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‘I Am Spanish’: Thousands inBarcelona Protest a Push forIndependence

By JASON HOROWITZ and PATRICK KINGSLEYOCTOBER 8, 2017

BARCELONA, Spain — Catalonia’s silentsupporters of Spanish unity found their voice onSunday, thronging into the center of Barcelonaas part of a huge rally that reverberated withchants in support of a united Spanish state andagainst agitators for independence.

They demonstrated solidarity with the vilifiednational police and proudly waved a red-and-yellow national flag that for decades had carriedthe stigma of a taboo nationalism.

“Catalonia is not all for independence,” saidJosé Manuel Alaminos, a 64-year-old lawyer. Hesaid that Carles Puigdemont, the regionalpresident who has led the independencemovement, “is supposed to represent all of us.”

The separatist push has brought about one ofSpain’s worst constitutional crises since the endof the Franco dictatorship nearly 43 years ago.

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“But we are Catalonians too! The world doesn’tknow the truth,” Mr. Alaminos said, pointing tothe enormous crowd. “This is the truth.”

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy echoed thatsentiment in an interview with the Spanishnewspaper El País published late Saturday, inwhich he said flatly that the secession ofCatalonia “won’t happen” and that he was “notruling out anything” to maintain Spain’sintegrity, including a constitutional article thatallows him to disband the regional leadershipand assume its powers.

“We are talking about our nation’s unity,” hesaid.

Mr. Puigdemont is expected to address theregional Parliament on Tuesday, when Catalanleaders could declare independence, citing theresults of a referendum that the nationalgovernment and the courts had said was illegaland ordered suspended.

The rally on Sunday was organized to show thatthe referendum, which attracted internationalattention for a police crackdown that lefthundreds injured, did not represent all Catalans.They are, in fact, deeply split overindependence.

Drivers flying Spanish flags from their windowsblasted staccato beeps of their horns in supportof people wearing Spanish flags over theirshoulders like capes. As helicopters hoveredoverhead, a river of supporters of Spanish unitysnaked from Urquinaona Square down ViaLaietana and past the city’s cathedral to itshistoric train station, where politicians readmanifestoes in favor of a united Spain.

Along the way, thousands chanted, “Long LiveSpain, Long Live Catalonia,” “I am Spanish, Iam Spanish,” and “Puigdemont to Prison.” Theywaved Spanish, Catalan and European Unionflags and wore stickers of all three on theirchests.

The rally — estimated by the police at 350,000people, though organizers said it was twice that— also served as a coming-out party of sorts forthe national flag, which for decades has carrieda stigma associated with the far-right groupsnostalgic for the Franco dictatorship.

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“Everyone thinks waving the Spanish flag meanswe are right wing or fascists,” said AlfredoMatías, 47, who held one edge of an oversizeSpanish flag. “But we are not. We are justpatriotic. It should be like the flag in America.And this is a big opportunity to make thathappen.”

Mr. Rajoy, in his interview, also suggested thatthe time had come for the flag’s stigma to belifted.

“People have the right to say, I’m Spanish, I’mproud of it and proud of my Constitution,” hesaid, adding that everyone in the country had aright to defend “your symbols, your flag, yourhymn.”

He said his message to Spaniards was that “theyhave a government who will defend, as it is itsobligation, the national unity and sovereignty.”

Nadia Borrallo, a 31-year-old pharmacist fromnearby Sant Boi de Llobregat, said theindependence movement had tried to convincethe world that all of Catalonia was on its side.“This is the reality,” she said, a Spanish flagdraped over her shoulders. “Look around: I seea united people.”

As she approached a Spanish flag carpeting thestreet in front of a paella restaurant, she saidthat it looked as if Spain’s soccer team had wonthe World Cup.

“When Spain wins, they chant, ‘I am Spanish, Iam Spanish,’ ” she said. “Now they say, ‘I don’tfeel Spanish, I want my independence.’ It’snonsense.”

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As demonstrators, some of whom arrived onpacked buses and trains from around Spain,jeered at balconies hanging pro-independenceflags, organizers and security forces clearedpaths for politicians and celebrity supporters ofSpanish unity who had lined up at the front ofthe rally.

“I feel very enthusiastic and optimistic,” saidMario Vargas Llosa, the Nobel Prize-winningauthor who became a Spanish citizen in the1990s and has spoken out in favor ofconservative Spanish causes.

They followed a flatbed truck loaded with fourspeakers blasting the voices of organizers whoheralded demonstrators as “the silent majority.”

Until now, supporters of independence havebeen the most vocal, especially after the violenceon the day of the referendum gave momentumto their cause. Supports of Spanish unitycomplained that the regional police force, theMossos D’Esquadra, appeared to refuse anational order to block the referendum.

Supporters of independence had thrown flowersat their feet, but the demonstrators on Sundaycursed their name. The Catalan police force —the leader of which is facing sedition charges inMadrid — was almost nowhere to be seen alongthe rally’s route.

Instead, the officers standing outside theNational Police Headquarters bathed in theadoration of demonstrators. Officers posed forselfies, received hugs and heartfelt handshakesand smiled broadly as the demonstratorschanted, “You are not alone” and “This is ourpolice.”

“The referendum was illegal, and these policefollowed their instructions,” said DanileBasteller, 51, from Barcelona. He said the policehad been treated shabbily: “We are here to showthem they are not alone.”

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Jose Luis Rencé, a retired soldier clad in hisfatigues, agreed. “The law has to be followed,”he said. “With the law, everything. Without thelaw, nothing.”

In front of the seat of the regional government,Manuel Perales Álvarez, a 54-year-old garbagecollector, shouted at the stone-face Mossosofficers standing guard.

“With what authority will you present yourself,”he screamed. “You have no shame.”

Lucas Fernández, 66, from Barcelona, stoodnext to him, holding a Spanish flag and yelling,“Long live Spain” toward Mr. Puigdemont’soffice.

“He clearly is going to receive the message, buthe is pretending he is deaf to us,” Mr. Fernándezsaid of the Catalan president. “He doesn’t listento the people — only to the supporters ofindependence around him.”

Sergi Miquel, a lawmaker from Mr.Puigdemont’s party, saw little to worry about.“The demonstrations are fine,” he said. “But Idon’t think anything changes, because thereferendum and the Catalan elections had clearresults.”

Mr. Fernández worried that the die had alreadybeen cast for a declaration of independence. Hesaid he wished that the supporters of Spanishunity had raised their voices sooner. “It’s a littlelate,” he said. “It should have been done earlier.”

Follow Jason Horowitz and Patrick Kingsley on Twitter:@jasondhorowitz and @patrickkingsley.

Marta Arias and Germán Aranda contributed reporting.

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Thousands rallied in Barcelona, Spain, on Sunday in support of aunited Spanish state and against agitators for independence.PAU BARRENA / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

The rally also served as a coming-out party of sorts for thenational flag, which has long been associated with nostalgia for theFranco dictatorship.DAVID RAMOS / GETTY IMAGES

The rally on Sunday was organized to show that the results of theindependence referendum did not represent all Catalans.PAU BARRENA / AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE — GETTY IMAGES

Many demonstrators wore flags over their shoulders like capes.MANU FERNANDEZ / ASSOCIATED PRESS

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