Today, Jordi Sànchez and Jordi Cuixart are spending their 100th night in Soto del Real prison. Also today, Spain's Civil Guard have entered the headquarters of the Catalan National Assembly, Òmnium Cultural and the CTTI (Telecommunications & Information Technology Centre). And now, hundreds of people, approximately a thousand, have gathered this Wednesday evening before the offices of the Spanish government's delegation to Catalonia to express their rejection for the continued offensive by the Spanish state against the independence movement.
Shortly before 8pm, the official start time, dozens of people had already gathered at the crossroads of Barcelona's carrer Roger de Llúria and carrer Mallorca. The delegation's headquarters on the corner were strongly protected by vans and agents of Spain's National Police and the Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra. "1st October, neither forgotten, nor forgiven", insisted the demonstrators at the event organised by CDR (Committees for the Defence of the Republic). The gathering was also supported by other organisations and parties like CUP and the youth wing of ERC.
Besides the regular calls for the release of the political prisoners, and against the "forces of occupation", new slogans could be heard, calling for the resignation of the central government's delegate to Catalonia, Enric Millo, "as a fascist and a traitor". Another one, directed at the building itself, like a small fort, protected by tanks and police: "this building will be a school". And, after the prime minister's slip-up in an interview today with radio station Onda Cero: "We're a Republic, Rajoy's word". There were also calls for disobedience and a general strike.
"Today, 24th January, the Spanish state again puts into practice the repression linked to the fascist regime of '78", starts the manifesto from the CDR of Barcelonès county handed out to the attendees. "The headquarters of Òmnium Cultural and the National Catalan Assembly have been entered and searched by the forces of occupation of the Spanish state, in a new attempt to restrain the Catalan people," it continues.
After giving a list of the "restricted" freedoms, the CDR say that they want to stop the normalisation of the repression: "That's why we're taking the streets again and urge the Parliament of Catalonia to put into practice the popular mandate from the 1st October and make the Republic a reality". And they warn: "We're ready to continue going into the streets, to start a new cycle of demonstrations in order to construct the Republic".
Other demonstrations took place at the same time in front of the sub-delegations in the other provinces of Catalonia: Girona, Tarragona and Lleida.