<![CDATA[Ara Balears in English - UNESCO]]> 10 <![CDATA[Three of judges and cultural heritage]]> One. It was the year 2014 when the Friends of the Camí d'en Kane began to publicly warn that the bridge crossing the Algendar torrent in the Binimoti district, built during the British rule in the 18th century, was threatening to collapse. Three years later, they raised the tone of the alert: the bridge did not stop deteriorating, and at any moment it could collapse. The Ferreries City Council and the Island Council of Menorca took an interest in it, and the historical heritage technicians of the Council, accompanied by the Civil Guard, tried to access it to check the state of the bridge and make a proposal for action. The Binimoti property blocked their path: this is private property, you cannot pass. But it was not at all clear that the path was private property. In fact, there was a legal dispute underway to determine if it was private or public – that is to say, heritage for everyone. The Historical Heritage Service asked the court for permission to inspect the bridge, but the judge prohibited the Council from accessing that section of the Camí d'en Kane until the dispute determined its ownership. The Council argued, warning that at any moment a piece of historical heritage could be lost forever and that it was essential to shore it up. But nothing, the judge ratified the veto, and also forced the Council to pay the legal costs of the opposing party. A few months after this order, as was foreseeable, the Binimoti bridge collapsed. Everyone, except the judge, regretted it. The judge was wrong, because I do not want to think that a judge could consciously defend the interest of a private individual to the detriment of the public interest. In the year 2023, another judge confirmed that the section of the Camí d'en Kane as it passes through Binimoti is of public ownership. But the bridge is no longer there.

]]> <![CDATA[It is not only a thing of the past]]>

There are many ways to explain how we have grown in the Balearic Islands. Mercè Pinya's report on archaeological heritage besieged, swallowed, or boxed in by construction shows one of the most explicit: we have come to disregard what we simultaneously declared an Asset of Cultural Interest. That is to say, heritage that, by definition, has a mandate for protection, including its surroundings.

]]> <![CDATA[Más calls for the annulment of Rafal Rubí's project, just days before construction is set to begin.]]>

Más por Menorca made its final attempt this Thursday to legally halt construction of the half-built viaduct in front of the Rafal Rubí archaeological site. The Popular Party government on the Island Council insists on pushing the project through despite warnings from UNESCO. Councilors Noemí García and Esteve Barceló from Más por Menorca have submitted a request for a legal report on the legality of the two-level roundabout project that threatens the prehistoric navetas (pyramids) of Rafal Rubí. The request is justified by the detection of "regulatory non-compliance" regarding the heritage and landscape impact assessment, which also fails to meet the commitments stemming from the declaration of Talayotic Menorca as a World Heritage Site. The construction company has already signed the contract

The initiative by Més per Menorca comes just as the winning consortium, formed by Copcisa, Juan Mora, and M. Polo, is about to begin construction between kilometer markers 5.7 and 7.7 of the main road between Alaior and Maó. In fact, the contract, formalized on January 23, commits them to carry out the project over eleven months with a budget of €6,576,525.64. However, Más doubts that the heritage impact assessment included in the file meets the standards required by regulations and the technical criteria established by UNESCO and ICOMOS for properties declared World Heritage Sites. He also notes the absence of the mandatory and binding report on landscape impact and integration, which would violate the provisions of the Menorca Island Territorial Plan (PTI).

]]> <![CDATA[A hundred professionals in archaeology and landscape warn the Menorca Council of the "serious mistake" of ignoring UNESCO]]>

More than one hundred prominent figures from across Spain, all involved in cultural heritage, archaeology, and landscape, have signed a letter warning the Menorca Island Council that completing the Rafal Rubí double-level roundabout would be "a grave error" and a "conflict" with UNESCO criteria. The project affects an area declared a World Heritage Site in September 2023, which, according to the signatories, would be severely damaged.

]]> <![CDATA[The Menorca Council defies UNESCO and the Rafal Rubí bridge will go ahead]]>

The Menorca Island Council government does not intend to heed UNESCO's advice. Despite the pronouncement from the leading international body for heritage preservation, which recommends abandoning the Rafal Rubí viaduct and reaching a consensus on an at-grade road solution for this crossing of the main road between Mahón and Alaior, the team led by Adolfo Vilafranca announced this Friday that it will proceed with the project. The Councilors for Culture and Heritage, Joan Pons Torres, and for Mobility, Juan Manuel Delgado, appeared together to denounce the "political maneuver" by the Ministry of Culture and to make it clear that "we will not back down," since, "for us, the safety of the people of Menorca comes first." Both councilors accused the Ministry of "wanting to endanger Talayotic Menorca with the aim of harming the Island Council's governing team." Pons Torres emphasized that this is a "very serious act of disloyalty towards Menorca, towards all Menorcans, and above all, towards the Consell's staff." Specifically, the Popular Party criticizes the Ministry for sending external reports to UNESCO that lack the endorsement of the Consell Insular's technical staff and whose sole purpose is to obtain a negative report and harm the road improvement project in the Rafal Rubí section, promoted by the Popular Party government. Joan Pons, who is also the spokesperson for the governing team, criticized the lack of transparency and opacity that, in his view, the Ministry practices, since it has never informed the Council of all the documentation submitted to ICOMOS and UNESCO. The Popular Party councilor warned that "it would be very serious" if the reports favorable to the viaduct, issued by the institution's Highways Department technicians, had not also been sent to Paris. He also contradicted the Ministry, stating in its report that the support for the project from the Scientific Council of the Menorca Talayotic Agency was unclear, when—he commented—an absolute majority of its members voted in favor of the heritage impact assessment. Even so, some experts, such as the candidacy coordinator himself, Cipriano Marín, have resigned in recent months in disagreement with the island government. Eight years of paralysis

Likewise, the councilors suspect that the legal report concluding that the Rafal Rubí bridge cannot be demolished has not been submitted to UNESCO either. They argue that if a serious accident occurs and the viaduct is not yet finished, claims for damages could be made against the engineers and politicians involved. Therefore, they insisted, "the bridge will be finished. After eight years of paralysis, we will complete the main road renovation, acting with the utmost protection of the landscape and heritage." The UNESCO report, however, is clear. It warns that the current proposal will negatively impact the landscape of the navetas (prehistoric stone structures) and affect the integrity and authenticity of the landscape declared as having Outstanding Universal Value. The report even mentions other sections of the road with less traffic where far less impactful solutions have been implemented than the one planned for Rafal Rubí.

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