Zionist Union MK Ksenia Svetlova found herself in the middle of police violence against voters in the Catalan independence referendum, which she was observing on Sunday.
In Barcelona, at about 10 am, she recounted, “we saw a group of people who weren’t being allowed to vote, so they sat in the middle of the road and sang the Catalan anthem and other patriotic songs.
“Without any warning or provocation, the police started shooting rubber bullets. I was right in the middle of it, with other parliamentarians,” Svetlova said. “I saw a rubber bullet on the ground, right near me. I saw people, young and old, being beaten with clubs.”
As a veteran journalist, Svetlova used her experience to stay out of danger: “I entered a building and kept out of the way, so I wouldn’t be beaten with a club. One MP from a Scandinavian country had never experienced anything like this and was very close to where the police went crazy. If you don’t know how to find cover in these situations, you could end up beaten or shot.”
Svetlova was invited to be an by the Catalonian government to be an impartial observer, and said she does not have an opinion as to whether the region should be independent from Spain or not.
Earlier in the morning, the international parliamentary delegation observed several polling places in the morning, only one of which was able to hold a vote. In other places, police had already confiscated equipment.
The MK said she did not anticipate the violence: “I thought there might be problems, like that the government might try to take the ballots away so votes couldn’t be counted, or that Internet might be cut off in some place.
Emotions run high as Barcelona polling station opens for independence referendum vote in Catalonia, October 1, 2017. (Reuters)
“Many Spaniards, not just Catalans, are in shock at the National Police’s behavior. No one expected it to be so brutal.”
“People feel like the democratic process has been harmed,” she added. “Even people who planned to vote against [independence] are upset that they didn’t have the right to express their opinion.”
Svetlova said she found it jarring that this took place in an EU country: “We’re talking about Europe, European values of democracy and freedom of expression. How do these things go together?”
She expressed concerns that “the processes Europe is undergoing will have ramifications for us” in Israel.
The Zionist Union MK said she spoke to Spanish parliamentarians and accused them of hypocrisy when it comes to Israel.
“I told them: You criticize us our democracy and use of force when things happen – sometimes justifiably – but first you should look at what’s happening at home,” she stated.
Article source: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.813088
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