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INDEPENDENCE

Spain’s Supreme Court orders trial of former Catalan leaders

Spain's Supreme Court on Thursday ordered 18 former Catalan leaders to stand trial over their role in last year's declaration of independence.

Published: 25 October 2018 16:29 CEST
Spain's Supreme Court orders trial of former Catalan leaders
Protestors call for freedom for political prisoners during the Diada march on September 11th. Photo: AFP

The trial is expected to start in early 2019 and will likely revive tensions between Catalonia and Spain's central government, which have eased since new socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez came to power in June.   

The court said nine of the jailed former leaders including Catalonia's ex-vice president Oriol Junqueras should be tried for rebellion, which carries a prison sentence of up to 25 years.

But the region's former president Carles Puigdemont — who is also accused of rebellion over his role in the separatist drive and is in self-imposed exile in Belgium — is not among the group because Spain does not allow trials in absentia. 

Catalonia's parliament declared independence on October 27 last year following a banned secession referendum that was marred by violence as national police sent in from Madrid beat voters with batons and fired rubber bullets.

The move triggered Spain's worst political crisis since the return to democracy following the death of long-time dictator Francisco Franco in 1975.

Embezzlement, disobedience

Apart from Junqueras, the court ordered five other members of the Catalan government to stand trial for rebellion, along with the ex-president of the Catalan parliament, Carme Forcadell.

The leaders of two powerful grassroots separatist groups, Jordi Sanchez of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), and Jordi Cuixart of Omnium Cultural, were also ordered to stand trial for rebellion.

Amnesty International earlier this month called for the release of the two men who have been in jail since October 2017, saying their continued detention was “excessive and disproportionate”. 

Some of the 18 accused also face charges of embezzlement or disobedience.   

Puigdemont and fellow separatists have all denied any wrongdoing, saying the October 1, 2017 plebiscite gave them the authority to break away from Spain.

Junqueras and the other former Catalan cabinet members were detained in November 2017 pending trial after organising the illegal referendum and declaring independence.

The central government responded to the unilateral declaration by sacking the Catalan government, taking control of the wealthy northeastern region and calling a snap regional election.

Catalan separatist parties once again won a slim majority in the regional parliament in the December 2017 polls but they have divided over what strategy to pursue to achieve independence.

'Nothing has changed'

The separatists have demanded that Sanchez's government free the jailed leaders — who they call “political prisoners” — or drop some of the charges against them.

Sanchez's minority government, which needs the support of Catalan separatist parties to pass its draft budget for 2019, has taken a more conciliatory approach than the conservative Popular Party (PP) government it replaced earlier this year.

Several ministers have said they would prefer if the former Catalan leaders were not in pre-trial detention even as they stress only the courts can free them.

Sanchez's cabinet has offered a vote on increased self-government for Catalonia but categorically ruled out a referendum on self-determination or independence.

“Nothing has changed. The words yes, but not the facts,” said Sergi Sabria, spokesman for Junqueras' leftist Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC) party.   

PP leader Pablo Casado accused Sanchez on Wednesday in parliament of being a “participant and accomplice to a coup d'etat”, in a reference to Catalonia's failed separatist bid.

Polls show Catalans are evenly split on the question of independence but the overwhelming majority back a legally binding vote to settle the issue.

ANALYSIS: Why the future of Spain's PM is being decided in a makeshift office behind bars in Catalonia

BEACHES

Why are Barcelona’s beaches disappearing?

Barcelona's much-loved beaches are losing between six and 10 metres of sand per year, but why is this happening?

Published: 16 June 2021 15:30 CEST
Why are Barcelona's beaches disappearing?
Barceloneta Beach. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP

Barcelona may be famed for its beaches and they may be one of its biggest tourist draws, but it hasn’t always been this way.

In fact, Barcelona didn’t used to have any beaches at all, just ports and seaside neighbourhoods. It wasn’t until 1992 when the city held the Olympic Games that these neighbourhoods were demolished and the beaches were created. 

What’s the problem?

Since 2017, the city’s beaches have been losing between six and 10 metres of width per year, according to a recent study by the Área Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB).

This beach erosion means that every year there is less and less sand for residents and tourists to lie on and enjoy. 

This is not a new problem however and has been going on much longer than four and half years. In 2016, the Barcelona City Council revealed that since 2010 Barceloneta Beach had lost over 15 metres in width, which is equivalent to 28 percent of its surface area.  

In another 2016 report, the regional authorities of Barcelona also showed that its beaches as a whole had lost 17 percent of their total amount of sand during the same time period, the same as five football pitches.

Why is it happening?

The study attributes this to the fact that there have been more storms than normal since 2017, which has prevented the natural recovery of the beaches.

Storm Gloria in January 2020 in particular caused significant damage to the beaches in the area and caused even more sand to be washed away.

In short, most of this is to do with climate change. 

The beaches that have been most affected and have lost the most amount of sand are those in the lower Maresme region and the towns of Masnou and Badalona.

Barcelona beaches being destroyed during a storm. Photo: JOSEP LAGO / AFP

What’s being done about it?

The Barcelona City Council has been continually adding a little sand to its beaches each year and moving it around from areas that have more to areas that have less.

Aitor Rumín, head of the beach management service of the Barcelona Consistory told El Pais last month that “the last major contribution of sand was made by the ministry in 2010. Since then we have only lost sand”.

“It’s survival, but we can’t do much more. The beaches lose 30 cubic meters of sand per year, especially in the southern parts of each of the beaches. The coastline is receding and we have beaches like Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant, where we can’t do anything to regain the sand,” he said.

Badalona Beach. Photo: JOSEP LAGO / AFP

While moving the sand around and adding a little each year may help to cover up the problem in the short term, it’s not really helping solve the problem and a long-term solution needs to be found.

The Área Metropolitana de Barcelona have been trying to stop the beach erosion with their Resilience Plan, which will ask for greater contributions of sand to try and balance out the current losses and divide the beaches up with breakwaters.

In the case of Badalona, it has been proposed that 13,200 cubic metres of sand be added to the beach each year, as well as to rethink the layout of the equipment located on the seafront. The construction of a breakwater on La Mora beach has also been proposed.

In Sant Adrià, the plan is to build another breakwater, as well as to remove the jetty in front of the old industrial areas. The council also hope to add a further 95,000 cubic metres of sand.

It is thought that similar plans may be carried out on Barcelona’s other beaches.

Is this a problem anywhere else in Spain?

Yes, beach erosion is a problem throughout Spain, as well as throughout the world, due to climate change.

Theocharis Plomaritis from the University of Cádiz who was one of the co-authors of the Nature Climate Change study published in March 2020, told El Periodico that by the end of the century the retreat of the beaches in Spain and Southern Europe could be 86 metres, if no measures are taken to contain climate change. 

According to the study, in the best case scenario – with measures to mitigate the effects of climate – the loss of sandy beaches in Spain would be 60 metres and 27 of these metres by 2050.

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