Lorraine Williamson
The disorder broke out during Friday’s Catalan national day as police attempted to prevent direct confrontations between opposing groups, with further incidents later reported around Arc de Triomf and Plaça de Catalunya.
According to the Mossos d’Esquadra, the 18 people were arrested for alleged public-order offences during several incidents across the city. Ten of those detained are minors, while nine Catalan police officers suffered minor injuries during Friday’s disturbances.
Police intervene between opposing groups
The first serious disturbances developed around Plaça de Mossèn Jacint Verdaguer on Friday afternoon, where the far-right organisation Núcleo Nacional had called a demonstration under the slogan Catalanidad es Hispanidad – “Catalan identity is Spanish identity”. Around 1,000 antifascist demonstrators, called out by the Organización Juvenil Socialista, also gathered in the area.
Mossos riot police intervened to prevent a direct confrontation between the two groups, with tensions later moving towards Passeig de Sant Joan and the area around Arc de Triomf. Groups of demonstrators burned rubbish containers and other street furniture and threw objects at police officers, with 17 people arrested during those incidents, nine of them minors.
Why were so many of those arrested minors?
The high number of minors among those detained reflects the nature of the counter-demonstration rather than the main Diada march. The Organización Juvenil Socialista (OJS), a youth organisation, called on supporters to oppose the gathering organised by Núcleo Nacional, and around 1,000 antifascist demonstrators responded.
Nine of the minors were among those arrested during the disturbances around Arc de Triomf, while a tenth minor was detained later at Plaça de Catalunya. The main Diada independence demonstration, attended by tens of thousands of people, was largely peaceful.
The further incident that took place in Plaça de Catalunya was after the main independence demonstration had finished. A group of activists had moved into the square, where police protected Aliança Catalana leader Sílvia Orriols as demonstrators tried to cross the police line. This brought Friday’s total to 18.
A more fragmented independence movement
Around 45,000 people attended the main Diada demonstration in Barcelona, but this year’s national day also highlighted growing divisions within the Catalan independence movement. Rather than presenting the more unified front seen during the height of the independence campaign, different organisations and political groups held separate events and promoted different priorities.
The main demonstration itself passed without serious incident. The arrests were instead associated with other gatherings and confrontations taking place around the city, an important distinction given the scale of the peaceful Diada events.
Separate disturbances on eve of Diada
Friday’s incidents followed confrontations at the Fossar de les Moreres on Thursday evening, ahead of the official Diada celebrations. Police intervened there to prevent clashes between supporters of Aliança Catalana and protesters from the independentist left and antifascist groups.
Three people were arrested during those earlier incidents and were subsequently released pending investigation for alleged public disorder, assaulting an authority and minor injuries. Thirteen officers from the Mossos’ BRIMO riot unit were also reported to have suffered minor injuries during Thursday’s confrontation.
What is Catalonia’s Diada?
The Diada Nacional de Catalunya, held every year on 11 September, is Catalonia’s national day and commemorates the fall of Barcelona on 11 September 1714 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The defeat was followed by the abolition of Catalonia’s traditional institutions and laws under the Nueva Planta decrees.
Fifty years since a landmark Diada
This year’s commemoration also comes 50 years after the landmark Diada gathering in Sant Boi de Llobregat in 1976, the first major public Diada mobilisation following the death of dictator Francisco Franco. Around 30,000 people attended that gathering under demands for “freedom, amnesty and a statute of autonomy”, making it an important moment in Catalonia’s transition back towards democratic political life.
Today, the Diada combines historical remembrance with official ceremonies, cultural events and political demonstrations. It has become particularly associated with the Catalan independence movement, although events take place throughout Catalonia and the day remains an official public holiday across the region.
Friday’s institutional programme included the traditional floral tribute at the monument to Rafael Casanova, one of the leading figures in Barcelona’s defence in 1714. The political backdrop was more fragmented this year, with different strands of the independence movement holding their own demonstrations and events.
While the principal Diada programme passed largely peacefully, the disturbances surrounding some of the alternative demonstrations resulted in the 18 arrests now confirmed by police.