Spain’s police unions accused the far-right party Vox on Friday of coercing and threatening officers during protests in recent days in Spain.
Vox leaders have supported and participated in the demonstrations held daily in the early evening on social media at the headquarters of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), to protest the amnesty of Catalan separatists.
The largest demonstrations took place in front of the PSOE’s national headquarters in Madrid and ended with riots and police charges.
Last night, deputy Javier Ortega Smith attended the demonstration in Madrid, with behavior that the Federal Police Union (UFP) considered “unreasonable” and “extremely serious” in a statement this Friday.
Ortega Smith addressed the police at the scene, handing them his deputy and saying that he was there “as an observer” and that the Vox group had gone along with cameras to record in case of excesses by the anti-riot unit.
“Neither Mr. Ortega nor any deputy has the authority to threaten, coerce or attempt to direct police work”reads the UFP statement.
The union reminded Vox that the police present at the demonstrations against the PSOE “are the same” who, for example, protected party leader Santiago Abascal when he was stoned during a rally in Vallecas, south of Madrid.
‘Instrumentalizing the work of the police depending on who is behind the posters is a serious mistake’the union added, stressing that police are not “henchmen” or “lackeys” of ministers, regardless of the color of the government.
Another union, Jupol, cited by news agency EFE, also condemned Ortega Smith’s behavior, saying that “what political leaders should do is call for calm” because violence cannot be tolerated or justified, especially violence against police.
The Unified Police Union (SUP) also condemned this Friday that Vox leaders are putting the police, whose mission is to restore law and order, and violent people who infiltrated the demonstrations in front of the national PSOE headquarters on an equal footing.
“The SUP has been asking for single-person cameras for all colleagues who work in public order for years. We have nothing to hide, Mr. Ortega”said union spokesman Jacobo Rodríguez.
The Vox leader pledged “long-term civil resistance” against the Socialists’ deals with Catalan independents on November 9, during the first days of the demonstrations on social media.
Santiago Abascal, who has been to the Madrid rallies several times, said the government has ordered police charges in light of peaceful and legal demonstrations and asked police “not to carry out illegal orders if they occur again.”
In addition to disturbances, such as throwing objects and stones at police, these demonstrations were marked by the display of fascist symbols and the Spanish dictatorship of Francisco Franco and, last night, the burning of Catalan flags.
Thursday’s demonstration, which attracted 4,000 people, was one of the largest yet in front of the PSOE headquarters, according to authorities, and took place on the day that socialist Pedro Sánchez was re-elected prime minister.
Source: DN
