Yellow ribbon controversy
Ciudadanos threatens Torra with judicial moves regarding yellow ribbons as hooded thugs continue to remove them by night
The mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, will have twelve hours from the time she formally receives notification from the region’s Electoral Commission, to remove the yellow ribbon which hangs on the façade of the City Hall of Barcelona.
The notification is a result of a petition to the commission by the municipal leader of the Partido Popular, Alberto Fernández Díaz. The president of the electoral body of Barcelona, Jorge Vergara Aranda, ruled on the subject following criteria imposed by the Central Electoral Board (JEC) on the President of the Generalitat Quim Torra, which asserts that the placement of yellow ribbons, banners, Catalan Estelada flags and other symbols are “an act that flagrantly violates the neutrality of the City Council”. The document was delivered to Colau at 7pm yesterday, though there remains to be seen if a 24 hour appeal period might delay the case further.
The resolution comes after the City Council put up the yellow ribbon again yesterday morning, after a group of hooded men using a long pole removed it, then faced off with three officers of the Guardia Urbana, who were able to recover the ribbon. A far-right group called Los de Artós uploaded the action on Twitter and called for people to repeat the behaviours elsewhere. They also tried to remove the banner regarding the political prisoners and exiles, from the façade of the Generalitat, but without success. Ciudadanos used the yellow ribbons to draw attention to themselves: Juan Carlos Girauta said his party would study whether or not to take the issue to court, for “illegal symbolism”.