On February 16th, 2019, approximately 200,000 people protested in Barcelona. These people were protesting against the trial of Catalan separatist leaders. In 2017, these Catalan separatist politicians and activists tried to break Catalonia from Spain. They are on trial and face up to 25 years in prison. This is important because it made Spain reminded the Spanish people of their transition to democracy after Franco had died. The people who believe they shouldn’t be arrested believe that what they did wasn’t truly a crime. Although many Spanish people support the trial, many others believe that they should not be arrested for what they call “their ideas.” The prosecutors believe that they should be tried based on their actions, which others believe aren’t violent. The supporters of the separatists believe that the accusation of violence is false. These people are the ones who support the Catalan independence from Spain. They witnessed voters being beaten with batons and dragged away from polling stations, so they condemn the police force, rather than the separatists. The main point of the separatists is that they reject violence. I think that the separatists should not be put on trial for what happened. I believe that if these people want to express their thoughts on how they feel about becoming independent from Spain, they should be allowed to. Although I am not fully aware of all of the details of the trial, I think that the protestors have every right to voice their opinions on the matter as well. These protestors acted in a non-violent way, which is the proper way to go about a situation such as this one.
Barcelona Past and Present 