City Council asks justice to prohibit the new housing encampment

PalmaThe City Council has filed a contentious-administrative appeal against the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands for authorizing the new housing encampment installed in the Plaza de España and has asked the justice system to ban it as a precautionary measure. In a press conference, the deputy spokesperson at Cort, Llorenç Bauzá, has accused the state administration of legitimizing an indefinite occupation of public space and omitting the hearing of the City Council in the processing of the promoters' communications.

“The Delegation has left us alone and completely helpless,” stated the Councilor for Citizen Security in his speech, in which he denounced the lack of collaboration for the National Police to act together with the Local Police at the new encampment in the city’s central square.

According to the municipal assessment, this Thursday there were 24 tents in the Plaça d’Espanya and six reports were filed. “The problem is the improper occupation of the space and the failure to comply with the framework that protects us,” he remarked.

In his speech, Bauzá recalled that the first encampment, which began on September 28, exceeded the conditions and the deadline communicated to the Spanish Government Delegation. The City Council removed the tents and other items on November 4, applying municipal ordinances, but the square was re-occupied on the 11th, after the demonstration that brought about 45,000 people to the streets.

Bauzá specified that the appeal filed this Friday refers to the communication that the Delegation forwarded to the City Council that same day, attributed to the promoter of the first gathering, to install an indefinite number of tents in the square.

The municipal legal services consider that the urgency was not justified and the City Council was not given a hearing. The City Council had already requested on November 10 that the General State Administration cease the actions it questions in relation to previous communications, Bauzá stressed.

The City Council argues that the promoters are engaging in an alleged fraud of law by using the right of assembly to circumvent ordinances and occupy municipal public domain. “The right of assembly and demonstration is fully respected by this City Council, but it cannot be turned into an instrument to justify indefinite occupations of public space,” stated Bauzá.