Hello welcome to our visitor live from. Dennis also coming up accusations and insults are traded by president trumpet a senior puerto rican official as a u. S. Territory in the caribbean struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria. A rare admission by secretary of state Rex Tillerson the u. S. Is in direct talks with north korea. And how language divide is fueling demands for independence in cameroons in speaking region. Now decision day is finally here in voters in spain are casting their ballots in catalonia as controversial secession referendum referendum leaders have been urging catalan voters to use passive resistance if police try to interfere with the voting crowds have been cheering as Police Walked away from at least one polling station inside a bus and in a school thats a scene live at one of the polling stations our correspondent john hendren is in barcelona. So joe tell us whats happening because obviously theres one side of this equation that wants to go out and costs of it and then there is the police that has been told to prevent the vote from taking place. Its a big side that wants to vote this is an extraordinary exercise in democracy if you look behind me you can see all of these people are defying a spanish order not to vote there are local police here nearby theyre not stopping anything but we just heard an announcement that the Spanish National police are nearby so people were told to act civilly and there was talk of banding together to keep them out of the voting booths and theyve done some extraordinary things here for one thing people are using at the polling booths are using what they call an internet a global census this is a census so that people can vote anywhere not just at their regular polling place and that because a lot of those polling places have been closed down we hear that as i speak some National Police are doing just that here in barcelona but i have a voter with me that i want to talk to and she can tell us a little bit about why she is here along with her whole family christine of a. Minute why did you come today i came today because he did very important day in history and for the world and im a person i live in london but i want to be here today with my family my friends and all the cuts in them because its very important day for us this Spanish Police have said this is illegal they have arrested officials are you scared. Im not scared. Until ten minutes ago when i saw some videos on twitter and did National Police the Spanish Police not the catalan one the spanish one pushing people who are like peaceful Just Holding Hands together and saying we want to vote we want to vote and then you see the Spanish Police not the cutting one as i said pushing them and pushing them and apparently these guys are coming now here so we have been scared now we see what happens now explain to people whats the difference between the local police and the Spanish National police the most those are the locals who are who live here and theyre here all the time the Spanish National police are the ones whove come from out of town how do people view them. We just we we view them as a separate entity we view them as people who we can trust really with them feel they understand us because obviously they come from the Central Government who are telling them the orders to come here and do this kind of things we have listening to the actual People Living here with the catalans have to say about what we want to do is just about freedom isnt it is just about saying we want to do that we just want people to vote i dont care if you win yes you would know just come out to vote come on this is absolutely amazing like people has to each of the t. V. s come out in the streets and its been happening for days years weeks months and now were all here since five a. M. In the morning its like families preschool sharing coffee sharing cookies thank you christina you know i appreciate your enthusiasm and we you just heard another roar from the crowd every time something is announced you hear the crowd get a little louder this polling station is just opening up so theres a lot of anticipation and this is the beginning of what promises to be a long and interesting day indeed john just being specific for us what exactly is on the ballot paper what exactly a cutter lannes going to decide. Well there are there are two boxes and its written in three languages one of them is spanish one of them is cattle on. And then another one i cant remember offhand its a third language from the region and simply says c. Or no. Are you in favor of independence or not this is not a declaration of independence its a poll of what people think very simple ballot that has been reprinted many times because the Spanish Police have come in confiscated on one occasion ten million ballots and another four million ballots and remember the population here is seven point five million so they have over printed them i talked to the president of catalonia yesterday and he said that was a deliberate strategy i asked him is there a secret plan to carry out this ballot and he said yes there is but he wouldnt tell me what it is and were starting to see right now how theyre doing and thats by letting people vote wherever they want to all right for now thanks very much indeed john hundred there at one polling station in barcelona well citizens have been waiting up all through the night outside various polling stations in the area to prevent the authorities from blocking them off penn hall has more from another polling station in barcelona. Its not even born yet and this is the scene at barcelonas Industrial College. Just a few minutes from now is the time that police are supposed to be here to shut down this pool which is going to be used as a voting center. Inside this is the scene people have organized themselves into defense committees and theyve been camping out in the school overnight. And this is the area that theyre trying to defend this is where they hope the ballot box is not arrived yet. What time to get here from five fifteen in the morning. Whats the atmosphere like. And everybody here is very. Peaceful untested ambience Spanish Government has ordered police to shut down all these Voting Centers but that deadline has come and gone we see process supporters standing on the school gates but still no sign of the police. But this man like the Spanish Government says the referendum is illegal and he says the voters are staging a coup detat. The capital and Regional Police finally did arrive but as you can see only two patrol. And breaks this the moment it all been waiting for the ballot boxes arrive. All right now to another political controversy in the mare refer to ricos capital is accuse the u. S. Government of killing people through inefficiency large parts of the u. S. Territory without electricity or Drinking Water ever since Hurricane Maria made landfall thats almost two weeks ago locals say aid isnt coming through fast enough to raise a boat is a correspondent in san juan. The generator went down in this hospital and some one more than one hundred patients had to be urgently transferred to other locations a lot of the rajahs mother is still inside hes worried about where theyre going to take her. She has several complications in the oxygen she is old and im not sure where we will go but she is not alone inside there are others who are recovering from surgery among other things who were not allowed inside but we were told that most of the patients were transferred on time. Or intended and on a general way fifty hours which was completely destroyed during the hurricane and it was just an example of how the situation for the police really deteriorated if immediate action is not taken this forward is playing a crucial role these days as it is where much needed aid has arrived. Says there are more than ten thousand containers here with goods even though the products belong to private companies they could easily help to restore the supply chain here right now in in all of our terminals there are merge and see supplies they are emergency medicine water food Construction Materials commercial materials so the terminal is full of goods its a matter of how we restore this. Part of the supply chain on the island distribution has been one of the biggest issues so far in getting aid out ten days after the hurricane. People are still lining up for hours for fuel many are still in need of water and other goods some are desperate to get help to most commonly see only we want my mother to live a house was destroyed she hasnt many years left and we want to live decently is that too much to ask a manger linguist is the mayor of san juan she has been pleading for more help from the United States government on saturday President Donald Trump accuse her and other Puerto Ricans of not doing enough to get out of the Current Crisis i think we havent been treated with the same sense of emergency that other disasters have been treated and again you know. Im all five hundred twenty pounds mayor of our city in the caribbean three star general. Said yesterday we dont have enough we need to get more in order to be able to take care of this age. Home are to say general isnt saying the right thing right for most people here this fight is not a political one but one of survival and they hope those in charge will leave their differences aside and sort things out. Ill just some one puerto rico all right the latest pictures now from barcelona as you know theres a very very controversial referendum underway these are the National Police these are the seville who have been sent in extra numbers have been sent in from madrid in order to prevent this this vote going ahead and as you can see a tense scene so far we understand that some ballot boxes have been taken away theres a bit of pushing and shoving ambulances are on standby if you see the media as well forming a fairly large contingent of the people that. Our correspondent pen hole is actually there at this location and can talk us through exactly whats been going on tell us exactly where you are were looking at the pictures where the other civill are pushing people and keeping people from entering the polling station what can you see from where you are. Literally an indication that the Police Operation is now in full swing remember ten thousand extra police were sent to the capital new region with orders to crack down on them on the boat and the waters are now being put into action we are in the. District of london the. Street and hundreds of people had congregated outside the school to be used at this polling station it is in the. Run by a judge who is anathema congregating here National Police dressed in dark clothing with riot helmet on and carrying nightsticks have arrived on the scene around fifty of them at the end michelin arrived there was a lot of pushing and shoving with some of the people who are here who are wanting to vote we saw an elderly lady with blood coming streaming by another older man who is still lying on the pavement out that he was pushed and shoved and appeared to have some kind of teacher then all of the police have now formed a Straight Line on the voters amongst themselves of agreed to stay in thailand and they raised their hands in the air they raised their hands in the air stopped chanting and just stood in silence them right now there is a standoff between the lines of about fifty signage National Police and people wanting to vote in school in the grass district. And college pretty inevitable that its going to come to this because the police have been given specific instructions to prevent this exercise in democracy as many catalans would see and obviously there are those who feel it is their in a right to it least express their desire for independence all not. Well. Tonight here to the army now people extract think another its because an ambulance was just there was the only clean clear. Since the extension to see one of the men shouldnt be gittin. It cannot need to leave now or clarke our method of a dog that static kill up to the plate because in another area alone or in the Industrial College we went to the dorm this morning and hundreds probably thousands of voters will be waiting in line at the door on a chair to the ballot box why and the only police that are right there. At the capitol and Regional Police they only spend a patrol of two people and quite quickly those couple and police withdrew to the cheers of the people and we understand the voting is going on in that area right now where we are in the target that they can act in the granted district the boss a lot of once again people are raising their hand in the air hundreds of voters raising their hands in the air and not saying a word to sixty clannish the National Lawn of police to a lined up in the polls and trying to carry out managed government orders and shut down at this polling station and its an interesting point you raise what is the difference and between the gore the seville the National Police have been sent in and the most of the muscles the local Regional Police force many of whom of course are cattle land and theyre invested in this very thing. And that is absolutely the right point youre making that the quantity of sybil is a is a military unit and the duties at the National Police is the wounded by the Spanish Government the capitol and police is the Regional Police that comes under the political control of the capitol and government and in the last few days. There is been a show of force by the Spanish Government has been trying to take control of the capital and police because the planets government is not is not convinced that the capital and police the most those who carry out their orders and shut down polling stations and this morning that is what we are seeing that the marcos ordering people to close down and then departing without imposing any action when these reinforcements and thousand reinforcements difference and the capital of the region when those who want to get to build a civil guard and National Police will come in they are trying to push through hundreds and hundreds of voters with orders to shut down the polling station and right now is causing problems that that they in this area of barcelona where we are. Go at least one lady of the leading down by an ambulance is now taking a nother approach especially at the political guy on express just. A part of the. Whole in the local you can take the white only expect. Analyzing a political. Scandal you can of posters on the lawn showing anywhere. How to drive a car and. My clothes are planted a campaign of civil disobedience to legalize the real truth that began to try and do what they say they want to do which is the friend their vote obviously i think the orders of the polish government to declare this were random illegal i mean these scenes are not going to go down well they internationally nor in fact in the rest of spain but it seems very much as. A determined. Proportion of cattle lands are prepared to face down the government attempts to stop them from voting im just wondering how many is it possible to say what sort of proportion of castle lands of the seven point five million of them what proportion actually feel strongly enough to just stand there and take some of the pushing and shoving from these right to the. I think you see your first point as to how this image did play internationally i think when were seeing pictures of retired elderly women probably in the sixtys and seventys leading could usefully down that fight off the pushing and shoving with National Police then they just will not play a toll well now youre right have to learn the region as the population of about seven off Million People this is an area roughly the card to belgium both to register to vote today about five and a half Million People more than two thousand polling statement that has been set up its very difficult there have been no impartial polls in the last few days very difficult to tell what the centerpiece really is to clean towels at the station let me let me just interrupt you there because we are seeing some. Glass as he being shattered there we see the police full of the riot police the goddess of them kicking in a glass door the glass over a referendum venting center presumably a school i think cow but yes and theyre actually just open the door of this polling station marched in and it looks very much as though theyre preparing to seize the venting material thats part of their mandate isnt it in order to stop the facing going ahead theyre actually trying to take possession of the building material. That is absolutely part of their mandate in the lead up to this referendum the quantity of civill has these to my latest estimate more than fourteen million ballots because the capital and government and citizens continue to print more power the pictures youre seeing with the civil god thats a military unit at least unction is going on in a different area called learn of a battle there with flexion that the spanish go. The operation to close down thats where clinton is now on the way and there are multiple points now springing up multiple points where civil guard while police when National Police wire. Riot police are springing into action the site popping up across barcelona and presumably across the whole of catalonia as well although it must be said that the twenty thousand extra police that were sent into this leaches region the greatest part of those who are staying down off alone a port a barcelona really could be the main thrust of the our Spanish Government action are. Sent from the National Government that if they can close down the vote in barcelona then the result will have very little relevance but right now there is a a human cordon around an imprint school which is going to be used as a polling station its a multigenerational court and we cant just say these are young people old people but there are people all ages at the voting station who were there this morning one family taken this three year old son along with a lot though that they would it be accompanied by him they went to their young and old here. Standing now in this human court and all right context all National Police going into polling station come and look at the leave you to to assess a situation where you further and now were going to move back to another location in barcelona where our other correspondents on the ground is john hendren is shown to be seeing these scenes of real tension a lot of pushing and shoving causes describe for us how some of those attempting to vote have gone have become injured some of being taken away in an ambulance what is the scene where you are. Its a very different scene here its tranquil if you look behind me and you can see. People are gathered but the mood has really changed since we originally arrived its after nine oclock local time the polls should be open and people have been walking up to me showing me cellphone video. Confrontations and other ways we had been told by people at the polling station there was an announcement made that the National Police would likely come here that people should call but they could also get put their arms together and block the police from coming through and thats not going to go down well with the National Police you come from outside of this area to crackdown as karl described want to show you if you look over here you will see there are police here the ones with the red bands in their head on their heads are police those are the local police what people do not hear them in the way they do the Spanish National police or the civil guard and you notice that police are not interfering with whats going on here. Right now and it is as it sounds dumb people it sounds have lost them saying the people are chanting way john any idea what theyre saying. Well let me just ask them when i do what is it. Ok. Because this is the song of Catalonia International song so its a song of pride these people are all defying orders not to vote a vote the spanish say is illegal so you can hear the clapping. And theyre saying vote which means vote yeah we vote im joan and the polls are the yours has been opens the sentiment here yes and the polls have been open now for what about twenty five minutes do we know whether anybody has has managed to cost a vote in this referendum. Not at this location the doors have were supposed to have been opened they have not been opened we have hundreds i would say found people outside of his polling station we keep hearing one announcement after another were a little too far to hear exactly what that is but although shortly so there was a gasp after that one that was obviously not a good announcement and were still waiting to see if this polling station will open up at all and the determination seems to be a quiet and peaceful one but people seem to pad to stay their ground and. Just being told that the announcement that was just made was to say that elder people would be allowed to vote first so they are going to open the door and theyre going to ask people to let people who are in first because obviously its more of a challenge for them. Ok. Well stick with you well stick with you because it will be very important. See this folks get under way we havent managed to to witness anybody being able to successfully. But where you are it seems as i say quite calm all the people on the for the most part. Young all they old of demographic is there around. Im going to ask my cameraman to pan the crowd and what you can see is a mix of young people and then if you look over to the left youll see some more people one in a wheelchair a woman with a cane there are people of all ages its really striking how broad this crowd is and every time theres an announcement you can hear the sudden rushing because people are really intent to find out when they will be able to vote but it is a broad based crown all right were going to. Leave you for now john then as what appears to be the start of the actual vote in your location were going to leave you because were going to go to the much more tense much more dramatic events of the taking place in another location in barcelona and as you can see the riot police eventually bombarded their way into this polling station a school we understand and we think that about to try to get hold of take possession of the voting materials there are voting there are ballot papers and there are ballot boxes. As their mandate is to take possession of these of this material which of course will effectively mean that it will be impossible to cast of it they can see people observing theyve said all of the castle lands involved in this movement in order to express their political opinion has said that it will be a movement of peaceful resistance now i do understand our correspondent at this very location. Penned home is on the line and can tell us more about what hes seeing from from his viewpoint. What can you see from where you are. Right now on national vanished national while police have you off. The street to stop any more crowds coming toward the center there is a stand off farther. Between around fifty banish the National Police and lawyers you know dressed. With them and. Eating people in neighboring buildings and how you can. Be like and free. Crying and crying and. Becomes a foreigner. During the leader. Yes buying almost brought some kind to show that is the way that the National Operating good men but they operate on orders from the from the planets Government Shutdown voting station we expected that to happen around dawn but in fact it has been going on now just for the last half an hour forty five minutes across multiple points in barcelona and peaceful resistance as i mentioned already is the manner in which the people of catalonia want to oppose the Police Action the action that is being mandated by Central Government to mit in madrid. The peaceful resistance has been the watchword of the approach to session with the court has been organizing weve gone. Through a number of. Things a number of socalled defense. And. Theyve been talking about the been talking about. Them. Again. To stop you there because one of the National Police their own tent roped off for i. D. s checking. Trying to limit. The watch. Of the protests the court has. Been shoving the boat out of the way but then after that initial pushing and shoving the voters. In silence with their hands up the rain is now. Down and so devoted to simply put up their arms well as standing out for both sides a vote. They want. And theres absolutely no certainty as to how to live and what if they if they were indeed allowed to vote we dont know that they would necessarily vote for secession tillys spain doing. We dont know that exactly opinion polls leading up to this referendum being in from either side but i think if you base. Your analysis on the results of the election protests the lambs holliman twenty. Then policies Political Parties to try to waste them saying you have a majority in parliament now of course there was a level of them. In those elections. Any election but white now in the capital and parliament a majority the majority called the vote who you voted for a bright white and by and it will play you dont know in twenty being in the column then create a lecture on the road to action hawksley been long to get it right away from the record thank goodness audie when you think you have a popular mandate for coaching it with its record in them but you say there has been no no campaigning theres been no intelligence play and people are thinking with their modern day head. And right now on the good it being a reflection of that many different generation pride come on im going to have to stop you there im afraid time is running out to stay with us here at aljazeera. And the differences. And the similarities of. Aljazeera. Whos committed war crimes in yemen the u. N. Has agreed to send a team to investigate but how much is politics played in this decision and who will hold those responsible for human rights abuses to account this is inside story