Spanish flags were taken down in several towns of Catalonia on Friday, after the region’s parliament voted in favour of independence from Madrid.
Flags were removed from the town halls of Sabadell, Catalonia’s fifth-largest city, and of Girona, whose former mayor is Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont.
Similar actions were taken in other municipalities such as Figueres, Vic and Tortosa, but not in the regional capital of Barcelona, whose mayor, Ada Colau, is against unilateral secession.
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In a social media message, Colau criticised the independence declaration and the Spanish government’s decision to counter it with the suspension of Catalan self-government.
“We’re a majority, in Catalonia and in Spain, who want a halt to the confrontation and call for dialogue, common sense and an agreed solution to take hold,’’ she wrote.
(dpa/NAN)
