In a straw hat and hiking boots, Jordi Soler set out from Girona with thousands of others on a 100-kilometre (60-mile) “freedom march” after Spain jailed nine Catalan separatist leaders.

“This is to show that we can bring Catalonia to a halt… to show that Madrid must do something because if not, it will soon be out of its hands,” warned the 25-year-old doctoral student.

With a Catalan separatist flag tied to his rucksack, he set off down the road among an endless line of marchers, from youngsters to pensioners, all of them protesting Monday’s Supreme Court verdict which handed nine Catalan leaders heavy prison terms for their role in the failed 2017 independence bid.

Following two days of mass protests, which at times turned violent, separatist activists on Wednesday organised five regional marches to Barcelona which are expected to reach the city by Friday.

The mass deployment down miles and miles of roads and highways is aimed at causing transport chaos in one of Spain’s most important economic regions, which is also a bottleneck for traffic moving between Spain and France, and the rest of Europe.

Organisers say some 10,000 people turned out for the start of the marches, with the biggest in separatist stronghold Girona, the hometown of former Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who fled to Belgium to escape prosecution for his role in the crisis.

On a chilly morning barely warmed by the autumn sun, the crowds rallied in the town’s October 1 square renamed in honour of the date of the contentious referendum, which was banned by Madrid and marred by police violence.

And by 9:00 am (0700 GMT), they were on their way, setting out on a 100-kilometre journey to the Catalan capital that will take them through the verdant hilly countryside of Girona to the sandy plains of the Mediterranean coast.

– Independence struggle as ‘TV series’ –

Some will walk the entire way. Others will complete only part of it. With many passing cars honking their support, the march got under way in a festive atmosphere, moving aside only to allow the passage of ambulances or other emergency vehicles.

“It’s all very peaceful and that’s good… even if sometimes you have to more forceful,” Soler grins, in a nod to the overnight clashes in Barcelona.

When the independence movement began to gain momentum, he was just 18. Ensconced in leftwing Catalan circles, his involvement in the separatist movement came naturally, he says.

After seven years of demonstrations, protests and votes for independence, none of which had any effect, Soler admits feeling “a little worn out” by the struggle.

But he won’t give up.

“It’s like a TV series. You’ve watched seven seasons and the eight is rubbish, but you still watch it because you’ve come so far and hopefully it will have a good ending,” he explains.

The marches were organised by ANC and Omnium, the region’s two biggest grassroots pro-independence groups that have organised some of the largest separatist protests in recent years.

And both groups have been directly impacted by the verdict, with Omnium head Jordi Cuixart, and Jordi Sanchez, who headed the ANC during the 2017 independence bid, both sentenced to nine years behind bars.

– ‘I’m in a hurry’ –

The peaceful marches stood in stark contrast with the tense protests of recent days, led by activist groups like the radical CDR (Committees for the Defence of the Republic) or Democratic Tsunami, who brought 10,000 people to Barcelona airport, cutting off transport links and prompting the cancellation of more than 100 flights.

“These marches… show the best of the Catalan people,” said regional president Quim Torra, who joined the march as it set out from Girona.

After two hours, with the sun much higher in the sky, the tiredness began to show.

“I’m going to stop soon. I’m not a spring chicken any more,” admitted 74-year-old Maria Pilar Collell.

Disappointed with the regional leaders, who for the past two years have been divided over how to push ahead, this elderly protester who learned Catalan in secret during Franco’s dictatorship, when it was banned, is hoping she’ll live to see the day when Catalonia is an independent nation.

“The politicians keep telling us to be patient,” she told AFP.

“But I’m in a hurry, I’m not 20 any more!”

Source: AFP

With only a couple of days to go before a Brexit deal on Britain’s scheduled date of departure (October 31) from the European Union (EU) becomes impossible, there is much confusion about the outcome.  

In the latest development, the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Leo Varadkar, has said there are “many issues” to resolve before an agreement can be reached.

The Irish leader’s latest Brexit statement comes amid feverish activity by all sides as the EU prepares to hold its all-important summit in Brussels tomorrow.

Amid this frantic activity, and associated confusion, the Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, told a committee of MPs that the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, will “comply” with the terms of the Benn Act.

The Benn Act, which received its royal assent only last month, compels the PM to seek a three-month delay to Brexit if a deal on exiting the EU cannot be reached by October 19.  

“I can confirm, as the prime minister has repeatedly set out, that firstly the government will comply with the law … And secondly, the government will comply with undertakings given to the court in respect of the law”, Barclay told the House of Commons Brexit committee.

In another development, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, is set to meet EU diplomats later today in order to determine if he can recommend a UK withdrawal agreement ahead of tomorrow’s summit in Brussels.

Source: Presstv

France’s Emmanuel Macron will hold talks Wednesday with Germany’s Angela Merkel for the second time in a week to chart a united front on issues ranging from Brexit to Syria ahead of this week’s EU summit.

Macron goes into the two-day meeting in Brussels starting Thursday still smarting from the rejection of his pick for European commissioner, Sylvie Goulard.

The resounding “No” by European MEPs to Goulard, who has been caught up in an investigation into fake jobs for parliamentary assistants, was seen as a blow to Macron’s drive to boost France’s influence in Brussels.

On Wednesday, the French and German governments will hold a joint ministerial meeting in the southwestern French city of Toulouse to discuss how to move forward with some of the European projects that Macron has championed.

The ministerial council is the first since the two countries signed a treaty in January committing to wide-ranging cooperation on areas such as foreign policy, defence and energy.

In a video podcast, Merkel said she and Macron wanted to arrive in Brussels with “common positions in so far as possible.”

After a dinner with Merkel in Paris on Sunday, Macron warned that Europe could “not afford the luxury of petty quarrels” at what he called a “worrisome” time for the international order.

They will be joined later Wednesday in Toulouse for talks by incoming European Commission chief, Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen.

– Battle tank –

Von der Leyen’s visit — also her second to France in under a week — is part of a diplomatic blitz by Macron, who also hosted EU Council president Donald Tusk for talks in Paris on Monday.

The ardently pro-EU Macron is expected to use Wednesday’s ministerial council in Toulouse — home of European planemaker Airbus which he and Merkel will visit — to press Germany on closer defence and industrial ties.

Merkel said the two governments would discuss Franco-German plans to develop a European battle tank and fighter jet.

French presidential sources said Paris and Berlin would also attempt to develop common rules on arms exports, a bone of contention between the two powers, with France failing to follow Germany’s lead last year in halting arms sales to Saudi Arabia over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

A French presidential advisor defended Franco-German cooperation, saying that while it was “often put to the test”, in the end it “always moves forward on the essential topics”.

Macron and Merkel are also expected to discuss the make-up of the incoming European Commission after the thumbs-down for Goulard, as well as the Hungarian and Romanian candidates.

But a French presidential aide said Tuesday that Macron would not announce a new candidate until he was assured of the support of the main groups in the European Parliament, who voted down Goulard.

– Brexit ‘momentum’ –

Turkey’s offensive in northern Syria and the tentative progress made in talks between the EU and Britain on a revised Brexit deal are also expected to loom large over Wednesday’s talks in Toulouse and the EU summit in Brussels.

EU leaders have condemned Turkey’s operation against the Kurdish fighters who toppled the Islamic State group’s so-called caliphate earlier this year, warning that the Sunni extremists could take advantage of the offensive to regroup.

Britain, France and Germany have halted arms sales to Ankara, but EU foreign ministers on Wednesday stopped short of imposing an EU-wide weapons embargo on fellow NATO member Turkey.

French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament on Tuesday that the decision by the US to withdraw its troops from northern Syria, seen as a green flag for the Turkish invasion, had underscored the need for “European sovereignty” and “European strategic autonomy.”

On Brexit, by contrast, there was an air of cautious optimism in Paris on Tuesday, with a French presidential aide hailing the “positive momentum” in talks on the terms of Britain’s exit from the EU.

The remarks represented a marked departure in tone from Paris, which has said repeatedly in recent weeks that it considers a no-deal Brexit on October 31 the most likely scenario.

Source: AFP