Protest committee may appeal to European Union

The committee set up to fight for the closure of the obsolete San Juan de Dios power station and stop construction of a gas pipeline in Coll den Rebassa are studying the possibility of taking their case to the European Union. This was announced yesterday by Soledad Sarabia, a spokesperson for the committee, who also announced a major demo which will be held in the church square of Coll den Rebassa on Friday. The demo will protest against the Balearic government's decision to lay an underground pipeline for pumping natural gas and criticise its failure to close down the San Juan de Dios power station. Sarabia reproached the government for not having carried out any study on the impact on the environment of the pipeline, in the area known as Es Carnatge. She also claimed that the government had not analysed possible risks to the population. She added that their complaint to the European Union will also include a protest about the failure to dismantle the San Juan de Dios power station which she described as “quite obsolete, unsafe and the cause of pollution.” She said that she was confident that this was the last campaign they would have to carry out, adding that she hoped that the government would study a change of site for the gas pipe and finally decided to close the power station. As she was presenting the committee's plans, a group of local residents tried to symbolically close the entrance to San Juan de Dios. They said that they felt they had been let down as the power station should have been closed years ago. The authorities have promised to close the power station, but have been reluctant to set a date.