Spain's Right Rallies Against Plan to Pardon Catalan Separatists
Voice of America
MADRID - Right-wing protesters hit the streets of Madrid on Sunday to denounce controversial Spanish government plans to offer pardons to the jailed Catalan separatists behind the failed 2017 independence bid.
The mass protest, which is scheduled to start at midday (1000 GMT), will up pressure on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez who has called for understanding over the planned gesture that has dominated political debate for weeks and reactivated the controversy over Catalan separatism. "I understand there may be people who could have objections over this decision that the government may take, given what happened in 2017," he said on Wednesday during an official visit to Argentina. "But I ask for your trust. I ask for understanding and for magnanimity because the challenge facing all of us -- to promote coexistence -- is worth it."
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