1-O, prelude to a hot autumn
TOrra on Oct 1: “the date of the unstoppable path towards the Catalan republic” 500 climbers lIt up Montserrat with 131 LED lights
Demonstrations will reach fever pitch with the reaction to the Supreme Court’s ruling on the Catalan political prisoners
A commemoration of the second anniversary of the October 1 referendum will be the starting point for an autumn of demonstrations throughout the country that will reach fever pitch with the reaction to the Spanish Supreme Court’s ruling on the Catalan political prisoners. On October 1, Òmnium Cultural, the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), Junts per Catalunya, the ERC and CUP parties presented a unified framework for action in protest at the anticipated sentencing of the prisoners. The ANC is preparing three citizen marches to arrive in Barcelona and “collapse” the road network in response to the court’s ruling. The mobilisation is designed to last for three days and cover 100 kilometres of the country’s main roads: a citizen march of 40 kilometres on the first two days and 20 on the third. Apart from these marches, the ANC is planning a mass demonstration in the capital, as well as other actions yet to be decided. The Assembly will this month also hold a meeting to determine its position with regard to the upcoming Spanish general election on November 10. Before those elections, a general strike has been called for Friday, October 11, when the Supreme Court ruling is expected to be announced.
That aside, acts were organised around the country on October 1 under the slogan “Let’s finish what we started. Let’s win our independence”. The Barcelona march started in Plaça de Catalunya at seven in the evening and passed in front of the European Commission headquarters in Barcelona, which was occupied last February as a protest over the prisoners’ transfer to Madrid.
131 lights
An act leading up to this year’s October 1 commemoration, under the name “Light and freedom”, saw more than 500 climbers light up Montserrat with 131 LED lights, representing the number of presidents Catalonia has had in its history. At the act, Catalan president Quim Torra said that October 1 was “the foundational date of the unstoppable path towards the Catalan republic”. Torra cited some of his predecessors by name, such as Berenguer de Cruïlles (for being the first president), Pau Claris (for having proclaimed the First Republic) and José Montilla (for not being born in Catalonia).
October 1 commemoration