Catalan separatists hold rally as movement frays

(11 Sep 2022) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Barcelona - 11 September 2022 1. Various of separatist rally commemorating Catalonia's regional day 2. Wide of separatist leader Jordi Pesarrodona during speech 3. SOUNDBITE (Catalan) Jordi Pesarrodona, leader of ANC (Catalan National Assembly separatist grassroots movement: "We can see that nobody is going to help us. It is us who must do it. And we must do it with will, perseverance and constant activism. The day that, from the streets and through mobilization, they feel our pressure then the politicians will have two choices left: stepping aside or abide by the people's will. Listening to our voice." 4. Various of musicians playing folk songs with traditional Catalan instruments 5. Mid of Catalan separatist flag   6. Various of banners 7. Mid of rally attendees 8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Ascen Fuentes, 65, lawyer: "Besides how difficult may be to achieve independence, this is about the constant infringement of rights against Catalonia. That is why the push for independence started. Or at least the sensation of the need for independence." 9. Mid of rally attendees 10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Kevin Izaguirre, 29, store clerk: "The people never fail to be up to the circumstances. Politicians fail. And the current Catalan government fail. We the people are always here when needed." 11. Various of separatist rally STORYLINE: Hundreds of Thousands of Catalan separatists held a rally in Barcelona on Sunday in an attempt by the march's organizers to reignite the independence movement that is fraying as it nears the five-year anniversary of its failed breakaway bid from the rest of Spain. For the past decade, the Sept. 11 rally held on Catalonia's main holiday has been the focal point of the northeast region's separatist movement.   It has drawn in several hundreds of thousands of people clamouring to create a new country out of this corner of the western Mediterranean. But the unity between pro-independence political parties and the civil society groups that led the October 2017 independence push, which received no international support and was quickly quashed, is in danger of falling apart. The Catalan National Assembly (ANC), a civil group that organizes Sunday's march, is strongly opposed to the talks that the Catalan government is holding with Spain's central government in Madrid.   The influential organization says it has lost faith in political parties and is ready to move on without them toward a new attempt at breaking with Spain. That led Catalonia's regional president, Pere Aragonès, to announce that with his absence he would be the first Catalan president to not attend the annual march, which separatists have used as a show of force. The infighting threatening Catalonia's separatist cause comes while Scotland is seeking to hold a second independence referendum after the "No" vote won in 2014. Catalan separatist parties won 52% of the votes in an election last year and maintained their hold on the regional parliament, but after years of extreme tensions and protests that turned violent in 2019, many people, especially the roughly half of Catalans who want to remain a part of Spain, are relieved that there is a dialogue with central authorities. =========================================================== Clients are reminded: (i) to check the terms of their licence agreements for use of content outside news programming and that further advice and assistance can be obtained from the AP Archive on: Tel +44 (0) 20 7482 7482 Email: [email protected] Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...