Today the arranged demonstration was held in the Town square at Vera.
As usual, although it was scheduled to start at 12 noon, it did not actually get under way until 12.45pm. As far as I could gather there was a baptism going on in the church which was behind the area where the speakers were to address the crowd and that caused the delay.
We were addressed by Lenox Napier (Cuidadanos de Europeos) speaking, Angel Medina (vice mayor Mojacar) on the left and the Vera Town Planning Councillor Senor Vasqez in the centre. All 3 explained that we were there to support the Prior's and to send a message to the Junta and Spanish government that the arbitrary demolition of people's homes would not be tolerated. Angel informed us all that the Junta seemed to now be backtracking as it has been stated that there will be no further demolitions of any homes anywhere in Spain until all town hall's plans have been agreed. This is probably to allow the demolition of homes which have been built in totally illegal areas such as ramblas etc. This should also be seen as a very positive statement particularly for those back in the UK who are devoid of information other than through the press etc.
Speaking of the press the National Television of Spain were covering the event as were the national daily papers and from UK, GMTV, who had sent a crew over to cover the event and whose reporter was desperately trying to find people in the most dire situations to interview live on TV tomorrow. I understand they are to interview a couple who live somewhere near Albox and who have no electric and who are at the mercy of their builder for power. They are going to visit them at 6.0am in the morning. So we can expect more publicity tomorrow on that programme.
Mr and Mrs Prior also addressed the meeting and, although Mr Prior was full of a cold, his wife made a short speech thanking people for attending and supporting them. She then made a short impassioned statement to Zapatero asking him to look her in the eye and explain why his political party saw fit to make two Old Age Pensioners homeless.
As you can see from the photographs there was a good attendance (I would guess about 1000 although it could have been many more) but that was nowhere near the number of people I expected to attend given the serious nature of the situation many people find themselves in and that it may be our one chance to send a message to the Junta.
I thank those who made the effort to attend and show solidarity a) with the Priors and b) with all the others who are in worrying situations. I was greatly surprised to discover that the AUAN which is the foremost organisation in fighting this whole issue in Albox was not represented. When I asked the question of some people, from that area, I was told that the people connected with the AUAN had had threats made against them and they were fearful and would not attend because of that!
I believe we all came away feeling a little better about the situation (given the Junta's backtracking) and I hope that Mrs Prior's statement and the feelings of the meeting are conveyed through the media to all those in power. Maybe then we can start to see a more sensible approach from the Junta in agreeing plans.
The pictures show some of the crowd and of the speakers who are from left to right Angel Medina (vice mayor of Mojacar) Senow Vasquez (Vera Town Planning Councillor) and Lenox Napier. None of the mayors from Partido Andalucista were allowed to be present to address the crowd as Spanish law prevented them from doing so.
Today, Saturday 19th, I attended an extraordinary meeting called by a political party,Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojacar soon to be renamed de Levante in an effort to appeal to more people across a wider area.
The purpose of calling the meeting was to present the situation regarding the demolished villa belonging to Mr and Mrs Prior at Vera last week. The meeting was chaired by and addressed by Angel Medina, the vice mayor of Mojacar and Lenox Napier a senior member of that party.
Angel started by saying that this was a truly exceptional case and one that he felt sure would not be repeated. He then outlined the history of this particular case;
In 2002 the Priors had bought a piece of land and applied for a building licence to build their home. At that time the law in Spain gave the Town Hall the right to grant Building Licences. They asked for the Priors to agree a number of things such as having 10,000sqm, have more than 50 meters from any neighbours property and be so far from the road.This they agreed and so the licence was granted.
The Town Hall at that time forwarded to the Junta details of all licences granted. They didn't need to do this but felt it was better to do so. In 2003 the Junta de Andalucia (J.A.) which is PSOE controlled, passed a law regarding building developement but this was not a retrospective law and in any case the constitution of Spain grants a right to local authorities to determine certain aspects of building in their localities. After that law had been passed the J.A. then referred the Prior's house to the courts maintaining that, and this was the only objection, to build that house may lead to increasing urbanisation of the area. The case was referred to the Courts.
Nothing more happened until just prior to the local elections of 2007. At this time the Mayor of Vera, Feliz Lopez, who had been Mayor of Vera for 9 years and was happy with his political party, Partido Andalucista, was approached by the PSOE party (the Party in control of the Junta, regional government) and they asked him to join their party. He refused.
Almost immediately after the electionswhich PA Vwon again, the Junta started putting pressure on the Town hall. At first they asked them to provide sewerage for 8 towns when they already had sufficient sewerage. They then started to badger the judge who held the Prior's case. That judge then ruled in the Junta's favour. Vera accepted that decision at that time as it is common for this to happen and usually such a property would be left off the plans until the next occasion of rewriting the areas for ubanisation when it would be included.
The Junta however, maintained their efforts to get a demolition order. In an effort to instigate a process to resolve this the mayor went to the Diputacion in the offices at Almeria. This office houses the legal department for such disputes. This department should have taken steps to have the case referred or appealed but because there were a number of such cases they ignored it. There was another demolition order issued on the 29th June 2007 and this has not been actioned. There are two more unappealable demolition orders in place for houses in the Vera area and both of those houses are occupied by Spanish families one from Villaricos and the other from Vera.The Junta got their demolition order and without informing the Town Hall at Vera conducted the demolition. If the Diputacion officers had acted the case would have gone to a higher court and it is unlikely the demoltion could have been ordered. The Mayor was not informed officially of that course of action until two days after it had taken place.
It was also mentioned that when the province of Andalacia voted (about 30 years ago) on whether to become one large governed entity the people of Almeria were the only ones who voted against it. It being suggested that that was another reason why the Junta are still trying to exact revenge.
Luis Caparros who is the main man instigating these legal cases is expected to retire from politics before the March elections so that any bad publicity generated by his actions can be referred to by PSOE as the actions of a man who has now left office.
The council of Vera are now suing the Diputacion for failing to act as they should have in the courts. They are also suing the department of public works. The Priors have been given the use of a home with a garden for as long as they need it.
The Partido Andalucista are happy for the Ciudadanos Europeos de Mojacar to become involved and to organise a peaceful demonstration as only a Political Party can do this and, in view of the impending court action, the P.A. couldn't do this.
We were told that the Junta have great plans for this area of Andalucia but they do not quite agree with what the local people want and, the point I found most important was, this issue of local people being responsible for their own areas as enshrined in the constitution. This fact if played in any court would tend to suggest that the courts could only ever find in favour of Town Halls where they had acted within the scope of the law at the time.
A Spanish solicitor present at the meeting who has represented people in Valencia over the land grab laws told the meeting that that it was scandalous that, in his country, a dispute between two political bodies could lead to this scenario. He also said that the biggest problem in Spain was Justice as it took too long to resolve cases and Justice delayed is Justice denied. He said that central government was looking at that issue.The Prior's cas eis also goping before the EU courts. The National Press in Spain which is predominantly controlled by PSOE are now aking up to what is happening in Almeria which is why a demonstration is thought to be a valid way of highlighting the feelings of both ex pat and Spanish people.
The meeting was told that the demonstration would be held on Sunday 27th January outside the Vera Town Hall and it was hoped that the event would be covered by National Television and Press. It is expected that up to 75% of the demonstrators would be Spanish but it was hoped that as many ex pats as possible attended to show the authorities that we are all fed up with the disgusting way the Junta keeps declaring properties illegal when they have all the necessary paperwork correctly issued.
I make no apologies for such a long winded entry as I know many people read this blog particularly for information on the scenario regarding legality
Please support the demonstration on Sunday week.
I have had a totally fruitless week this week in attempting to get Candido to answer a number of questions. I have tried everyday since Tuesday to speak to him and failled. I was told that he would definitely be in the office this morning so I went and spent over 2 hours standing there like an idiot.
For the first four months after the elections I was able to ask questions even if I did not get many answers but now it seems I cannot even ask the questions!!
In view of the fact that I cannot speak to our Mayor I am going to attend a political meeting of another party top be held in Mojacar tomorrow at which I hope to learn more of the actual facts surrounding the Vera demolition.
Regarding the PGOU the only thing I know that has happened this week is that Candido and the President of the Partido Andalucista went to Almeria to hold a press conference at which they informed the Spanish press that they were denouncing the PSOE party for 3 separate illegal builds.
Apparently Luis Casparros (the head of Public Works in Almeria and the man who has instigated most of the issues about illegal builds) has a brother who is building a developement outside the agreed area of Partaloa. The purpose of this is to again highlight the fact that the Junta have one rule for non PSOE councils and one for others. The two other illegal areas are also in PSOE controlled areas. It is felt that this may be the only way to force the Junta to reach an accomodation.
I was also told that the demolition should not have been carried out at all as there was further higher court which should have made the final decision. That pointis not fact just something I was told by a council member.
I waited all this morning in the hope of being able to discuss these issues but failed. candido did not get into the office until lunchtime by which time I was committed to a previous engagement.
Apparently he had been very busy with press conferences regarding the Vera situation.
I have a definite appointment for tomorrow morning as I feel sure he will want to reply to the statemets coming out of the Junta.
I called into the Town Hall yesterday however, Candido had been summoned down to Almeria, so I was unable to see him and will have to try again later today.
There was however a few encouraging signs as Luis Casparro, the minister for Public Works in Almeria, and the man I have been led to believe is one of the most important regarding planning issues has started to make some conciliatory noises and is wanting the public to believe he is working with the Town Halls in getting the plans legitimised. Lets hope so.
I have also heard from Lenox napier that there is to be a demonstration in Vera at 5.0pm on Friday 25th January against the Junta's actions. Unfortunately I will be unable to make that as I am in Seville. I will howver publicise the event when I have full details.
In relation to the demolished villa I have also been told that this house together with about 6 others were told before they were evn built that it was on common land and would be illegal. That is one of the facts I will try and clarify because if it is the case that the house was built on common land then it could never have been legal.
I had hoped to call into the Town Hall to see our Mayor about the Vera demolition and other pressing issues about security but he is unavailable until Wednesday.
I will call in Wednesday and stay until I can see him.
Thought I had better update blog as so many people had contacted me worried about the situation.
