The Left Bloc has piled into the Ria Formosa demolitions fracas, insisting that the government halts is current process to demolish 22 further properties, many of which are owned by shellfishermen and fishermen, so qualify for exemption under the Environment Minister's own edict. The Left Block will present a resolution in parliament to prevent Polis Litoral Ria Formosa, a company owned by the Ministry of the Environment, taking administrative possession of properties on the island of Culatra at properties in the villages of Farol and Hangars.
Algarve Left Bloc MP, João Vasconcelos said "It is not permissible for those in more or less similar situations to be treated differently,” at the end of another visit to Culatra, Hangares and Farol to talk to locals.
Vasconcelos joins the Communist Party whose MPs also came out in support of the islanders last week,
Both parties want to see a stop to the State’s forced possession of island properties on Culatra due to take place on February 27th, - a necessary legal step before demolition.
"We will present a draft resolution in parliament and make every effort to halt the possessions and demolitions, even though the Government shows some resistance in complying with resolutions already adopted in the Assembly of the Republic," said Vasconcelos.
Vasconcelos is correct, the Government does continue to ignore the approval of Assembly Resolution 241/2016, which recommended the recognition of the villages in the Ria Formosa islands - also order nº 3841/2017 of May 8th last year, which provides for changes to the Vilamoura - Vila Real de Santo António Coastal Programme, designed to "frame the future of the housing areas of the Ria Formosa."
"By ignoring the resolution, the Government is showing arrogance, posing a serious and complicated situation for the populations of those villages who mostly are fishermen, nurserymen and shellfishermen," said Vasconcelos, adding that something doesn’t smell right.
"We want the government immediately to stop these administrative takeovers and demolitions and to implement an effective plan to renature the barrier islands in conjunction with associations and entities that represent the residents," said Vasconcelos, stating what everyone thought was the case until the latest possession notices hit 22 doormats last month.
On January 13th, the Farol and Hangares property owners’ association expressed their "surprise" that Polis Litoral Ria Formosa had sent out 22 possession orders when the Environment Minister earlier had called a halt to all this nonsense and nastiness while a plan was worked out with the locals.
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