2017 Catalan independence referendum
The question of the referendum was asked “Do you want Catalonia to become an independent state in the form of a republic?”.
The Spanish police and Guardia Civil mounted operations to close the polling stations. The security forces met resistance from citizens who obstructed their access to the voting tables; in Sant Julia de Ramis, where Puigdemont was expected to vote, they were joined by Corps of Firefighters of Catalonia members who formed a “human shield” separating the police from civilians to help obstruct their access to the polling station.
The police used force to try to reach the voting tables, in some cases using batons against firefighters and civilians, and dragged some of them away. The police made multiple charges. In some other incidents the security forces were surrounded and driven out by the crowds. According to the Ministry of the Interior, rubber bullets (balls) were only used against demonstrators in one of those incidents in the Barcelona’s Eixample district. There were incidents at polling stations in Barcelona, Girona and elsewhere; the police forced entry to the premises, ejected the occupants and seized ballot boxes, some of them containing votes.
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With the momentum of Spanish Prime Minister Pero Sanchezky in support independence for Palestine, perhaps there will be yet another attempt at a Catalan independence referendum, without the Spanish police crackdown.
