Thousands of Basque protesters take sides in Catalonia dispute

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More than 40,000 people have rallied in the Basque city of Bilbao in anger at Spain’s direct rule of Catalonia. Basqueland, which has its own separatist movement, also enjoys regional autonomy under the Spanish constitution.

The Property Gazette

More than 40,000 people have rallied in the northern Spanish city of Bilbao in anger at Spain’s direct rule of Catalonia. The Basque Country region has its own separatist movement which for decades turned bloody.

Protests against Madrid’s handling of the Catalan crisis spread to another Spanish region on Saturday, as the streets of the northern city of Bilbao in the Basque Country were awash with protestors waving umbrellas.

According to the regional paper Naiz, some 44,000 people took part in the rally, which was called by several Basque Country pro-independence groups, the ultra-left wing party Podemos’ regional branch and several labor unions.

Read more: Catalonia: ‘Rajoy will not make concessions to anyone’

History rhymes

The Basque region has, until recently, seen decades of violence by the paramilitary group ETA which left some 850 people dead. ETA surrendered its weapons earlier this year, effectively ending its campaign of terror, after…

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