Catalan Police Remove Pro-Independence Camp In Barcelona Over Security Concerns -Spokesman

The Catalan police Mossos d'Esquadra have removed the encampment which the supporters of Catalonia's independence from Spain had established at the Placa de Sant Jaume, where the Catalan government's headquarters, Generalitat, is located, a spokesman for Mossos d'Esquadra told Sputnik on Wednesday.

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 26th September, 2018) The Catalan police Mossos d'Esquadra have removed the encampment which the supporters of Catalonia's independence from Spain had established at the Placa de Sant Jaume, where the Catalan government's headquarters, Generalitat, is located, a spokesman for Mossos d'Esquadra told Sputnik on Wednesday.

The encampment was established on September 11, when Catalonia's National Day was celebrated. Activists claimed that they would not leave the Placa de Sant Jaume until Catalonia became independent. Tents were dismantled on September 21 due to La Merce celebrations, honoring Barcelona's patron saint, but only to be reassembled on Tuesday.

"We have not expelled people, however, we have removed the equipment that could hinder work aimed at security provision," the spokesman said, emphasizing that the move was related to security concerns, as the national terror threat level in Spain was set at four out of five.

On October 1, 2017, the northeastern Spanish region of Catalonia 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 just one day later the Spanish central government, refusing to accept the results of the referendum, imposed Madrid's direct governance over Catalonia.