Pere Sansó, president of the Sa Casa Blanca residents association, will attend this Thursday's council meeting in Palma in order to present complaints and concerns regarding the Spanish Air Force's weapons' storage facility at the Son Sant Joan air base.
Sansó says that residents feel that they have been "ignored". President Prohens sent a letter to Prime Minister Sánchez expressing her surprise at the storage project, "but she didn't say or imply she disliked the idea, which we interpret as a lack of empathy towards us and a lack of respect".
The association will be asking the town hall "to speak out against this bunker ... with capacity for 75 tonnes of explosive material". "Not for ideological reasons, but because there are residents of the municipality who live close by. We want them to defend us. The only politician who has done anything is the member of Congress, Vicenç Vidal of Sumar-Més. What are our political representatives from the Partido Popular and PSOE doing in Madrid? Among them, a former mayor of Palma, Señor José Hila."
The residents, he adds, need to feel they are being listened to and understood, given the sense of insecurity that has been generated. "We have calculated that it's 1.03 kilometres from the depot to the school and square; the nearest houses are about 300 metres away. Zero risk doesn't exist. There have been critical facilities like nuclear power plants that have failed, and this bomb storage facility will be barely a kilometre away from the school and Sa Casa Blanca square. Don't we have the right to be concerned? I think we do, and we're going to convey this to the town hall and whoever else is responsible."
In the event of a military conflict, "this makes us a target". Residents fear that a possible increase in the importance of the Son Sant Joan air base will lead to its expansion, affecting nearby land through expropriations. He also draws attention to fighter jets in the area, which disrupt the already fragile peace and quiet of the residents. "It's not just a minor inconvenience; it's so loud it hurts your ears, the animals go crazy."
"The project has been done in secret. Nobody, not even the local institutions, knew anything about it. We've spoken with all the political parties, and nobody knew anything; we really don't understand it."