Internet Shutdown and Russian Hacker Witch Hunt Looms On Eve Of Catalonian Referendum
A referendum on independence is to take place in Catalonia the day after tomorrow. In Madrid, they see this vote as illegal. They stated they'll try to prevent it from happening. The police continue to confiscate ballots and ballot boxes. As a result, blank ballots are being distributed by activists. Local Catalonians are gathering to protest while calling upon other European countries to defend their rights and freedom. Our special correspondent, Stas Natanzon, has the details from Barcelona.
Yes, Masha, every night at 10 PM Barcelona is filled with the sounds of street noise and banging pots and pans. City residents bring out their pots, pans, covers, and ladles, and start clanking loudly to support a referendum in Catalonia.
This tradition started a few days ago after Spanish authorities arrested some Catalonian politicians and stated that they'd do everything in their power to stop the referendum. People don't just bang on pots and pans; they're heavily involved in other forms of protest.
Yesterday, many people, maybe even tens of thousands, some say it was 15,000, some say it was 20,000, most of whom were students, went into the streets. There were older people there as well. By nighttime, things died down a bit, but some say they're trying to save their energy for the main events this weekend.
Police are doing everything to prevent these protests. Tens of thousands of police officers have been summoned to the city. According to the press, there are 10,000 pieces of equipment—we can show you a picture. It was taken in a Barcelona seaport, as they offloaded the equipment off of ships.
They have police vehicles and water cannons, which the police plan on using to disperse the crowd. Spanish authorities don't trust the local police department. Yesterday, Catalonia's Ministry of Internal Affairs was surrounded by the federal police, preventing the local police from operating. Of course, once again, let's blame the Russians. Can't do without that, can we? El Pais printed an article claiming that Russian hackers are helping Catalonian hackers renew the portals which were blocked by the Spanish authorities.
The thing is that the Spanish authorities are actually restricting Catalonia's internet access— they are closing, banning, and restricting access to websites. So, El Pais is now saying that Russian hackers are now helping Catalonian hackers. The Catalonian hackers have responded, denying it and saying that they're doing fine on their own.
Stas Natanzon, Oleg Makarov, Aleksandr Kutateladze. Vesti, Barcelona, Spain.