Catalans occupy polling stations ahead of vote

Pro-separatist Catalans occupied yesterday several schools in Barcelona designated as a polling stations in a contested independence referendum, in a bid to ensure the vote goes ahead, according to AFP reporters at the scene.At least two schools in the centre of Barcelona were occupied, according to the journalists, while a “platform of open schools for the referendum” posted on Twitter images of several occupied polling stations.“I am going to sleep here, with my oldest son who is a student here,” Gisela Losa, a mother of three, told AFP at the Reina Vionnant primary school in Barcelona’s fashionable Gracia neighbourhood where pro-independence sentiment runs high. “There are at least four or five families who will come with their children, and certainly there will be more, tomorrow it is certain that there will be more of us.”Spain’s education ministry warned in a statement that school directors in Catalonia “were not exempt from liability” if they helped to stage tomorrow’s referendum, which Madrid deems illegal.A court on Wednesday ordered police to prevent the use of public buildings or places “for the preparation and organisation” of the referendum in the wealthy northeastern of Spain which is home to some 7.5mn people and is about the size of Belgium.But Jordi Sanchez, the president of the Catalan National Assembly, an influential pro-independence organisation, told AFP that the court order “simply says that on Sunday these spaces can’t be used for the referendum”.“We believe it is good that these species will remain open, that they not close,” he added. “This is a contribution so Sunday will be as normal a day as possible, people who want to vote ... if they arrive at a polling station with its doors open, this helps.”Earlier yesterday Catalan government spokesman Jordi Turull said that there would be “2,315 polling stations all over the region” for the referendum, which Spain’s central has vowed to block.At the end of the press briefing, Turull, Catalan Vice-President Oriol Junqueras and Raul Romeva, in charge of foreign relations for the Catalan executive, unveiled a plastic ballot box with a regional government stamp on it.Catalan President Carles Puigdemont has said more than 6,000 of them are hidden in a secret place.Spanish police have for days been seizing electoral items such as ballot papers as they follow orders to stop the referendum from taking place, after courts ruled it unconstitutional.Opinion polls show Catalans are split on the issue of independence, but a large majority want to vote in a legitimate referendum to settle the matter.With firefighters and farmers vowing to protect polling stations, Catalonia’s regional police force, the Mossos d’Esquadra, have warned of the risk of the “disruption of public order” if they try to prevent people from casting ballots.In case they resist, Madrid has sent thousands of extra police officers from other forces to Catalonia – which accounts for one-fifth of Spain’s economy – to help suppress the referendum it deems illegal.The government has hired three ferries, including one decorated with some “Looney Toons” characters which has been much mocked online, to house the officers in the ports of Barcelona and Tarragona.Central government spokesman Mendez de Vigo said he was “completely certain” that the Mossos would “obey the law and the judge’s orders” because they “are subject to the law like everyone else”.“I insist that there will be no referendum,” he told a news conference following the weekly cabinet meeting.Junqueras told reporters that if “someone closes a polling station, there is an alternative for citizens to vote,” without giving further details.He urged people to vote “responsibly” and “not to yield to provocations of those who want to stop the vote”.“I don’t believe there will be anyone who will use violence or who will want to provoke violence that will tarnish the irreproachable image of the Catalan independence movement as pacifist,” Puigdemont added.With its own language and customs, Catalonia already has powers over matters such as education and healthcare.However, Spain’s economic worries, coupled with resentment that the region pays more in taxes than it receives in investments and transfers from Madrid, have helped push the independence question to centre stage.The crackdown against preparations for the referendum has sparked noisy street protests in Barcelona and other Catalan cities.Germany urged its nationals in Catalonia to exercise caution ahead of the slated weekend independence referendum that has been banned by Madrid, saying that an “escalation” was possible.Catalan President Puigdemont has labelled the government’s response anti-democratic.Health Minister Dolors Montserrat told public radio that Puigdemont’s only options on Monday will be to “quit and call regional elections and assume his responsibilities before the courts”.During the last regional elections in Catalonia in 2015, pro-separatist parties captured 47.6% of the vote, giving them a narrow majority of 72 seats in the 135-seat regional assembly.Opponents of independence are not campaigning to not “legitimise” the referendum and have postponed a pro-unity march initially planned for today to avoid adding to tensions, said Alex Ramos, the vice-president of a group that opposes secession called the Sociedad Civil Catalana (SCC).“The atmosphere is getting heated and we don’t want to take part in the confrontation,” he told AFP.