Catalonia: Government raids on region's police spark fears of wider crackdown

Carles Puigdemont flies to Brussels but says he is not there to apply for political asylum

Regional police were ordered by the Spanish government to stop the independence referendum from taking place (AFP)

The acrimony and recriminations which followed Catalonia’s declaration of independence shows little sign of defusing following the fleeing of president Carles Puigdemont to Brussels. Spain’s civil guard raided the headquarters of the regional police, Mossos d’Esquadra, today drawing accusations of starting a crackdown.

Computers and documents were taken away from the building in Sabadell as well as seven other offices. “We are carrying out inspections related to the Mossos d’Esquadra’s communications on the day of the illegal referendum,” said a civil guard spokesman. “This is something we are entitled to do.”

The Mossos had been ordered by Madrid to stop the vote taking place, but they had refused, pointing out that this would have led to clashes with activists who had been protecting the polling stations. The national police, who were sent in, seized ballot boxes sparking violence.

The raids were viewed by some as the beginning of a punitive drive which will continue against separatists. As the news of the raids came in the afternoon, a group of activists approached police in Plaza de Colon in Barcelona city centre, the scene of huge demonstrations in recent weeks, offering sympathy and solidarity. The officers, whose chief Josep Lluis Trapero was sacked by Madrid at the weekend, were cautious in their response. “We are waiting to hear more details,” said one. “We don’t know any more than you do.”

For Adreia Carbonell, a 23-year-old student and supporter of independence, the civil guard action was an ominous pointer for the future. “It is a form of counter-revolution,” she said. “The Spanish can now do what they like. There will be more raids, more arrests soon, you will see. They are intimidating our police who protect us and of course our government has gone.”

Mr Puigdemont and five of his colleagues fled to Belgium on the day they were supposed to start governing Europe’s newest “independent” nation. At a press conference in Brussels Mr Puigdemont maintained he was not seeking political asylum, saying he was seeking to act in “freedom and safety” from the decision by Spain’s attorney general to charge him and others in his cabinet with sedition and rebellion – a move, he complained, which showed “a desire, not for justice, but for vengeance”. He would not say when he would return to Catalonia.

One of the ministers who stayed behind wanted to stress today that he knew nothing about the escape plan which involved driving to Marseilles and then a flight to Brussels. “Neither I nor any member of the leadership of my party was aware that this event was going to happen, we were surprised,” said Santi Vila.

Mr Vila was confident that the political process would continue in the absence of the lost leader. As well as being a fellow member of Mr Puigdemont’s Catalan European Democratic Party (PDeCAT), the two men are close friends. The Catalan President officiated at Mr Vila’s wedding to Rafael Vertamatti three years ago.

But Mr Vila resigned from Catalonia’s government after Mr Puigdemont rejected calls for new elections last week, a day before the parliament in Barcelona voted for a declaration of independence from Spain, a move which led to Spain taking direct control of the region.

Mr Puigdemont will now face a challenge to his leadership from Mr Vila who said he would be running on a moderate platform. “I was forced to resign when I saw that my position was not possible, I did not want to bring Catalonia to a state of collapse,” he explained.

“Separatism is legitimate, but it must be defended within the law. We wanted to take Catalonia to the gates of independence, but we have ended up returning to a period before it had any self-governance, now we have to recover our serenity.”

Arnau Domenech, a 33-year-old mechanic sitting at a café in Las Ramblas, was anything but serene. The cut on his forehead was the souvenir of a fight with some men at a pro-Spanish demonstration on Sunday. “There were men there giving Nazi salutes, they were chanting the name of Franco, here in Barcelona! It was deliberate provocation followed by attacks. So we had to defend ourselves.”

What did he feel about Mr Puigdemont flying off to Brussels? “He should be here, defending Catalonia. We have voted for independence in a referendum and people would have been out on the street protecting him and the other ministers if he had stayed,” Mr Domenech said. “But independence is not just about one man, it may take time but we will have an independent Catalonia.”

He and his friends had, at first, decided to boycott elections called by the Madrid government on 21 December. But they were now in the process of changing their minds. “Some are thinking about it, but I have made up my mind, I will vote. We need to make sure that people from other countries are here, the international media, to make sure the Spanish don’t try dirty tricks.”

But for Alejandro Bricanto, from Zaragoza, who has been living in Barcelona for eight years, the independence referendum under the Puigdemont government was a sham.

One of his friends, Javier Masso had voted four times. “He made a stand and exposed the referendum as a fraud. He provided evidence of what many of us had thought,” said Mr Bricanto. Independence, he was sure, would be gravely damaging economically. The property sector, where he worked, has been suffering because of the upheavals. “A vote for independence in December would be bad, very bad.”