BARCELONA:
Separatist Catalan leaders yesterday called on the Spanish government to enter
into talks as Barcelona braced for fresh violence after days of clashes between
police and protesters. Nearly 200 people were hurt in another night of clashes
with radical separatists hurling rocks and fireworks at police who responded
with tear gas and rubber bullets.

A hardcore
movement of young separatists, Arran, called for a new demonstration
"against repression" for 1600 GMT in central Barcelona. "We
exhort the head of the government to fix today a day and hour to sit with us
for unconditional talks," regional president Quim Torra said in a speech.
His demand for "unconditional" negotiations, addressed to Spanish
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, appeared to be aimed at ensuring that a
referendum on independence, currently a non-starter for Madrid, is up for
discussion.

The Spanish
government responded by saying it had "always been open to dialogue in the
framework of respect for the law". In a statement, it also called on Torra
to condemn the violence, "which he has not done so far". Barcelona
has been rocked all week by protests against a Spanish court's jailing of nine
separatist leaders on sedition charges over a failed independence bid.

Emergency
services said yesterday that 152 people were injured in overnight clashes in
Barcelona, and dozens more hurt elsewhere in Catalonia, taking the total to
182. Authorities had already reported 500 injured since protests started Monday
even before the latest clashes erupted. The interior ministry said 83 people
were detained in the overnight violence, in addition to 128 arrests police had
reported previously.

Smell of burning

"This can't
go on, Barcelona does not deserve this," said Ada Colau, the city's
leftist mayor yesterday, condemning "all kinds of violence". Air in
the Catalan capital was heavy with a burning stench as municipal workers
cleared the streets of broken glass, rocks and rubber bullets, and repaired
pavements where bricks had been ripped out. "All this is very sad, and is
not helping our cause," said Assumpcio Segui, a 75-year old
pro-independence pensioner. Torra urged demonstrators to remain calm, saying
"the defense of rights and freedoms must always be expressed
peacefully."

Around half a
million people had rallied in Barcelona on Friday in the biggest gathering
since Monday's court ruling as separatists also called a general strike in the
major tourist destination. While most marchers appeared peaceful, hordes of
young protesters went on the rampage near the police headquarters, igniting a
huge blaze that sent black smoke into the air as police fired teargas to
disperse them, an AFP correspondent said. Other fires broke out near Plaza de
Catalunya at the top of the tourist hotspot Las Ramblas, where hundreds of
demonstrators had rallied to defy the police.

'Our streets'

"Anti-fascist
Catalonia!" they roared. "The streets will always be ours!"
Police vans fanned out around the city, sirens screaming as regional police
warned people in a message in English on Twitter "not to approach"
the city centre. Thousands of "freedom marchers" from five regional
towns arrived in Barcelona for the rally, which coincided with a general strike.
That prompted the cancellation of flights and the closure of shops, business
and top tourist attractions, including the Sagrada Familia basilica.  Public transport slowed to a trickle in a
region that accounts for about a fifth of Spain's economic output. Activists
also cut off Catalonia's main cross-border highway with France.

'No surrender'

In downtown
Barcelona, luxury shops were closed on the Paseo de Gracia, with blackened,
charred patches a reminder of the nightly clashes that have raged since
Monday.  Retired lawyer Jaume Enrich
called the Spanish court ruling "the straw that broke the camel's
back".  "Madrid is putting
Spanish unity above everything, including basic rights," he told AFP,
wearing a badge saying "No surrender".

Spain's Clasico
postponed

With the region
mired in chaos, football authorities cancelled the Barcelona and Real Madrid
Clasico set for October 26 at the Camp Nou stadium. Both clubs had reportedly
refused an offer to hold the match in Madrid. The Supreme Court's explosive
decision has thrust the Catalan dispute to the heart of the political debate as
Spain heads towards a fourth election in as many years, which is to be held on
November 10. - AFP