SAME-SEX MARRIAGE.
On Saturday 18th June 2005 there will be a march in protest of the law passed earlier this year allowing the legal " marriage " of homosexual couples.
This law is designed to provide equal rights to those members of the community with this particular sexual inclination, a logical and fair move to protect the rights of coupkes who may have spent many years together. In cases such as one becomes ill and is hospitalised, until recently their partner was not allowee access to the invalid by the family because they were not actually related. Also rights pertaining to inheritance and other legal points have been encompassed by this law.
However, there has been vociferous objections by the Catholic Church and certain right-wing and pro-family groups.
The Catholic Church for the first time in nearly 400 years tried to incite civil disobedience by state employees not to marry the couples.
Manuel Fraga, the ageing president of Galicia has blurted out a number of objectionable and un-democratic staements about homosexuals which have tarnished his reputation even further just prior to the regional parliament elections of Galicia, where the PP party are expected to lose their overall majority on Sunday 20th June.
DROUGHT
Spain is suffering its worst drought for 60 years this year and water rationing will almost certainly come into force in some areas of south-west Spain near Huesca. Seven autonomous regions are badly affected by the acute lack of rainfall. Madrid city is on alert for next summer ( 2006 ) if there is no improvement
As a result of negligence during the week of 18th July, an enormous fire broke out burnig over 10,000 hectares of pine woods in Guadalajara as well as claiming 14 lives - mainly young fire-fighters.
The man responsible for lighting a barbaque in a prohibited area faces as much as 20 years in prison. This doesnt bring back lives or help the return of the forest.
GOLF COURSES FOR MENORCA..
Two courses have been approved in principle for Alcaufar and Son Bou to begin construction after this summer. This is the first step toward making the island an " all year around " destination. There is automatic objection from the conservation society, but their arguements are ever weaker as water will be taken from de-salination plants close to the courses and not from the drinking water supplies. The rate of building of high-rise residential blocks of flats is far more alarming than golf courses and the enormous tonnage of fresh water being consumed by them. No objections are voiced in that direction. Why not ?
Traditionally all Menorcan dwellings were built with guttering leading to their own buried tank for water storage. What ever happened to this policy ? We will all be sorry when the supplies start to become scarce.
INJUSTICE FROM 1996. - THE OLD SECOND-HAND STORE ON THE MAIN MAHON-SAN LUIS ROAD.
Another piece of Menorcan news. The large premises on the Mahon - San Luis road next to the Guardia Civil police barracks is once again under the microscope.
The English tenant and constructor of the building was ignimoniously evicted from his premises in 1996 without being offered his rights to purchase the land which he had leased for 15 years. The contents of the building were stolen in the eviction and no inventory was made by the evicting judiciary - a statutary requirement. The tenant was then systematically demonised and made to look like the wrong-doer instead of the victim.
After 9 years of fighting for justice the matter has been brought before the Ombudsman producing a ruling that his tenants rights have been violated. This means that he can reverse the sale of the property if bought by a third party unless he turns down this right to buy the rented land before a public notary.
However, no local lawyer is prepared to risk his carreer to fight the powerful lobby consisting of the landlords family, a court which knows that negligence has been committed and an ex-ploce chief who wants to hold on to his reputation since his retirement.
The tenant has gone through nearly ten years of Hell and only now is the truth slowly begining to emerge.
The saga continues. Until now this valuable property remains empty and semi-derelict with 15,000 cars on average passing the front gates every day.
The Mahon Town Council has refused to grant business permissions for the site unless Mr Cox has received justice and the Consell Insular de Menorca has been fully informed of the current situation.
The Consell has indicated its willingness to attempt, within its own legal limitations, to assist in finding a just settlement to the problem, which is the first time that a government department has indicated any policy on the case. The Consell is of the opinion that the result to date for David Cox has been unjust and disagreeable.
Ironically, the new P.T.I. or the land -use planning department plan recently approved by the Consell has designated the area upon which the shop stands as rustic and can only be used for agriculture or similar. Chickens and pigs !
The only possibility to re-open the premises is if Mr Cox applies for the permission to re-open the same business.
The building cannot even be used as a dwelling.
For the the owners of the plot this is a disaster and an embarrassment.
However, the damage caused to Mr Cox has been terrible - loss of business, his own construction, all the stock and equipment and finally his health has been affected and reputation tarnished.
A Madrid firm of lawyers is studying new courses of action to bring about a just settlement which is not the best news for the owners who are attempting to sell the land with building for the tidy sum of 543,000 Euros.
When compared to finished new construction for business only a quarter of a mile away on the San Luis Industrial Estate, this asking price is absurdly expensive.
A 700m2 premises with parking, electricity, water and permissions for any activity costs in the region of 350,000 Euros for the freehold. No-one in their right mind would consider paying twice that sum for a building with no electricity, water or permissions with legal question marks hanging over it.
The ownwers have now accomplished a loss of 9 years rental and the loss of the possibility of retaining the comercial status of the property all through tremendous greed.
Mr Cox awaits a solution either by negociation or ultimately by legal force, which will then expose all the lack of procedures and the unethical behaviour of a number of professionals and bodies involved in this distasteful affair.
Keep watching this space for further updates.
Recently the history of the case was passed to Mr Michael Cashman M.E.P who has referred it to the proper department of the European Parliament for scrutiny. The documents are now in the European petitions department where Human Rights violations are studied.
We will keep you up-dated on this property situation.
Normally, as long as you are in the right, a property situation will turn out right.
A photograph of the property can be viewed by clicking on this link.
http://menorcabusinessworld.bizhosting.com/catalog.html
Below a letter recently sent to the European Parliament Petitions Department for complaints against abuse of the rights of citizens.
Dear Mr Lowe,
Thankyou for your e-mail.
I have already been in contact with the British Consulate over this matter and they are powerless to intervene in legal matters - so thats that.
The Spanish Ombudsman has told me that, in the case of a judicial error, I must contact the General Judicial Authority ( Poder Judicial ),in Madrid, which I already have done.
My lawyer in Barcelona, now resigned after finding it totally impossible to work in Menorca, was astonished at the rapidity of the reply to my well-laid out and bona fide complaint and also, that, without any investigation, exonnerated the judge in question.
The judge was the only representative of the Judicial Authority in Menorca at the time and it was an obvious case of " picking up the phone to old friends ". So doubtless to say my complaint was filed immediately.
The Ombudsman has suggested legal aid. I can only obtain legal aid locally and no local lawyer will deal with the case properly for fear of reprisals at a later date. Besides that, the local court is not ever going to aportion blame to itself.
The only way to get around the corruption and collusion is to go outside the island to a good mainland lawyer, totally divorced from the island and its influences. This is a hugely expensive thing to do and far beyond my means considering that I have been ruined financially by the whole episode.
These are the reasons that I need some help from authority outside who will take my case on a Human Rights basis.
The perpetrators of the eviction and the landlords know all of this and are quite content to simply wait until I either die or leave the island, unless I win the State Lottery.
My property, that is to say the building in the photo, is on the market together with the land for half a million Euros. If I were to be offered my right to purchase the land I would only have to pay the owner 6,000 Euros. This is why I have been pushed out and crushed under foot. Purely money. This is not right and I need help..
There must be an authority within the massive E.U structure that protects citizens from this sort of abuse otherweise what are we all paying into the kitty for ?
The landlords family are PP senators and politicians and even were the group responsible for entertaining Sr Jose Maria Aznar, then the Spanish president and friend of Tony Blair, on his Menorcan holiday jolly.
That is what I am up against.
What do you suggest ?
Regards and thankyou David Cox.
