LOC17:51
14:51 GMT
MADRID, Oct 7 (KUNA) -- Cities across Spain on Saturday witnessed protests by opponents of secession, calling for nationwide demonstrations in a bid to support dialogue to end the country's worst political crisis in decades.
Thousands of demonstrators marched in unison in the capital Madrid in an anonymous initiative that aims to promote talks using the slogan "Spain is better than its leaders."
Likewise, in the Catalan capital of Barcelona, thousands of protestors took to the streets of the sprawling metropolis in support of the Spanish constitution, urging leaders to hold talks in an effort to defuse the crisis.
Meanwhile, Catalonia's government announced that 90 percent of voters had backed independence from Spain in Sunday's referendum that the European Commission has described as "illegal under Spanish law."
Madrid is coming under growing international pressure to resolve the political dilemma in the wake of the violent Catalan referendum.
Hundreds of people and scores of police officers were reported to have been hurt on Sunday after riot police stormed polling stations, dragging out voters and firing rubber bullets into crowds. (end)
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