The government's “agreement” shook the whole country.
In Spain, tens of thousands of people protested against plans by caretaker Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez to grant an amnesty to Catalan separatists in exchange for support for another term of his rule.
Reuters reports this.
The Spanish government has reached an agreement with the Catalan separatist Junts party to pass a controversial law granting amnesty to those convicted of the northeastern region's attempt to secede from Spain, a source says. These events took place in the country in 2017.
The agreement rocked the country, with Sanchez's conservative opponents accusing him of putting the rule of law on the line for his own political gain.
“We will not remain silent until there are new elections,” Popular Party (PP) leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said during a rally in Madrid.
In the capital of Spain alone, 80 thousand protesters took to the streets. The total number across the country is estimated to be around one million.
Protesters held Spanish and EU flags and banners with the slogan “Respect the Constitution.”
“He (Sanchez – ed.) betrayed democracy. He cannot be in power,” said 38-year-old banker Thomas Perez, holding a sign that read “Sanchez is a traitor.”
“Many people I know who vote Socialist feel absolutely disappointed because… Sanchez never said amnesty would be part of his program,” adds 64-year-old Herranz Castro.
In Barcelona, 6,000 people demonstrated, while authorities said the number reached 30,000 in Granada and 50,000 in Seville. Other protests took place in cities such as Malaga, Palma and Valencia.
At the same time, in the summer of 2023, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez supported Ukraine’s accession to NATO and the EU and stated that Spain would contribute to the realization of this aspiration of Kiev.
Let us remind you that the country supports Ukraine. Spain provides refugees from Ukraine with the right of residence, financial assistance, etc. Once you have crossed the Spanish border, you can apply for temporary protected status in Spain. The country also trains Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers to work with the Hawk air defense system.
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