Palma to march over prostitutes

The Palma Federation of Residents Associations yesterday threatened to take to the streets in protest over the escalating prostitution problem in the heart of the city unless the city council resolves the issue within the next month. Residents and shopkeepers are demanding the right to live in peace and quiet and yesterday the Mayor of Palma was given an end of February deadline to clean up his act. The Federation has proposed that an entertainment industrial estate be set up outside Palma, similar to the one on the outskirts of Amsterdam, including bars, nightclubs and “adult” bars where prostitutes can operate under strict health controls and under the control of the Social Security administration. Residents believe that moving the prostitutes on to another neighbourhood will not solve the problem and the Federation warned yesterday that if the problem is not resolved, clashes between the local population and prostitutes, similar to those which have blown up on the mainland, are inevitable.