Students stage seasonal demo in centre of Palma

Staff Reporter A GROUP of university students masterminded a seasonal demo in which Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar, Balearic leader Jaume Matas and president of the Council of Majorca Maria Antonia Munar were depicted as the Three Kings (of Spain, Majorca and Costitx), giving the people of Majorca cement as a gift. The demo was attended by nearly 200 people, according to the police, and 700 according to the organisers. The 30-strong group of students are all Majorcan, but attend Barcelona University, and they had been planning their demo for more than a month. Spokeswoman Lara Fluxá explained that as they study in Barcelona, they are unable to attend all the demos organised by the groups opposed to the second ring road, the expansion of the airport, the closure of the local radio station Som Radio, etc, and so they decided to do something of their own. The “Kings” and their entourages arrived at Palma railway station from Manacor, Sineu and Inca. From there, they marched to the Plaza España, San Miguel, Plaza Mayor, Jaime II, Cort, Plaza del Rosari, Constitución and the Borne. On the way, they were joined by other organisations and student groups. The leaders of the parade carried a banner reading “Let's defend Majorca: its territory, language, culture and people.” Other banners made ironical comments on other situations. One of the leaders used a megaphone to attract attention: “Come and welcome the Kings who are bringing cement for you. Your children's future” and the marchers handed out little cellophane bags of cement to astonished shoppers. The group halted outside city hall where whistles were blown, and bags of cement were given to the municipal police on guard duty, although the “Kings” were not allowed to enter the building. They also stopped at the central government representative's office, where they delivered more cement. In the Borne, the “Three Kings” read a manifesto in which they expressed their concern at the 33 percent cut in the budget of the language policy department, the closing of the radio station Som Radio, the 72 hectares of land which will be lost with the construction of the second ring road of Palma, the promotion of private transport instead of public transport and the pollution this policy will produce and the expansion of the airport to handle an additional 13 million tourists.