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More than 460 Injured During Catalonia Independence Referendum

by VOA News

   More than 460 people are being treated for injuries caused by Spanish
   police clashes as voters in Catalonia cast ballots for or against
   independence.

   "As mayor of Barcelona I demand an immediate end to police charges
   against the defenceless population," Ada Colau said Sunday.

   Madrid said Sunday it wants to bring a halt to the independence
   referendum, calling it a "farce." Spain's central government says the
   vote is illegal.

   Police reportedly have fired rubber bullets, and clashes have broken
   out with protesters across the northern state.

   Meanwhile, Barcelona's football game against Las Palmas has gone ahead
   behind closed doors, despite requests to the league to postpone.

   Madrid's representative in Catalonia, Enric Millo, said Catalonia's
   president Carles Puigdemont and his team "are solely responsible for
   all that has happened today and for all that can happen if they do not
   put an end to this farce."

   WATCH: Clashes Between Police and Protesters

   Police seized the ballots of at least one polling station and Spain's
   interior ministry said on Twitter more ballot boxes would be snatched
   as police continued their deployment in Catalonia.

   Police in riot gear smashed the front door of a polling station with a
   hammer Sunday in Catalonia where Puigdemont was expected to cast his
   vote in the banned independence referendum.

   Scuffles between the police and voters erupted outside the polling
   center in Sant Julia de Ramis, near the Catalan city of Girona.

   A regional government spokesman said voters could cast their ballots at
   any polling station, instead of their designated one, since Spanish
   authorities have sealed off some polling stations.

   A Catalan spokesman says 73 percent of polling stations are open, but
   their computer system is suffering constant hacking attacks.

   Catalonia's government spokesman Jordi Turull called on Catalans to
   continue to carry out their right to vote "in a civic and peaceful
   manner."

   Turull said the police actions are reminiscent of the "repression that
   is a reminder of the Franco era," a reference to Spain's dictatorship
   from 1939 - 1975.

   Hundreds of people in favor of the referendum camped out in schools and
   other designated polling places in an attempt to keep them open for
   Sunday's vote.

   Millo, the highest-ranking Spanish security official in the
   northeastern region, said Saturday police had blockaded half of the
   more than 2,300 polling stations designated for the referendum vote.

   He said Spanish authorities also had dismantled the technology Catalan
   officials had planned on using for voting and counting ballots, which
   he said would make the referendum "absolutely impossible."

   Catalan officials said they would move forward with the vote despite
   the actions taken by Spain's central government.

   Spanish Culture Minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo said Friday the
   independence vote violates Spanish law and the government will not
   accept the results of the referendum.

   Catalonia represents a fifth of Spain's $1.32 trillion economy and
   enjoys wide self-government. The region has about 5.5 million eligible
   voters.

   It is not clear if the Catalans would vote for independence.