400 Officers Clear Madrid Protest Camp, Arrest Two
The National Police launched the clearance in the morning. Two people were arrested on charges of disobedience and resisting arrest. Authorities said the operation passed without major disturbances or violence.
The deployment comprised 220 National Police officers and 180 municipal officers, backed by firefighters and social services staff. Under police escort, municipal emergency cleaning crews stripped the square of tents and tarpaulins.
The clearance followed an announcement on Saturday by several organizing committees that they were pulling out of the square. In the days before the operation, the Government Delegation had twice written to the demonstrators, pressing them to end the occupation and contending that their right to freedom of assembly had already been honored for a sufficient length of time.
In its statement, the central government’s representative office called the dismantling a “last resort,” pointing to incidents affecting both protesters and the surrounding area.
The camp was set up on Sept. 26 amid a housing protest triggered by the eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from her Madrid home. Abascal died several days after being forced out, prompting activists to mobilize against evictions and housing insecurity.
The Tenants’ Union originally led the encampment, which was later run by a number of committees.
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