The Finnish Government is concerned about how the situation in Catalonia (northeast of Spain) can affect the many Finns who visit the region, especially the city of Barcelona.
The region faced on Tuesday the second day of demonstrations after the Supreme Court sentenced nine independence leaders to prison for sedition. On Monday, protesters tried to paralyze Barcelona airport and high-speed train lines. On Tuesday there were new street protests and road cuts that generated riots.
For this reason, the Embassy of Finland in Madrid has warned Finnish citizens via Twitter that "political unrest" continues "in Barcelona and elsewhere in Catalonia" and therefore they must "avoid the crowds" and notify their relatives and the Foreign Service that they are in the area.
Poliittiset levottomuudet Barcelonassa ja muualla Kataloniassa jatkuvat. Jos olet alueella, tee matkustusilmoitus osoitteessa: https://t.co/0O49DqZOSo. Vältä väkijoukkoja, noudata paikallisten viranomaisten ohjeita sekä seuraa tiedotusvälineitä. Ilmoita tilanteestasi läheisille.
— Embajada Finlandia (@EmbFinMadrid) October 15, 2019
Finnish authorities have called those who are in the area to register to the online service matkustusilmoitus.fi. This is a service where all Finns traveling or moving abroad can submit their travel and contact information to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
"In the event of an emergency or crisis, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs may contact those who made the travel notification. It is worth making a travel notification especially if you are traveling to a high-risk area," the service explains in its website.
