two, said officers told the few dozen parents and children at the Congrés-Indians primary school in Barcelona on Saturday not to display any propaganda supporting the vote and that they must leave by 6am Sunday. |
“We decided in a meeting that we would send the kids home. Calling them human shields is a huge lie, but I made my decision because there is fear. Who knows what will happen if the Guardia Civil comes,” Roy said. | “We decided in a meeting that we would send the kids home. Calling them human shields is a huge lie, but I made my decision because there is fear. Who knows what will happen if the Guardia Civil comes,” Roy said. |
“The only thing that is clear to me is that I won’t use violence,” he added. “If they tell me I can’t be in a public school to exercise my democratic rights, they will have to take me out of here. I won’t resist, but they will have to carry me out.” | “The only thing that is clear to me is that I won’t use violence,” he added. “If they tell me I can’t be in a public school to exercise my democratic rights, they will have to take me out of here. I won’t resist, but they will have to carry me out.” |
The Catalonia president, Carles Puigdemont, said the referendum would go ahead regardless. “Everything is prepared at the more than 2,000 voting points so they have ballot boxes and voting slips, and have everything people need to express their opinion,” he said. | |
On Saturday a Catalan government spokesman said at least four police officers had entered the centre in Barcelona that controls the regional government’s telecommunications and IT and were expected to stay there for two days. | On Saturday a Catalan government spokesman said at least four police officers had entered the centre in Barcelona that controls the regional government’s telecommunications and IT and were expected to stay there for two days. |
This followed an order by Catalonia’s high court on Friday for police to prevent electronic voting taking place. | This followed an order by Catalonia’s high court on Friday for police to prevent electronic voting taking place. |
The court also instructed Google to delete an application it said was being used to spread information on the vote. Police and Spain’s interior ministry did not confirm the move. | The court also instructed Google to delete an application it said was being used to spread information on the vote. Police and Spain’s interior ministry did not confirm the move. |
At a closing rally for the independence campaign in Barcelona on Friday, people formed the slogan “Referendum is democracy” in large white letters in front of a cheering crowd, with many draped in the red and yellow Catalan flag. |