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GV INT PAN ACROSS Audience listening to speaker
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SV & CU Catalan separatist flags being hung (2 shots)
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SCU Speaker addressing crowd
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GV & SV Audience listening to speaker (3 shots)
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The government has banned the march because it says the demonstrators will block traffic on the roads during the peak of the tourist season.




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Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Hundreds of young demonstrators attended an impromptu rally in Gerona, north-east Spain, before attempting to start a three month Catalan freedom march on Sunday (4 July).

SYNOPSIS: The march they had hoped to take part in was organised by Pax Christi, an international peace movement, and was called to demonstrate the organisation's belief that there should be democracy, political amnesties and autonomy for Catalonia, in north-east Spain. But the march was forbidden by the Spanish government and when participants tried to start off on their marathon walk from six different towns in the region on Saturday (3 July) there was clashes between the marchers and police. Gerona was one of the marshalling points. Fifteen people were arrested there on Saturday, another 27 on Sunday.

Among those taken into custody on Sunday were Joan Colomines, head of the Socialist Peoples Party of Catalonia and his wife. If the marchers can get on the road the six groups plan to converge on September the 11th at the town of Poblet, near the Mediterranean coastal city of Tarragona.