Fuengirola Local Police, firefighters protest in Los Boliches [Video]

Members of the local police force and firefighters were out in force in front of the church in Los Boliches, Fuengirola on Tuesday evening protesting against their treatment by the local municipality.

They have received no increase in salary for eight years, despite the fact that Fuengirola Despierta exposed the overly large salaries of the mayoress and other councillors back in 2011. In fact, at some stage their salaries were even cut.

Now working under a new PP mayoress, Ana Mula, they have had enough and are saying that she has not fulfilled agreements made relating to their salaries and other benefits.

Spanish News in English was there when they protested on two occasions back in February 2013 and was fortunate enough to be there again this evening.  As at 8:14 pm this evening, the drumming, whistling and sirens continue.

 

Greenpeace boat rammed by Spanish Navy, four injured (Video)

Greenpeace España launched a protest Saturday against oil exploration off the Canary Islands of Spain. A Spanish navy boat rammed their dinghy, injuring four activists, one badly.

The islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote are both at stake, as Repsol, a Spanish oil company, has been given permission to drill near the islands, a move which puts both the ecology of the area and also the much-needed tourist economy in severe danger.

The people of the Canary Islands have been protesting on an ongoing basis, fighting against the oil drilling off their shores which threatens their livelihood and the ecology of the region. Greenpeace España has joined in their cause.  However, all the various warnings on the safety and legal issues involved have so far been completely ignored by the Spanish Government. It is well known worldwide that the greed of governments and Big Oil generally wins the day, but Greenpeace still continues to do their best to prevent this.

The Greenpeace ship, Arctic Sunrise, occupied the drill site off the Canary Islands prior to the arrival of the drilling vessel.  And it stayed there, despite strong pressure from the authorities.  The video below shows the captain of the Arctic Sunrise, telling the Spanish authorities that they were staying put, and telling the navy ships to stay away at a distance of at least one mile:



During Saturday's protest, a Spanish Navy vessel rammed into the Greenpeace dinghy, injuring four of the activists on board, one of them seriously.  Video was captured of the attack and a woman screaming can be heard clearly, as she fell from the dinghy and was hit by its propellers, breaking her leg.  See the video below:

However, despite this, the Spanish navy disputes the story saying it dispatched two boats from one of the navy ships in the area, purely to prevent the Greenpeace activists from boarding the oil drill ship and that the woman accidentally fell from the boat.  The navy apparently rushed the woman to hospital in a helicopter.

Speaking by radio-telephone from Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise in the area, Capt. Joel Stewart identified the woman as a 23-year-old Italian activist and said the injuries to the three other activists fortunately were only minor.

Referendum blocked:

Last month the Canary Islands regional government was to hold a referendum on the oil exploration in waters off the islands, situated off northwestern Africa.  However, the Constitutional Court, acting at the behest of the Spanish government, blocked the proposal.  It gave Repsol YPF S.A., the Spanish energy company, permission to begin drilling with a large drilling ship and platform.  This oil exploration is currently ongoing.

View of Lanzarote CC by-SA Luc Viatour 

 

Arctic Sunrise back in action:
 
Saturday's protest was the first by the Arctic Sunrise since that ship was boarded in international waters and held for more than 300 days by Russian authorities.  This was during a protest against Gazprom's oil drilling in the Arctic.  Once the ship was released, Greenpeace took it to Amsterdam for repairs and the ship is now fully back at work.

However, it was not only the ship that was held during the incident in Russia and 28 crew members and two journalists on board the Arctic Sunrise were also held for over three months in detention centers in Russia.  Despite the ordeal, two of those crew members were involved in Saturday's protest to protect the Canary Islands - Ana Paula, deckhand, from Brazil, and Alexander, bosun, from Canada.

Sources:

Greenpeace International (English language)
Greenpeace España (Spanish language)

NBC News

Protest against renovation of Burgos bullring ends in violent clash with police

Protesters in the town of Burgos in northern Spain were out on the streets Saturday, protesting against the renovation of the "Plaza de Toros," or bullring in the city.  

They feel that in times of economic crisis, and with severe austerity measures imposed by the government, money should be put to a better use.

The protests led to violence, as police beat protesters with batons, as the protesters themselves smashed bank and shop windows and ATMs.

Protest in Fuengirola denounces 'genocide' in Ukraine and Palestine (Video)

More than one hundred people publicly denounced the situation in both Palestine and Ukraine in a demonstration Tuesday on the beachfront of Fuengirola, Spain. The writer was on the scene, camera in hand.

The event was organized by La Agenda Roja, an anti-fascist group that stands for the social, political and labor movements in Málaga, Spain, and saw many nationalities joining together to protest, including Spaniards, Palestinians, Belgians, South Africans, Syrians, Moroccans and Swiss.

In their handout, the group speaks of “the creation of the fictional state of Israel,” and how thousands of victims have been killed in the “Zionist genocide” since then. They mention how the offensive has intensified during July, leaving more than 400 Palestinians (including women and children) dead and over 1,500 wounded in the walled enclave, with little medical equipment left and without electricity in the hospitals.

The handout mentions that unlike Palestine, the struggle in Ukraine is characterized by internal conflict. It talks of how in late 2013, the extreme right came into power and immediately began to outlaw leftist parties and began persecuting ethnic minorities. Since then thousands have been injured or killed in what has become an ongoing civil war.

Protesters at the event denounced both situations as nothing but maneuvers of international capitalism by NATO, the US and the EU, saying that as they did in the twentieth century, imperialism continues to safeguard its interests.

Chants were heard including "This is not war, it is genocide," and "arise the struggle of the people of Palestine," among others.

One protester gave an impassioned plea on video (which can be seen below), the transcript of which is as follows:

“The media is at fault with their fake news, calling the Palestinians terrorists, but we're not stupid, thanks God and thanks for the social media. So people can see what's going on now and the truth about what Israel is doing to kids, to women and to Palestinian people that have no guns, they have nothing, they are defenseless.

"People who hear this on the Internet are going to have some love inside of their hearts and humanity. Because we are here for humanity, we are not here for religion. This is very important. We are here screaming out and shouting to the world that they have to stop this genocide and this massacre because it’s not fair. Absolutely not fair. And I hope people will see that.”

Other Palestine news in Europe:

• Impassioned plea to world leaders from Norwegian doctor working in Gaza
• Europe airs concern on Gaza onslaught, aid offered by Denmark 
• What is the Israeli/Palestinian situation actually all about?

Massive 'March for Dignity' converges on Madrid, Spain (Video)

You probably won't see anything about this in the mainstream media or on Google News. In fact, you will most probably never, ever, see Spain trending in the U.S. or U.K. version of Google News.

If you search on the keywords "Madrid March 2014," you will get a weather forecast or details of the latest football match between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Despite this, and for the last several days, tens of thousands of Spaniards have been heading from all over the country to the capital city, Madrid.... read more and watch video.

Police in Valencia use "go-go" dancers to protest lack of equipment

Police in the city of Valencia are fed up with a shortage of both vehicles and equipment.  They say their pistols are 30 years old, bullet-proof vests are out of date and also safety equipment for motorbike police is seriously lacking.  There is also a lack of new uniforms.

They decided to bring attention to their bad working conditions by launching a protest.  200 Local Police officers protested outside the town hall in Valencia together with several "go-go" dancers wearing underwear and union t-shirts.  According to El Mundo, one officer even turned up at the protest in a pair of bright blue long johns.

While equipment has been lacking for some time, things came to a crux after an accident, in which four officers received light injuries when the 17-year-old van they were using suffered brake problems.  Valencia's town hall, however, blamed the driver of the van for the accident and 20 Minutos reported they said the local police force had "everything it needs to carry out its duty."

Spanish women defend abortion & labor rights on International Women's Day

Saturday was International Women's Day and to celebrate, thousands were out in the streets of Spanish cities, including Madrid and Barcelona.  

They were protesting for both women's equality at work and also against the governments new draft anti-abortion legislation.

This year International Women's Day was more important than ever in the crisis-ravaged country.  Despite the fact that Spain "exited recession" in 2013 and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's claims that things are getting better economically, the 26 percent unemployment rate is still being maintained.

On top of this, women are claiming that the right wing government wants them to stay at home with the children - in fact, you could use the old term "barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen" as far as they are concerned.

According to one trade union spokesman yesterday, "Female unemployment has increased to a scandalous degree, with 200,000 women losing their jobs in the past year.''

Angela Barrios Manjon, 66, was part of the protest yesterday and she told AFP, "The labor reform and the abortion law are against women," she added. "The right wing wants women to stay at home and look after the children."

However the women were not only protesting women's unemployment, but also the Spanish government's new draft legislation to stop abortion in the country.

The existing law, which was introduced in 2010, allowed women to opt freely for abortion up to 14 weeks into the pregnancy. With the planned changes, however, abortion will only be allowed in cases of rape or a threat to the mother's health. The new draft law is expected to pass in parliament, where the Partido Popular currently hold the majority.

There have been delays in passing the legislation after dissent was heard from several high-profile party people. However, recently a proposal submitted by the opposition PSOE party to "immediately withdraw" the bill was rejected by 183 votes to 151. Reportedly, six lawmakers abstained from voting.

People against the abortion ban state it is likely to force women to seek back street operations, thus putting their lives at risk.

Several thousand protesters were seen marching through the center of Barcelona and Madrid, among other Spanish cities, banging drums and waving flags.  Banners in the crowd read,"No legislation in our wombs, no mistreatment of our bodies, no cutting of our rights" along with similar messages.

One Barcelona protester, Lara Rubio, 23, told AFP, "It is the first time I have come, but this year with the abortion reform it was more important than ever." 

While protesters were out in the streets, the government announced on Friday that it had approved a €3 billion ($4 billion) "strategic equal opportunities plan" to boost women's labor rights and protect them from violence.

Deputy leader of the ruling Partido Popular, Maria Dolores de Cospedal said at a conference on Saturday: "A woman can feel proud to know that her government is working for real equality for women."

"But a great deal remains to be achieved," she added, referring to access to equal salaries to men and to jobs.

However, the demonstrators and also the opposition Socialist party disagree with this magnanimous statement, with Elena Valenciano, the PSOE deputy leader, stating on television, "The Spanish right wing has never lifted a finger for women."

"Despite the trumpeting of the economic recovery, the job market for women in Spain is an ever-harsher reality."

An excellent photo gallery is available of the protests on 20minutos.

Protest in Madrid - March 8, 2014:

World Day for Farmed Animals in Spain: 'A plate of human flesh'

Under the slogan "How much cruelty can you swallow?", a live "performance" took place on Wednesday at the Mercat del Born in Barcelona, Spain, to make the public aware of all the suffering behind their food. 

A giant plate of human activists was posed in front of the market in honor of the World Day for Farmed Animals (WDFA) by activists from the international organization, Animanaturis (website in Spanish).

 

The director of Animanaturalis in Spain, Aïda Gascón, told the Spanish media that actions like this "invite society to reflect on where the food that is on their plates comes from."

 

The performance was held in Barcelona on Wednesday to make sure that people "are aware of all the suffering and all the cruelty that is behind a plate of steak."

 

The action on October 2nd was part of the celebration of the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, a vegetarian for ethical reasons. It is a day dedicated to remembering the suffering of billions of animals that are raised, transported and slaughtered for human consumption.

 

50 billion land animals are killed annually in the world to make food.

 

Since 1983, the NGO FARM (Farmed Animals Reform Movement) has established this day as a day to expose the plight of animals in factory farms and slaughterhouses. In several countries in the world, vigils, offers of information, events, rallies and vegetarian food tastings are held to encourage people to think about the unnecessary suffering of these billions of animals.

 

Besides factory farming and slaughterhouse abuses, the organization, AnimaNaturalis, is dedicated to denouncing animal rights abuses in all forms, including bullfighting, the sale of fur, and the use of circus animals, dolphins etc. for entertainment.

To the source, with video: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/359534

Spanish families trapped in Morocco by adoption problems

Due to the change of government in the north African country, fifty Spanish families who adopted Moroccan babies a year and a half ago are not being allowed to take the children home with them to Spain.

 

Spanish families protest in Rabat

It used to be a fairly straightforward adoption procedure, but Abdelilah Benkirane's moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party, which has been in power since late 2011, has introduced a new law which prevents non-residents from adopting Moroccan children.

Catalan daily, La Vanguardia, interviewed some of the anxious mothers.

Maribel, a Basque woman, told the newspaper: "They don’t want to sign my son’s leaving permit."

"We're not going to abandon our children, as desperate as we may be," Maribel adds.

Monica Díaz, who is sharing an apartment with Maribel, was first introduced to her adopted son Abdallatif in an orphanage in Rabat when he was not even a month old.

Two years later, with the new adoption laws, she has not been able to take her baby home with her to Spain.

"They've asked us to be patient, but it’s been nearly 22 months of suffering," she told the newspaper.

Monica is self-employed, and used to regularly visit Abdallatif in the early stages of the adoption. However, with the problems being experienced, she has now had to move to Rabat to ensure her son is not taken away from her.

Along with 50 other Spanish families, Monica is waiting for a signature on her son’s passport which will allow him to leave Morocco.

20 of these families are now living in Rabat and find themselves in the same “desperate situation.”

They are in regular contact with the Spanish Embassy in Morocco to make sure that this new law is not applied retroactively.

Adoptions in Morocco take the form of Kafala, by which the adoptive parent is seen more as a guardian and children keep their Muslim names to guarantee they don't forget their roots or religion. In most cases Kafala is restricted to Muslims or converts to Islam.

Chinese residents call for justice in Fuengirola robbery & killing

Four youths were arrested on Saturday in connection with a robbery at a Chinese bazaar in Fuengirola, in which the owner was very seriously injured and died on Sunday. On Wednesday, Chinese residents protested at the town hall for justice.

Protests in the plaza in front of the town hall in Fuengirola are becoming a regular thing these days, but Wednesday's event is probably the most tragic of them all.

The background to the story is that on Saturday, four youths were arrested, after they robbed a Chinese bazaar in Fuengirola, beating the owner and seriously injuring him.

As his injuries were so severe, the owner was airlifted to a hospital in Málaga, and he regrettably passed away on Sunday.

Read more, see photos and video: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/354076

Spanish scientists protest against spending cuts countrywide

Friday saw hundreds of Spanish scientists along with their supporters, marching through the streets of Madrid, as well as 18 other cities including Barcelona and Seville.

The march on Friday was a nationwide protest against government cuts to research and development which scientists say are forcing them to leave the country.

Some wearing their white lab coats, the protesters blew whistles and chanted as they headed to the Economy Ministry.

Once there, they delivered a petition signed by more than 40,000 people, demanding that the government reinstate and raise spending on science.

Public spending on research and development has been cut by 40% since 2009 according to the petition, which calls on the government to boost spending on science "to avoid the massive exodus of our human capital".

Part of the petition reads:

"The government cutbacks are causing the Spanish science and technology sector to suffocate." "We are on the brink of the collapse of what we believe to be one of the essential ingredients of the recipe that will allow us to get out of the economic crisis."

The protest marches were organized by "Open Letter for Science," a platform grouping the main scientific bodies in Spain including unions, universities and societies that specialize in science.

One of the protesters was Irene Amigo, a 25-year-old biotechnologist. She told the media, "The cuts have been brutal. Many labs can't carry out research because they don't have the means."

Amigo was seen to be wearing a hat made from styrofoam and cardboard, which depicted a human brain as a symbol of the "brain drain" Spain is facing. She said that she plans to seek work outside of Spain once her internship at a public research center ends early in 2014.

It was not only scientists protesting, as many academics also joined the march, due to the effect of the cutbacks on disciplines across universities. A 32-year-old Spanish linguist, Xose Alvarez, has been working in Portugal since 2009 because he could not find a job in Spain.

He attended the march in Madrid with a sign on his back that read: "Researcher for rent. Good price". 

Alvarez said, "I would like to work in Spain, it is my homeland, it is the country that invested in my education. Spain could benefit from my work, from my training. It was Spanish taxpayers who paid for my education."

One protester said: "Our situation? Well, as the song goes, we have three solutions. By land, by sea or by plane. Currently there is no future for us in Spain and its not because we lack the will."

Another said: "We are just asking for funding in the research field and for the deadlines of the projects already approved to be met."

"Today these projects are paralyzed. The whole field of science if paralyzed in Spain."

However, despite the brain drain, which must have a serious effect on the country as a whole, Spain is struggling to trim bulging annual deficits, which are rapidly pushing up the overall public debt.

Mass demonstrations countrywide have been ongoing, as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy vows to find €150 billion ($195 billion) in savings between 2012 and 2014 through a painful austerity program. The big question is, what will be left should these savings finally be found? 

To the source: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/352313