Sawt Falasteen - Spain PM defends contested Catalan amnesty before vote of confidence

In a sign of the tensions over the amnesty deal, police blocked off access to parliament to prevent hundreds of protesters from getting close to the building.

Inside, the Socialist leader addressed the assembly to outline his priorities for another four-year mandate ahead of a vote of confidence on Thursday.

Sanchez, who has been in office since 2018, is expected to be voted in with ease.

His Socialist party has reached deals with a number of small parties to ensure he has the backing of 179 legislators, three more than the absolute majority of 176 needed in a first vote.

The conservative Popular Party (PP) came first in July's general election but was unable to cobble together a working majority in the 350-seat parliament.

To win the crucial backing of Catalonia's two main separatist parties, the ERC and JxCat, Sanchez agreed to their demand to grant an amnesty to those involved in the region's separatist movement over the past decade.

This includes Catalonia's failed 2017 secession bid which included a referendum that was banned by the courts. That was followed by a short-lived declaration of independence which sparked Spain's worst political crisis in decades.

Critics argue the amnesty is a self-serving means for Sanchez to remain in power.

The 51-year-old, who has made a career out of making political gambles, told parliament on Wednesday it is what is needed to "heal the wounds" opened by the wealthy northeastern region's bid to break away from Spain.

- 'Prefer reconciliation to revenge' -

"We prefer reconciliation to revenge, unity to fracture," he said in a speech lasting an hour and 45 minutes which was at times met with jeers from opponents.

"This amnesty will benefit many people, political leaders whose ideas I do not share and whose actions I reject, but also hundreds of citizens who were swept up in the (separatist) process."

Backers of the bill estimate the amnesty could benefit around 400 people, primarily minor officials and ordinary citizens who helped stage the 2017 referendum or took part in protests.

Police officers facing legal action over their sometimes violent efforts to stop the referendum from going ahead, or their clashes with protesters, are also covered.

But it will also benefit the head of the Catalan regional government at the time of the 2017 secession bid, JxCat founder Carles Puigdemont. He fled to Belgium shortly after the referendum to avoid prosecution. Many Spaniards consider him an enemy of the state.

The amnesty deal has prompted a wave of protests across Spain, with hundreds of people rallying nationwide on Sunday, answering a call from the PP to take to the streets.

-'Selling Spain' -

Sanchez "is selling Spain" to Catalan separatists to remain in power, Belen Valdez, who was draped in a Spanish flag, told AFP at the Wednesday's protest near the parliament.

His amnesty law "insults Spaniards", she added.

PP leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo said Sanchez "has not got any one's support, he has bought it with checks that we will all pay."

"They want a resigned and silent Spain, but they won't have it. They will hear us in the streets."

Thousands have congregated each night for over a week outside the Socialist party's headquarters in Madrid in rallies organised by the far-right. Some of the protests have turned violent.

The PP and far-right party Vox, which has called for "resistance" against Sanchez's new government, have vowed to challenge the amnesty in the courts.

The draft amnesty law, which was tabled in parliament on Monday and is expected to face a vote in the coming weeks, has also sparked criticism from judges and raised concerns in Brussels, which has asked for more details.

Y.Zaher--SF-PST