Another step forward for Statute

THE reform of the Balearic Statute has taken another step forward and will come into force before the elections in 2007.
This step is the agreement to incorporate nine compromise amendments presented by two opposition parties.
The amendments deal with such matters as language and citizens rights (with regard to health, education, public administration, and citizen participation). The spokesperson for one of the parties said, “We have to take advantage of the Statute reform to clarify such things as citizens rights and especially the knowledge of the Catalan language because it forms part of the cultural identity and the linguistic reality of the islands”. Another of the significant amendments which will be introduced is that “each island can have its own flag, its own day, and its own distinctive symbols, to be agreed by the appropriate island Council”.