now it is also directed against the headquarters of ERC, Junts and Aliança |

One of the slogans that circulated the most during the ‘procés’ was the one that read: “Not a single piece of paper on the ground.” But the slogan, which was intended to illustrate the supposedly peaceful nature of the movement, was soon revealed fakeas evidenced by the siege of the Ministry of Economy in 2017 or, above all, the Tsunami Democràtic protests a couple of years later. This is without counting the attacks on the headquarters of the constitutionalist parties, which already took place before the separatist process but have intensified since then. This harassment excluded separatist formations -except for some isolated incidents-. However, the violent seem to have lifted this veto in recent months.

This Sunday, without going any further, the headquarters of Aliança Catalana was attacked coinciding with a demonstration by the radical left in Ripoll against their party. The crystals of the ultra formation appeared cracked by the impacts of different stones, as well as with stickers of extremist rhetoric. Some events in line with the belligerence of the posters that encouraged people to attend the march, which read: “Let’s defend La Mecha [un casal nacionalista]burn them all.” And, at the end of last month, other radicals blew up an Aliança conference in Vilafranca del Penedèspushing its members and breaking several mobile phones.

It could be understood that Aliança Catalana is the target of these attacks as it far-right formation and not because of its secessionist nature. However, the recent attacks on the offices of other nationalist parties such as ERC and Junts indicate that being such is no longer an excuse. The radicals reproach Esquerra for its agreement with the PSC, which is why the CDR blocked the entrance to its headquarters in Barcelona last July. The same reason why the CUP youth covered the premises of their Esquerra counterparts with posters a month later. “Agreeing with the PSC is a betrayal of the country,” summarized the authors of the first attack.

Meanwhile, in the case of the neoconvergents, the animosity of the radicals is due to their support for Israel after the attacks of October 7 last year. And, just a few days later, the Junts central office in the Catalan capital woke up with graffiti in favor of Palestine, both on its shutters and on its façade. In them, one could read: “Long live Palestine! Junts is complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people.” Harassment that has extended, although occasionally, to journalists around Puigdemont such as Pilar Rahola. The member of the audience, whose pro-Israel sympathies are known, was participating in a conference this month in La Garriga (Barcelona) when some agitators threw red paint at her, visibly staining her face and body. The action was claimed by the OJD, a split from the CUP youth.

This climate of hostility between separatists also marked the celebration of the last Diada, being the highlight of the day along with its low attendance. Not in vain, a pitched battle broke out between the youth of the CUP and the ultras of Aliança Catalana in which the Mossos d’Esquadra had to intervene. In addition, Esquerra Republicana suffered different escraches, the most violent being the one experienced by the councilor Eva Barowho had to leave the stage he was on after a smoke canister hit next to him and caused a small fire.

In any case, the latest study carried out by the Civic Observatory of Political Violence in Cataloniareleased last year, reflected that these incidents have decreased since the most critical stage of the ‘procés’. But he warned of a figure that secessionism and its related media tend to ignore: practically all violent acts – that is, 98% – have been perpetrated by secessionist-oriented people or groups.