Protests continue against the demolition of the House of the Elders in Getxo
- On 13 February began the demolition works of the former Major Valleys and Gaztetxe building in the Itzulbaltzeta district (Getxo). The next day the citizens approached to protest the demolition, and since then the protests have not ceased. On Tuesday, half the building collapsed, the Protestants of the Ertzaintza were re-attacked and arrested. The anti-dumping platform has appealed to the Spanish Supreme Court, but the City of Getxo and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia have made progress with the derrib.
On Monday the dismantling of No. 12 of Lope de Vega de Getxo Street began, and although part of the building has already become debris, the opposing neighbors have not left. On Tuesday morning, a number of people have come back to protest and the Ertzaintza has rebelled again: Hirukak, who is reporting the facts in the first person, has reported that "aggressively" have been identifying the people, and among those identified a media journalist, while a video recorded by Naiz shows a police coup pushing an older person and giving away a shot. One of the Protestants is arrested and, despite holding a second, is identified and released. They inform you that they will send you the fine, according to information provided by Hiruka.
On 13 February began the demolition works, coinciding with the internal eviction of the building. After warning that the demolition procedure was underway, several neighbours approached to protest Tuesday morning's demolition and more than ten wounded and detained at the end of the day. Since then, the protests have not stopped, and the police is the fourth day when the citizens have been attacked. The residents express their intention to continue protesting until the building’s total demolition.
Despite the appeal, from the derrib
On February 7, the City of Getxo passed to the Provincial Council of Bizkaia the competition of the Lope de Vega street building, with the intention of building the Intergenerational Center in the place of the old building of Valles Mayor and Gaztetxe. The members of the Casa de Valles Mayor have been fighting for the maintenance of the building for years, and in this struggle they have also taken the judicial route. It was in August that the Bizkaia Court ordered the cessation of the demolition works, but in January that order was passed by the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country. Having exhausted the Basque judicial route, the platform for maintaining the building has now been addressed to the Spanish Supreme Court.
The President of the Casa de Vegas Mayor, Paco Rama, told Hiruka that both the City of Getxo and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia are aware of this and have launched the demolition. "We didn't expect it to be so fast, we expected more respect for the law," he said.
