MADRID (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th October, 2019) Miquel Buch, adviser on domestic affairs to the government of Catalonia, condemned on Wednesday the actions of radical independence activists during the ongoing protests following the Spanish Supreme Court's decision giving lengthy prison sentences to Catalan politicians involved in organizing the 2017 independence referendum.
"We cannot allow undesirable incidents to damage the image of thousands of people, which protest peacefully ... [the Catalan law enforcement agency] Mossos guarantees to all Catalans the right to have rallies. I ask that demonstration of struggle to be peaceful. You cannot cross the police lines, you cannot set the city's property on fire," Miquel Buch told 24 Horas tv channel.
He put the responsibility for the unrest in Barcelona and other Catalan cities on alleged groups of provocateurs operating among the protesters.
Buch also confirmed that the Spanish national police would be deployed in Catalonia in coming days.
On Monday, Spain's top court sentenced nine Catalan independence leaders to prison terms ranging from nine to 13 years over their involvement in organizing the unauthorized 2017 independence referendum in the semi-autonomous region. Violent protests ensued, with over 200 people reported injured and at least 50 people detained.
