October 1st a referendum was held in Catalonia. The population were asked if they wanted to become an independent country and separate themselves from Spain. The Catalonian president, Carles Puigdemont, was newly removed from his position. There is a lot of frustration among the citizens.
Around 2 million people voted in this controversial election. Even though many people voted for separation, it is not given that it will happen. The Spanish government considered it illegal, and used armed police forces to keep the voters away.
– It was neccessary that police was deployed in Catalonia because if an autonomic government goes against the judicial order, the State has legal mechanisms and its legitimized to use force if its neccessary, says Adrian Nunez.
Police involvement
Around four thousand national police officers were sent to Catalonia to prevent the voting from happening and some consider their actions during the vote to be unnecessary and unproportional, while others defend the police action.
During this vote, the Catalonian government said there were more than eight hundred voters who visited the hospital. The Spanish government says that more than four hundred police officers were injured during this day.
– Police were hitting people with their clubs, hitting them on the floor and using rubber bullets which are banned in Spain, says Sara Buscà Riu.
Dialouge
After all of this, some people think this situation could have been avoided if the Spanish and Catalonian government went into dialogue and try to find a peaceful solution while other people think Catalonia should have not convoke this referendum.
On October the 10th, the president of the Generalitat of Catalunya, Carles Puigdemont, said that Catalonia can now declare the independence but they will wait until there is a dialogue with the Spanish government.
