AUAN Press release
AUAN believes that the upset and dismay of broad sections of society in Almeria is evident as a result of the recent demolition of two houses purchased in good faith in Cantoria. According to AUAN, these houses were demolished without prior compensation for the home owners, infringing their Human Rights. In response AUAN is now making a public appeal to Town Halls to invoke the Statutes of the Autonomy of Andalucía and present a popular legislative initiative calling for changes in the law.
According to Maura Hillen, President of AUAN, “The matter is urgent and serious. Demolitions have a negative impact on the image of Spain with respect to foreign investors. We do not want to waste another five years without solving the problem. Therefore, I want to clearly state: The Decree does not work. It is very nice a vehicle but nobody knows how to drive it, it has no fuel and it doesn’t take you anywhere.” She added “We need to end the suffering of the hundreds of thousands of those affected once and for all. This issue is negatively affecting the social and economic welfare of the province, and we do not understand why those who can solve the problem do not do so. Therefore, we now publically ask that a popular citizen’s initiative is presented by every Town Hall that wants this problem to be solved. What we need is political will during these most critical times in the best interests of the province.”
Mrs Hillen explained “Article 111 of the Statutes of Andalucía, allow 25 Town Halls (or only 10 when they represent at least 40,000 registered voters) to vote in plenum to present proposals for legislative change to the Parliament of Andalucía”. Asked about the contents of the proposed changes to the law she said “Legal solutions exist and we have proposed them on a number of occasions. Obviously the Planning Laws of Andalucía must be changed. However, as a first step we ask for a joint meeting of the Mancomunidad of Town Councils of the Almanzora Valley, which as happens consists of 26 councils, to discuss the problem with those affected and other social agents. The idea is to have the maximum possible consensus for this legal initiative”
She finished by saying “I sincerely hope that our town councils will rise to the occasion. I also hope that other councils will join this initiative, firstly in other parts of Almeria where there are 102 town councils and eventually in all of Andalucía where there are 771 town councils. In this way we won’t be talking about demolitions in another 5 years.
