The central act for the sixth anniversary of 1-O that is being celebrated this Sunday has filled the center of Plaza Catalunya with shouts of "independence" from those present. The total of those concentrated was about 4,500, according to data from the Urban Guard. The unitary commemoration has served for Junts and ERC to have insisted on defending addressing both the amnesty and self-determination portfolio in the negotiation with the PSOE to invest Pedro Sánchez as president of the Government. Waving stars and under the slogan Defend 1-O, those gathered have responded to the call of the Council of the Republic (CdRep), ANC, Òmnium Cultural, the Association of Municipalities for Independence (AMI) and the Intersyndical.
The former president of the Generalitat, Carles Puigdemont, who is president of the CdRep, has closed the protest and has proclaimed that 1-O should not be a date of commemoration, but rather "the nerve that determines the political action that builds the nation, saves the language and that leads us to international recognition". He has also said that we should not "waste" 1-O and therefore avoid possible "personal solutions."
On the other hand, part of those gathered in Plaza de Catalunya have whistled at the president of Òmnium Cultural, Xavier Antich, when he made reference to the amnesty in his speech. "We fight for amnesty to force the State to democratically confront the political conflict," said Antich, receiving whistles from some of the attendees.
In parallel, another demonstration called today, in this case by the so-called Comités de Defensa de la República (CDR), has left the old La Model prison in Barcelona in the direction of the Civil Guard barracks located in Travessera de Gràcia. The demonstration, of around 250 people, has blocked Barcelona's Diagonal avenue at the height of the Francesc Macià square. The mobilization is led by a banner that reads 'Independence' and between slogans of '1 October, neither forget nor forgive' and 'Fora les forces d'occupation' and they also sang the anthem of Catalonia, Els Segadors. This demonstration has been joined by a column that comes from Plaza Catalunya.
Returning to the unitary demonstration, the president of Junts, Laura Borràs, stressed that, six years after the unilateral referendum of 1-O, an "opportunity" has opened to resolve the "political conflict" in Catalonia, which has added, it involves "talking about amnesty and also self-determination."
Borràs has specified that these negotiations involve the Catalan conflict "being back in the sphere of politics", which in his opinion requires "talking about amnesty and self-determination. And self-determination", he stressed. "The preposition is important, it is important that it is 'and' and not 'or'," the Junts leader stressed.
Likewise, Borràs has commemorated 1-O as a "great democratic victory" and has stressed that his party has never renounced either the referendum or its "democratic mandate." "They wanted us to believe that it was of no use and it is not true, we resisted and persisted and Puigdemont is an example," added the Junts leader, who maintains that for her party October 1 constitutes "a founding moment."
For her part, the ERC deputy in Congress Pilar Valluguera has limited herself to defending the resolution approved in Parliament for the amnesty and the referendum. "What she says is that there will be an amnesty and that there will be a negotiation that will effectively conclude with an agreed and recognized referendum. She does not talk about dates," she stressed in statements before the start of the unitary act to commemorate 1-O.
The CUP deputy in Parliament Carles Riera also made statements at the event, maintaining that "an amnesty law without self-determination is inconceivable." In a message addressed to Junts and ERC, Riera has demanded that "what is approved in the Parliament in the General Policy Debate be fulfilled." The Cuero leader has also addressed the PSOE and Sumar and has stated that the political conflict cannot be resolved only with an amnesty law: "What has to be done is recognize the right to self-determination and set a date for a referendum."
Beyond the unitary act of the afternoon, the independence movement in its multiple demonstrations commemorated the sixth anniversary of the 1-O referendum throughout the morning. The ANC did so through a demonstration that started in an event in Plaza Urquinaona, the epicenter of the protests against the procés ruling, and ended in Plaza Sant Jaume. In the middle they stopped in front of the Via Laietana police station, to throw miniature ballot boxes and referendum ballots. Its president Dolors Feliu has demanded that the pro-independence parties declare independence in Parliament "the same day that Congress approves the amnesty."
For their part, demonstrators called by the so-called Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR) and other pro-independence entities marched towards the old La Model prison in Barcelona. He did it on foot from Badalona, Montcada i Reixac and Sant Feliu de Llobregat and by vehicle from Sitges and Sant Cugat del Vallès (Barcelona), which caused cuts in the Catalan capital during the morning.
