FREEDOM OF SPEECH UNDER
THREAT IN PARCENT!!

















'Veins de Parcent' are used to our posters being
torn down and leaflets removed from doors and
torn up but our right to freedom of speech
was threatened further this weekend.
On saturday when walkers returned from
the mountain bringing placards through
the Medieval Fair being held in the village
we were threatened with the 'Guardia
Civil'. Our members remained as peaceful
and calm as always and we spent the afternoon
selling plants and t shirts and collecting
signatures for our petition to theEuropean
Parliament and complaints to the Ombudsman.

On sunday we again manned our stall, set up
in front of a private house as the Town Hall
had refused our application for an official
stall, despite two other village associations
being allowed space. We continued to sell
our plants but attracted much more attention
for our petitions as we had displayed
placards showing shocking photomontages
of an impression of how the mountain will
look before and after the planned building.

At lunchtime the village police woman came
to ask us to stop collecting signatures, on
the order of the Mayoress. We asked to see
a written order. The police woman later
returned to demand that we stop and for
a representative of 'Veins de Parcent' to
sign as responsible for the act. Within minutes
up to a 100 people came to the stall and
60 of us signed as responsible for the collection
of signatures. The act of a PP Mayoress
preventing the collection of signatures when
the PP is doing exactly the same all over Spain
(against the Catalan statutes) was an example
of how out of step our local governing party
really is.

This is just the latest attempt by our Town
Hall to curtail our freedom of expression.
Today they tried again, by holding a council
meeting at 8am, unheard of in the village.
Fortunately our supporters are early risers
and will not be thwarted by such risible
attempts to stop us voicing our concerns.
The council meeting was full of members
of 'Veins de Parcent' who heard a motion
to hold a referendum on the building plans
turned down by the ruling PP majority.