Pasado y Futuro[es] reports that Spanish police charged today (Monday 20) against a student demo in Valencia (Valencian Country). Later, they charged again against a more diverse protest of students, teachers and parents, all protesting against the cuts in education.
Besides protesters, several journalists have also suffered the beatings of the police.
Result: 17 arrested and many injured.
Photo-gallery at Público. Vídeo at Pasado y Futuro.
Update: La Plataforma reports[cat/es] 26 arrested, five of them underage and "many injured". Being the fourth day of protests the total of people arrested in Valencia alone is of 42.
On the positive side the repression has got some decent TV coverage, bringing to question the attitude of the Spanish occupation authorities: government delegate and police chief.
Sare Antifaxista[es], has three videos of the police aggressions.
Update (Feb 22):
Numerous and large demonstrations took place in several cities of the Catalan Countries and Castile in solidarity with the victims of police violence in Valencia, while the authorities tried to save face but often only resulting shameful and contradictory.
While the Government Delegate blamed the chief of police in private discussion with student representatives, only to deny such thing minutes later, the Minister of Interior initially admitted excesses but then blamed them on the students (who kept a perfectly nonviolent attitude all the time). But if there is one person on the tight rope, that's Police Chief Commissary Antonio Moreno Piquer, who in press conference declared the students and the general public as "the enemy" (while hitting the table angrily) and has been noticed as responsible of excessive violence (more excessive and more violent than usual - excepted the Basque Country of course, where this kind of gratuitous repression is just routine) before the new government took power.
If someone would resign or be ceased on this row that would be him. But in Spain that's how police officers actually get a promotion and a medal: torturing and repressing mercilessly. So I would be surprised if he's punished at all. At the most he might be moved around to a less controversial position, I would say, specially as the year promises to be very hot (considering the extremist destruction of worker rights and social achievements decreed recently) and the new far-right government should want all the repressive power they can muster available, even if under their hierarchical control. It is very likely that nobody will be ceased at all.
In any case large demos took place in Madrid, Barcelona, Murcia (and maybe many other cities - unconfirmed), as well as Valencia itself, choring "I am also the enemy" and demanding resignations.
Partial sources and more info (in Spanish): Público, Tercera Información, Kaos en la Red, Diagonal.
Also there is a call for tomorrow February 23rd to take Puerta del Sol in Madrid against the corporative coup. It commemorates in negative light the infamous coup of 1981-Feb-23, which effectively prevented the democratization process in the state of Spain to advance any further.
Update: La Plataforma reports[cat/es] 26 arrested, five of them underage and "many injured". Being the fourth day of protests the total of people arrested in Valencia alone is of 42.
On the positive side the repression has got some decent TV coverage, bringing to question the attitude of the Spanish occupation authorities: government delegate and police chief.
Sare Antifaxista[es], has three videos of the police aggressions.
Update (Feb 22):
Numerous and large demonstrations took place in several cities of the Catalan Countries and Castile in solidarity with the victims of police violence in Valencia, while the authorities tried to save face but often only resulting shameful and contradictory.
While the Government Delegate blamed the chief of police in private discussion with student representatives, only to deny such thing minutes later, the Minister of Interior initially admitted excesses but then blamed them on the students (who kept a perfectly nonviolent attitude all the time). But if there is one person on the tight rope, that's Police Chief Commissary Antonio Moreno Piquer, who in press conference declared the students and the general public as "the enemy" (while hitting the table angrily) and has been noticed as responsible of excessive violence (more excessive and more violent than usual - excepted the Basque Country of course, where this kind of gratuitous repression is just routine) before the new government took power.
If someone would resign or be ceased on this row that would be him. But in Spain that's how police officers actually get a promotion and a medal: torturing and repressing mercilessly. So I would be surprised if he's punished at all. At the most he might be moved around to a less controversial position, I would say, specially as the year promises to be very hot (considering the extremist destruction of worker rights and social achievements decreed recently) and the new far-right government should want all the repressive power they can muster available, even if under their hierarchical control. It is very likely that nobody will be ceased at all.
In any case large demos took place in Madrid, Barcelona, Murcia (and maybe many other cities - unconfirmed), as well as Valencia itself, choring "I am also the enemy" and demanding resignations.
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| Madrid protested in solidarity with Valencia |
Also there is a call for tomorrow February 23rd to take Puerta del Sol in Madrid against the corporative coup. It commemorates in negative light the infamous coup of 1981-Feb-23, which effectively prevented the democratization process in the state of Spain to advance any further.
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