Local Spanish media portal teleprensa.es (stories (c) 2009 Diputacion de Almería and associated political parties, depending on who’s paying for the ads this week) wrote a rather hurtful article about the British living in illegal homes in Albox. AUAN, the Albox organisation working to legalise illegal homes in the Almanzora valley took issue with this story. The teleprensa story was in responde to AUAN subtitling recent (rather poor overall) ITV series Paradise Lost which followed disillusioned Brits in Spain (both truely conned and just twits – aka the Benidorm couple) and sending it to local politicians.
The teleprensa story accused Brits of tax evasion, colonisation and “wanting free health care”. Although the article did recognise that Spain’s slow justice system was annoying people.
Full story here -> AUAN complains about “defamatory nonsense” written by teleprensa
AUAN attacked teleprensa with guns a’blazing, accusing them of “inflammatory nonsense” and rotten journalism. They demanded to know who wrote the story, who authorised its publication and souces.
Teleprensa have now issued another long story (here) counterattacking, in which they claim that EU MEPS Marcin Libicki and Michael Cashman, who have written a nasty report condemming Spain’s attitude towards the problem, recognises that the Brits were out of do the poor, hardworking Junta out of hard earned tax cash.
“La Comunidad Británica no ha aceptado de buen grado que se ponga en duda su papel de víctimas como única versión de lo ocurrido en El Almanzora, pero los constantes ataques en medios de comunicación de habla inglesa también han colmado la paciencia de los nativos de la zona, que no entienden por qué las actividades de unos pocos empiezan a poner en peligro su futuro como zona de expansión reglada y con todas las garantías.”
says teleprensa.
(The Brits have not gracefully accepted that their version of events, in which they are victims, be challenged, but the constant attacks in English language media has snapped the patience of locals in the area, who do not understand why the acts of a few must put their future growth, regulated and with all guarantees, of the area at risk”
I predict blood, in the streets of Albox, possibly before Monday, and am watching with interest.