Barcelona mayor Ada Colau called for calm after independence protesters clashed with police in the centre of Barcelona as the anniversary of the controversial referendum looms
A TOTAL of 14 people were injured and six arrested during clashes in Barcelona between Catalan independence supporters and police on the eve of the anniversary of the referendum on secession.
Separatists tossed and sprayed coloured powder at police officers, filling the air with a thick rainbow cloud and covering anti-riot shields and police vans.
Some protesters threw eggs and other objects and engaged with the police line, which used batons to keep them back.
The clashes erupted after local Catalan police intervened to form a barrier when a separatist threw purple paint on a man who was part of another march of people in support of Spanish police demanding a pay raise.
Officers used batons to keep the opposing groups apart.
There were more confrontations as the separatists tried to enter Barcelona's main city square where 3,000 people supporting Spanish police had ended their march.
Separatists shouted "Get out of here, fascists!" and ";Independence!" at the Spanish police supporters, who responded by shouting "We will be victorious!" and "Our cause is just!"
Pro-independence supporters also shouted "Where are the f*****g ballot boxes?" at the police, according to one eye-witness, in a reference to the demands of the Guardia Civil during the referendum last year.
Barcelona Mayor Ada Colau pleaded for peace when the first scuffles broke out.
"I make a call for calm," Colau told Catalunya Radio. "This city has always defended that everyone can exercise their rights to free speech."
Mossos, the Catalan police, said the six arrests were made on charges of aggression against police officers.
One police officer was hurt, although it was not immediately clear if the officer was among the 14 people reported by health authorities as needing medical treatment.
Three were taken to hospital while the others were attended to on the street.
There were ugly episodes between members of the opposing groups.
The pro-police march had originally planned to end in another square home to the regional and municipal government seats but 6,000 separatists, according to local police, gathered in the square to force regional authorities to alter the march's route.Some separatists arrived the night before and camped out in St James' Square.
"The separatists are kicking us out," said national police officer Ibon Dominguez, who attended the march.
"They are kicking the national police and Guardia Civil out of the streets of our own country."
The police march was organised by the police association JUSAPOL, which wants Spain's two nationwide police forces, the national police and Civil Guard, to be paid as much as Catalonia's regional police.
JUSAPOL holds marches in cities across Spain, but Saturday's march in Barcelona comes two days before Catalonia's separatists plan to remember last year's referendum on secession held by the regional government despite its prohibition by the nation's top court.
The referendum on October 1 last year was marred when national police and paramilitary Guardia Civil officers clashed with voters, injuring hundreds.
JUSAPOL spokesman Antonio Vazquez told Catalan television TV3 that while the march's goal was to demand better salaries, they also wanted to support the national police and Civil Guard officers who had been ordered to dismantle the referendum.
"The national police and Civil Guard agents who acted last year were doing their duty and now they are under pressure and we have to support them," Vazquez said.
Last year's police operation that failed to stop the referendum has become a rallying call for Catalonia's separatists, who point to it as evidence of Spain's mistreatment of the wealthy region that enjoys an ample degree of self-rule.
"Outrageous! They shouldn't be here. They came here to hit us a year ago and today they want to make an homage to that. It is pathetic," said secession supporter Montse Romero.
Pro-secession lawmaker Vidal Aragones of the extreme left CUP party called the police march an "insult to the Catalan people."
While Catalonia has seen huge political rallies take place without incident for several years, two weeks ago police had to intervene to keep apart rallies by Catalan separatists and Spanish unionists in Barcelona, the region's capital.
Catalonia's separatist-led government is asking Spain's central authorities to authorise a binding vote on secession.
Last year's vote led to an ineffective declaration of independence by Catalonia's parliament and triggered a months-long takeover by central authorities.
Polls and recent elections show that the region's 7.5 million residents are roughly equally divided by the secession question.
