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WORLD NEWS Friday 13 OctOber 2017
Spain celebrates national day amid Catalan secession crisis

capital, authorities said. 56-year-old Catalan bank
In Barcelona, Catalonia’s clerk, said she only felt the
capital, a crowd of people urge to protest when the
that local police said num- separatists’ bid recently
bered 65,000 marched to became “an imposition
a central square, some of thought.”“They want to
with their faces in the red impose on us the ideas of
and yellow colors of both one, but in Catalonia we
the Spanish and Catalan are more than one, we are
flags and shouting “Viva Es- many people with very dif-
pana” — “Long live Spain.” ferent feelings toward na-
“We are now feeling that tionality,” she said.The slo-
years of threats by sepa- gan of the march was “Yes
ratists have turned into to Catalonia. Spain, too,”
an attempt to normalize supporting Catalan auton-
social division,” said Juan omy, but within Spain as a
Jose Garde, a 63-year-old whole.Two small groups of
retired civil servant who protesters clashed as the
was joining a national day unionists’ demonstration
march for the first time af- was getting underway,
ter years of enjoying the throwing chairs and bottles
holiday by taking his fam- taken from a cafeteria ter-
People wearing the colors of Catalonia and Spain celebrate a holiday known as “Dia de la His- ily to the beach.For many race at each other. An offi-
panidad” or Spain’s National Day in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Oct. 12, 2017. Spain’s celebrates
its national day amid one of the country’s biggest crises ever as its powerful northeastern region others, Thursday’s march in cer was injured when local
of Catalonia threatens independence. central Barcelona was also police intervened to sepa-
rate them, Barcelona’s ur-
By CIARAN GILES police paraded in front (AP Photo/Santi Palacios) a first. Sanchez, a ban guard said. q
Montse
Associated Press of King Felipe VI, accom-
MADRID (AP) — Thousands panied by national and
of Catalans who want regional politicians. Thou-
their region to remain in sands of people waving
Spain marked the coun- Spanish flags lined the side-
try’s national day Thursday, walk of Madrid’s Paseo de
marching through Barce- la Castellana avenue for
lona waving both Span- the military parade.
ish and Catalan flags and The pilot of a fighter jet tak-
shouting “I am Spanish,” as ing part in the Madrid pa-
the region’s threats of in- rade died when the plane
dependence have left the crashed while landing at
country in crisis. a base in Albacete, some
Meanwhile, in the national 300 kilometers (200 miles)
capital Madrid, troops and southeast of the Spanish
Berlin probe: Xmas attacker
could have been thwarted

By FRANK JORDANS the state of Berlin to in-
BERLIN (AP) — The Tunisian vestigate how authorities
man who carried out last handled the case, said
year’s deadly truck ram- security agencies had a
page at a Christmas mar- good opportunity to ques-
ket in Berlin could have tion Amri in detail and put
been detained and pos- him in investigative cus-
sibly deported months be- tody for months after he
fore the attack, a special was detained in southwest
investigator said Thursday. Germany on July 30, 2016,
Anis Amri, a failed asylum- as he tried to travel to Swit-
seeker, killed 12 people zerland with forged Ital-
when he hijacked a truck ian papers.“Pretty much
and drove it into a crowd- every mistake that could
ed Christmas market in the have been made was
German capital on Dec. made,” Jost told reporters
19, 2016, in an attack that in Berlin as he presented
was later claimed by the his final report.The former
Islamic State group. Public federal terrorism prosecu-
inquiries and German me- tor said Amri was ques-
dia have since uncovered tioned only by state police
a series of mistakes by offi- in Baden-Wuerttemberg
cials who had been track- who weren’t familiar with
ing Amri because he was the 23-year-old and failed
believed to pose a public to delve into his ties to Is-
threat. lamic extremists or his drug
Bruno Jost, appointed by dealing.q