Police disperse Catalan separatists in Barcelona

Police have dispersed hundreds of Catalan separatists who were demonstrating in front of the regional Parliament and the headquarters of Spain's National Police in Barcelona.

Hundreds of people gathered on Monday before both venues at the end of a demonstration called in the Catalan capital to mark the first anniversary of the northeastern region's illegal referendum on secession, Efe news reported.

During the demonstration on the Via Laietana avenue, the protesters threw objects and paint at the policemen who guarded the building, while the demonstrators at the Parliament tried to remove security fences and enter the chamber but were stopped by the police.

Police forces dispersed the protesters who gathered in front of the National Police headquarters first, and then those who demonstrated before Parliament.

Monday's street protests in Catalonia sought to vindicate the illegal referendum on "self-determination" a year ago.

Members of the so-called Committees for the Defence of the Catalan Republic (CDR) obstructed vehicles as well as disrupted train services in several places in the region and participated in the demonstration in Barcelona to commemorate the anniversary of the illegal plebiscite, which was called by the previous separatist regional government.

These protests had the support of the Catalan president, the pro-independence Quim Torra, who urged the CDR's to continue the pressure.

--IANS

pgh/