Pro-independence organisations ANC (Catalan National Assembly), Òmnium Cultural and the AMI (Association of Municipalities for Independence) have this Thursday called for a high turnout for the 11th September Catalan National Day rally, to take place less than three weeks before the 1st October independence referendum. "Without a mobilised 11th September, 1st October will be crippled", said ANC president Jordi Sànchez.
This year's Diada, Catalan National Day, will be marked by the forthcoming referendum, and the pro-independence bodies wanted to emphasise the importance of turnout. "Success is fundamental to guarantee that they won't be able to stop 1st October", said Cultural Òmnium's president, Jordi Cuixart.
"We are ready for it to be a very powerful day that gives a peaceful answer to the aggressions of the [Spanish] state," said Sànchez. Cuixart also spoke on this point, describing what he views as the "hypocrisy of those that announce that there's an autocracy in Catalonia when they have already agreed that the Constitutional Court will annul laws that have not been approved yet", referring to the suspension of the Laws of the Referendum and of Transitional Jurisprudence.
"For sure they will make us dizzy with figures, like every time, saying that [the movement] is shrinking, and they will intensify their talk that independence is the apocalypse. To us it is clear that the apocalypse is to stay part of this state," said the secretary of the AMI, Joan Rabasseda.
The organisation
Regarding the organisation of the rally, ANC has confirmed that there are close to 200,000 people registered. "It's a historic Diada, both in terms of the context and the turnout, currently with higher numbers than last year," explained Sànchez.
This year's rally will have its central point at the crossroads between passeig de Gràcia and carrer Aragó, two of the largest streets in central Barcelona, where the four branches of the planned 'X' meet. This year's distinctive feature will be the use of four canvases to be passed over the heads of participants at the same time as they put on their fluorescent yellow T-shirts.
The organisers have specified that there will be extensive security preparations and a large deployment of medical services, with 24 ambulances and a marquee, to guarantee that the day passes without incident, and have emphasised that there will be 2,500 volunteers spread around all sections of the rally to help with this end.
The protest will finish in plaça Catalunya, where there will be a number of speeches and a small ceremony in memory of the victims of the attacks on 17th August and in rejection of terrorism.