Mallorca: Palma housing camp cleared amid crime claim

Mallorca: the clearing of a housing protest camp in Palma’s Plaza de España sparks a row over whether the city broke the law. The camp had stood for several weeks. On 10 November, Balearic government minister Antònia Maria Estarellas defended Palma City Council after socialist politician Mercedes Garrido accused it of committing a crime.

Garrido says the council had no authority to clear the camp and acted unlawfully when it sent local police officers and workers from municipal company Emaya. Estarellas disputes that account. She says the council did not remove people or prevent a demonstration, but enforced local rules because the camp caused problems for passers-by and neighbours, as well as poor sanitary conditions.

Estarellas says the Balearic government supports the rights to protest, housing and free speech. But occupying a public space indefinitely is not legitimate, she argues. She also accuses Spain’s government of leaving councils to deal with problems alone, while insisting Palma acted within its powers.

Asked separately about Pere Joan Pons, the new Spanish government delegate in the Balearic Islands, Estarellas called for dialogue and transparency. She urged him not to look away from the task of managing migrants’ arrivals by boat on the islands’ coasts.

Topics: Protests · Politics · Palma

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com