Date Published: 02/11/2020
ARCHIVED - Riots and destruction in Murcia and Cartagena against covid curfew
ARCHIVED ARTICLE
The Prime Minister has joined those condemning the violence which has broken out all over Spain this weekend
Police have warned that “this is not a game” following rioting and disturbances in both Murcia and Cartagena this weekend, as young people caused chaos in the city centres as a protest against the curfew imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus amongst the population.
There had been peaceful protests on Friday evening, supported by just a handful of people with placards, but on Saturday evening the protests turned violent, and the arrest of one youngster with a backpack containing a bottle of gasoline, two lighters, and various other tools used to fabricate firebombs and start fires, confirmed the suspicions of police that the rioters on Saturday evening set out to deliberately cause trouble.
On Friday evening there were violent disturbances in several major cities of Spain, police clashing with demonstrators in what deteriorated into running street battles with shops looted, bins and cars set on fire. And by Saturday evening young people in other Spanish cities decided to follow suite, with similar violence taking place all over Spain.
The “protests” in the Murcia Region were organised on social media, around 30 “protestors” gathering in Murcia City in Plaza Circular, where barriers were set up. As police arrived, protestors dispersed, running into Saavedra Fajardo, Ambassador Inocencio Arias and the Centrofama area, their numbers swollen by other youngsters following the events via social media.
In the end, bins were set on fire, along with two cars, and firemen had a busy night extinguishing minor fires in different areas of the city. Only one arrest was made.
In Cartagena there were similar scenes, the evening concluding with three detentions.
Around 50 people gathered in the Plaza España to protest against the security measures imposed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, social media posts calling on the participants to “shake it up”.
Suspecting that violence would follow, two armoured vans of the National Police and several patrols of the Local Police were waiting for the protestors as they arrived.
Police have said that those present were all young, regional Spanish media reporting that most were around 19 or below. Police started to check the ID of those present and this caused a heated discussion and altercation between two young people and the officers present, who promptly arrested them.
The crowd dispersed into the streets, overturning bins and recycling containers, watched by residents from their balconies,
One called it “the virus of imbecility. For that there is no cure nor vaccine, “ remarked one writer, and the actions were condemned by residents and politicians alike on social media, with many residents who witnessed the disturbances less poetic, the words “violent assholes “ appearing on multiple posts.
The Prime Minister even issued a tweet, saying “Only through responsibility, unity and sacrifice will we be able to defeat the pandemic that is devastating all countries. Violent and irrational behavior by minority groups is intolerable. This is not the way.”
National media are reporting on Monday that the Government is preparing the documentation required in response to the requests from at least three regions, which are requesting permission to amplify the restrictions and impose total lockdown confinements within their regions.