The Audiovisual Cultural Association of Formentera (ACAF), the entity that manages Ràdio Illathe public radio station of the Consell de Formentera, is one of those who have joined the political protest called for this Thursday under the slogan Deim Prou! The proposal has a strong political character. Thus, it is a fierce defense of the legacy of Gent per Formentera, a party that, according to the organizers, would have allowed the Consell de Formentera to be a reference in “citizen initiatives for the protection of the territory, the environment, culture and social issues” without specifying which ones or citing the insularist formation. And also for the acid criticism of the current situation and the president of the Consell, Llorenç Cordoba, although he is not mentioned in the statement. “The people of Formentera is now adrift, in a situation of misgovernment that causes discontent, helplessness and paralysis,” says the communiqué that will be read on Thursday. “Without a government board it is impossible to govern. There is no response to the real problems of the people of Formentera because of all this political inaction,” the organizers sentence. “We demand that a political, transparent, responsible and stable governance is guaranteed. We want to show the social rejection of this way of doing politics that gets on the nerves of the citizens, and impoverishes and breaks down the Consell Insular de Formentera”, they conclude.
Justification
The newly elected president of ACAF, journalist Carmelo Convalia, recently retired from his position as editor of Diario de Ibiza on the island, has justified, in statements to La Voz de Ibiza, the adhesion of the entity that manages the public radio of the island in that “it is not the first time that ACAF speaks out on issues that affect society”. For Convalia, the fact that the Board of Directors makes the decision to join a protest of a markedly political nature while managing a public radio station is not incompatible. “We defend the neutrality of Ràdio Illa whose contents are produced by professionals with total independence”, which, in his opinion, is compatible with the fact that “as an association we take a position on issues of relevance to the island society, when it deems it appropriate”.
Adhesions
In addition to ACAF, have agreed to present themselves as entities adhering to the concentration the Association of Neighbors of Formentera (AVIF), Trampolí mecànic, Association neighbors of Es Caló, Apima San Fernando, SOS Housing Formentera, Bloco Colubraria, Comissió de Festes de Santa Maria, Que Celeste, Associacio artesans i artistes de Formentera, SD Formentera, Un Altre Mon Es Possible, Associació Mercat artesà de Sant Ferran, Associacio Famílies Institut Marc Ferrer, APIMA Colegi Mestre Lluís Andreu and Associació Mercat artesanal de la Mola. In some cases, the decision to join has been taken by the presidents without consulting the board of directors and in others without the participation of the assembly of members.
Reverse gear
Coincidence or not, hours after La Voz de Ibiza contacted Convalia, the organizers of the protest resent Sunday night a mutilated version of the manifesto from which the paragraph referring to the lack of a governing board disappears. “As a result of conversations with different associations it has reached us on more than one occasion that the direct reference to the governing board in the manifesto is not appropriate and that it generates reservations about adhering to the manifesto, since it is considered that some of the members of the Plenary could use it as an argument in favor of their positioning when what we are asking for is political responsibility and joint work of all the councilors and the president to find an immediate solution to the current situation. To avoid this and with the intention of generating greater consensus and more associations adhering to the manifesto, we have drafted a new draft,” the WhatsApp message reads verbatim. It is clear that the objective of eliminating the reference to the Governing Board is to prevent the rally from being used by Cordoba, who has been trying for months to recompose the Governing Board. Sa Unió has tried to articulate a majority to present a motion of censure without success and has finally opted for the route of reforming the Organic Regulations of Formentera to force the president to compulsorily present himself to a question of confidence, a change that requires a favorable report from Consell Consultiu. The path of the motion of censure was also promoted by Gent per Formentera together with PSOE and Compromís, excluding the Popular Party. After weeks of negotiations, Compromís did not support this path and remained loyal to the PP within Sa Unió, which led the insularists to bet on early elections as the only way out of the crisis.
Surrealistic precedent
Mobilizations and protests in Formentera are a box of surprises. Thus, during the last mandate Gent per Formentera joined a concentration on the bases of the contest under suspicion approved during his government and that had at all times with his favorable vote in the government meetings, although it was an area under PSOE management.
Unfair competition
The association that manages the public radio station of the Consell de Formentera defines itself as an entity formed by “residents of Formentera committed to providing our island with a plural, close, quality and public service-oriented media“. ACAF pays the journalists and collaborators who work in Ràdio Illa thanks to the funds it receives from the administrations, mainly from the Consell de Formentera and the Govern, and private advertising, which is unfair competition with other private initiatives.
No government control
ACAF emphasizes on Ràdio Illa’s website that the island government of the Consell does not control Ràdio Illa. It is the Ente Especial de Gestión Audiovisual de Formentera who must ensure the autonomy, objectivity and rigor of Ràdio Illa, as well as the fulfillment of its mission as a public service. The Ente Especial de Gestión Audiovisual de Formentera is a body attached to the Consell de Formentera. It is managed by the Board of Directors and the Programming Board. The Board of Directors may be formed by a maximum of 14 members: a representative of the Consell de Formentera, who will also be its president; a representative of each political party or coalition represented in the Plenary; two representatives of the Consell d’Entitats; a representative of the Programming Board; the directors of the island-owned media, in this case Ràdio Illa.
Information blackout
Despite the grandiloquence of his words and principles, the reality is that the listeners of Ràdio Illa have not been informed of the numerous irregularities of the contest under suspicion unveiled exclusively by La Voz de Ibiza, whose information is systematically ignored.
