Mass rally expected in Barcelona in support of Catalonia independence

‘Hundreds of thousands are expected to take to the streets of the Spanish city of Barcelona to declare their support for a planned referendum on Catalonia’s independence from the mainland amid efforts by the central government to block the highly-anticipated vote.
People from towns and villages across Catalonia were traveling to the regional capital Barcelona on Sunday as the city was bracing for a mass march on the ‘Diada’ day of September 11, which is the day marking Barcelona’s fall to Spain in 1714.
Campaigners hope this year’s march, a tradition often used to voice demands for an independent state, would nullify efforts by the Spanish government to block the October 1 referendum.
Regional leaders have vowed to go ahead with the vote despite criticism from Madrid that it is illegal. Spain’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling last Thursday to suspend the referendum. That came after Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy legally challenged the vote and said Spain was constitutionally indivisible.’
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