Violence filmed in Pza Cataluña

A recent emotive Utube (shot May 29, the morning after thousand of fans had been celebrating Barças European Cup win) showed police using violence against people from the encampment in Plaza Cataluña and against two individuals in particular: an old tramp and a man in a wheelchair. The media naturally made a meal out of the whole affair and yesterday Counsellor Puig who is responsible for security in the region  made a statement to the Catalan Parliament.

He admitted that (he) and the police had made errors in attempts to 'control' the population in the square. He stated that: one, timing (early morning) was not ideal,  but he had wanted to avoid a 'night attack' which would have shown that the police were trying to dislodge the indignados from their encampment; two
police had understimated the violence the campers would use;

As excuse he stated some troublesome Barca fans had gone into the camp and used missiles from there against the police.  Police had sought dialogue but couldn't find anyone to talk to who was a representative for the group of campers.

He denied that police initiated any violence and that they only reacted to violence used against them. Equally he denied that the police beat up a tramp and the man in the wheelchair stating that the latter was used as a human shield.

Furthermore he criticised the media for showing biased film footage and for releasing the address of a policeman involved which resulted in the officer's house being graffitied.

He asked parliament what kind of public order they wanted in the country - one in which violence against the police is condoned and goes unpunished?

The situation is, like most clashes between police and demonstrators, not black and white. Aggression gives rise to aggression.  Police get their blanket orders to contain any crowds whether passive or violent but the police are individuals too. Security chiefs don't always get it right. No politician or police chief likes carrying the can because it can mean political death. The best way is to spread blame around thinly on your supporters and thickly on the opposition, if possible further tarnishing thir image - in this case the indignados camping in the square - who are not popular in an area with businesses which feed off tourism. Whether the media were biased in (not) mentioning/showing the violence is debatable (May 9 was the first mention I found in the right wing La Vanguardia for example) but what is not debatable is the unfaked extreme and excessive violence filmed.

Unfortunately the police have a poor record all over Europe for the way that they control political demonstrations - it's true of course that they have an extremely difficult job but there is no excuse for unnecessary violence. G8 and G20 meetings are notably political flashpoints as are demonstrations against human rights, racism and unemployment as seen in the UK, Greece Italy or France - especially when someone is killed or seriously injured as a result of police action. Of course it is also difficult to assess how much provocation of police is used - a male drunk can be extremely unreasonable and violent and a large crowd even worse.   In the past Cataluña's Mossos have come in for much criticism for over-zealous LAPD style control of people they arrested. The problem for them now is modern technology has made police actions instantly visible and counter-action possible to the whole world through social networks Twitter, Facebook and Utube  which now act as a balance to the battery of security cameras around the world secretly filming our daily lives. Whichever side of the socio-political fence you sit on you are no longer invisible and Sr Puig and his Mossos should have known that.

When is nude not nude: new law in Barcelona against nudism

Today the new Barcelona anti-nude law comes into effect even as the coastal and political temperatures start to rise and the tourist buses start to fill. But spare a thought for the poor old Mossos - or maybe it's the Guardia Urbana?  In addition to nursemaiding the ad-hoc encamment in Plaza Cataluña, controlling the Barca celebration route, deciding whether criminals are  robbers, residents,immigrants or begging musicians, police will now have to decide the difference between 'nude', 'almost nude', 'semi- nude'  -and 'clothed' - in order to levy the appropriate fine (from 120 up to 500 euros), (a fine incidently higher than going through the lights on red). Apparently recruitment for May - including part-time positions - was at an all-time high though there are as yet no official figures available.  Some residents groups in the old part of the city have accused the Town Hall of a massive cover-up and a mis-use of statistics trying to show they were on top of crime when they weren't, especially those committed by young tourists.

Under this new law police will be obliged to give a warning to offenders and to examine their credentials carefully before fining them. Presumeably if offenders have no money on them, on-the-spot fines will be difficult  to enforce so perhaps they will be allowed to pay later. Clearly definitions of what is/is not nude are a bit hazy at the best of times which will call for more police head-scratching before the long arm of the law risks an arrest in flagrante. Given the Arctic quality of the air-conditioning at the police station on Nou de la Rambla, most offenders would be wise to pay on the spot though.

One wonders, given the immense task confronting the police whether residents could lend a hand as it were using the powers of citizens' arrest. Another unresolved factor is whether increasingly popular tattoos could de-nude/ or re-clothe a person. Surely a full frontal tattoo is not essentially different than a highly decorated T shirt - though below-hip tattoos might be less obfuscating. And what will happen when a tourist brings an action against a police officer for molesting him/her while assessing the degree of nudity.

 Feelings about the matter are somewhat luke-warm politically speaking with support far from 100%. The law was PSC and CiU approved but the PP abstained and other parties labelled it unnecessary stating they be even shooting themselves in the foot if the law puts off tourists from coming here. In addition to complicate matters even further the law states a person can be half-nude (which half is not clear) on the Passeig Maritim, on the Dune nudist beach and on streets near the beach. There's also the art for art's sake thing too and you can be exempt if you are part of a nude exhibition - but presumeable not making an exhibition of yourself by being nude.

The whole thing is totally absurd. An example of a law rushed through to satisfy a group of sanctimonious old crones - as the comments section in la Vanguardia shows. The way their government is handling Spain's financial crisis no one will have any money to buy clothes anymore so we'll all soon be naked - or covered in tattoos