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Prime Minister Inactive While Catalan Protesters Abuse Law - Spain's Party

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Sofya Grebenkina - Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has not taken sufficient action to punish violent Catalan pro-independence protesters and the latter now feel free to break the country's law with impunity, Javier Nart, a member of the European Parliament for the largest unionist party Citizens (Ciudadanos), told Sputnik.
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"The Prime Minister is in a situation of temporariness that forces him to make concessions, under the erroneous perception that it will serve him to fix this situation. Catalonia is today in the dangerous situation of walking to a state where the law is violated with impunity, where separatist radicals harass constitutionalists, assault public buildings, cut streets, roads and roads… And all this encouraged by [Catalan leader] Quim Torra," Nart said.

Thousands Gather for Protests in Barcelona, Clash With Police - Reports
On the same day, Committees for the Defense of the Republic (CDR), a network of local, regional and national-level pro-Catalan independence assemblies, blocked high-speed railway traffic in Girona and the AP-7 motorway which leads to the French border.

Nart stated that those who wish to see the Spanish constitution upheld must protest against the immunity proffered by Torra to the CDR.

"As long as the CDRs feel protected, immune, by President Torra it is critical for all of us to apply the Constitution in Catalonia. Fundamental rights, such as the right to strike, are being systematically violated by totalitarians. In order not to live again a blow to our democracy, all constitutionalists have to act now," Nart said.

According to local media, Torra thanked the CDR for the role they played during the protests on Monday.

READ MORE: Protesters, Police Clash During Rallies Marking Catalan Referendum

LIVE UPDATES: Situation in Catalonia on Independence Referendum Anniversary
In commemoration of Catalonia holding the independence referendum on October 1, 2017, around 183,000 people participated in protests, which later descended into riots in Barcelona and Girona, on October 1.

On October 1, 2017, the northeastern Spanish region held an independence referendum, which resulted in 90 percent of voters supporting Catalonia's secession from Spain. On October 27, 2017, the Catalan government proclaimed the region's independence, but the central Spanish government responded by imposing direct governance over Catalonia just one day later, refusing to accept the vote.

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