Balearic government encourages peaceful demos against war

Staff Reporter THE Balearic government spokesman Antoni Garcías yesterday defended the “constitutional right” to demonstrate against the war in Iraq and called on people to do so “peacefully.” He added that the demos held in the Balearics up to now had been “exemplary” and the only regrettable incident was when students threw stones at the PP (Popular Party) headquarters a few weeks ago. “This should not happen again,” he said. Garcías said that he and other ministers would continue to take part in the demos organised in the Balearics, including the one which will be held in Palma this afternoon. He spoke of the “gravity” of the conflict which has meant “the rupture of international rules with a preventive war.” He added “if this type of conflict prevails from now on, I do not know where we will end up.” Garcias insisted that the demos should be peaceful and that the role of the security forces is to defend this right and to prevent violent incidents. Commenting on demos in the Balearics, he insisted that those people who had shown a violent attitude “were very few.” He went on to say that he found it “curious” that yesterday, at the official naming of former leader Jaume Matas as candidate, “the eggs were thrown by members of the PP, according to what I have read in the Press.” But, he went on to say, “bombs cause more damage than eggs, and while we throw eggs at each other there will be no dead or injured; therefore, let us put things into perspective.” He also criticised Matas for comparing the “small incidents” which occured in demos in other communities to the disturbances in the Basque Country. People are showing “very civic” behaviour, Garcias said, and called on the PP not to try to “provoke social division,” and not to distract attention from the chief question, which is the war in Iraq and the opposition of the vast majority of citizens of the Balearics and the whole of Spain.