Over the last 15 years, 30,000 men, women and children have lost their lives drowning while attempting to reach European shores. And each year the number of victims is rising. This is the equivalent of a silent, unilateral war against hundreds of thousands of unarmed people – a war waged by capitalism and imperialism against innocent migrants and refugees.

450,000 marched in Barcelona on Saturday 21st October, demanding freedom for the two Jordis (held without bail on sedition charges) and rejecting the implemention of Article 155, announced by the Spanish President, Rajoy. As Jorge Martin reports, the measures being proposed by the Spanish government amount to a coup against democracy in Catalonia.

Jorge Martin reports on how the arrest of two Catalan officials has reignited the mass movement for independence. The whip of oppression wielded by the Spanish state has driven the masses back into action. The mood is incendiary, and Puigdemont has been left little room for manoeuvre.