Cort demands that the housing encampment be evicted, but the Government Delegation sees no grounds to do so

PalmaThe Palma City Council has demanded that the Spanish government's Delegation in the Balearic Islands act "immediately" to evict the housing encampment, located at the Plaça d'Espanya since Monday. Sources from Cort claim that the reason for demanding the expulsion of the people camping is none other than the fact that "the deadline communicated by the organization to the Delegation to carry out the demonstration has already expired."

However, the Spanish government's Delegation in the Balearic Islands has assured ARA Balears that, first of all, they have not received any "formal request from the Palma City Council" and that "there are no grounds to evict the encampment, as they are not violating regulations." Despite not having received any request, sources from the Delegation explained to this newspaper that it has been conveyed to Cort that the encampment is, in principle, protected by the right to assembly, given that the mobilization was previously communicated.

Faced with Cort's complaint asserting that the deadline has already expired, sources from the Delegation point out that "the possibility that the encampment would extend beyond the initial demonstration, they explain, had also been communicated."

However, the Delegation of the Spanish government in the Balearic Islands considers that it is a temporary mobilization and points out that, at this moment, there is no evidence that it is causing disturbances to public order or affecting basic services. In this sense, sources explain that when the gathering at Cort was communicated, the possibility that the mobilization could be prolonged was also pointed out, so that, according to the Delegation, it cannot be interpreted that there was a specific deadline that has already expired.

Thus, the Delegation maintains, in any case, a monitoring of the situation and points out that, if any type of incident related to public order, security or the affectation of services were to occur, the situation would be analyzed and the corresponding measures would be adopted.

It should be noted that in the statement where the Palma City Council demanded the eviction, it also did so with a critical tone towards the Government Delegation, demanding that it "assume its responsibilities" and adopt "immediate" measures to "restore normality," since, as they argue, this square is "a public space through which 50,000 people pass every day." The Government Delegation's response reaffirms that everything is developing in accordance with regulations and they have no reason to intervene.

In the complaint, the City Council has indicated that, at this moment, it is "occupied by tents that prevent municipal public services from carrying out their daily and ordinary cleaning and maintenance tasks and that citizens can use the space normally."

Likewise, they have warned that flags and other elements have been hung on the statue of King James, for which it would have been necessary to climb to the base of the monument for their placement, "with the danger to the physical integrity of the people that this entails and the damage that can be caused to the statue." "The City Council must prevent any situation that may affect safety, health, civility, and coexistence in the city, which is why the Government Delegation is urged to act and the people camped there to leave the place, remove the tents, furniture, and all installed items, and leave the place in perfect condition, so that all citizens can use it normally," they argued.

The City Council has stated that it "respects the right to demonstrate and assemble," but has stressed that its exercise "cannot involve an appropriation of public space that violates current regulations." For all these reasons, Cort has urged the Government Delegation to intervene "without delay" in order to guarantee "the proper use of public space and respect for the rules."

The campers defend the protest and denounce "fascist provocations"

The member of the encampment Joan Segura has assured that the Government Delegation has not communicated any prohibition to them to continue in the square, since the call, as he has explained, was communicated "legally" and was "justified". Segura has stated that the Administration already knows that the protest can turn into a "continuous" and "permanent" mobilization, although he has remarked that the participants do not usually spend the night there, but rather they alternate to rest.

Segura has defended that the encampment complies with noise regulations and that the space is kept "clean" and "organized". He has also denounced alleged "provocations" by "fascist elements" and has stated that, according to the participants, even plainclothes agents have "rummaged inside the tents". Segura has maintained that these actions seek to generate "tension and alarm" among the members of the protest.