‘Like being accused of Hiroshima bomb’

October 30, 2009  •  Andalucia, Lead, Malaga  •  4 Comments

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THE Mayor of Ronda has claimed that accusations over the passing of a controversial golf project are “like accusing him of dropping the Hiroshima bomb”.

The underfire mayor Antonio Marin Lara – who has been in court over allegations that he illegally passed the Los Merinos scheme – also launched an astonishing attack on environment bosses.

He called former environment leader Ignacio Trillo “incompetent”, “arrogant” and a “political corpse”, after his actions were described as a “crime against nature”.

In an open letter to the press, Trillo, who retired last year, criticised the mayor for not paying any attention to the environmental reports released by the Junta.

He confirmed that the studies showed clearly that the project would contravene laws protecting water and the environment.

After a heated court appearance in Ronda, Antonio Marin Lara also rounded on the IU United Left party that brought the prosecution, as well as green activists accusing them of “terrorism”.

He was defending his decision to approve the double golf course project that includes 800 houses and three luxury hotels built on UNESCO-protected virgin land.

The mayor, who is already being investigated over other planning crimes, spent two hours in court arguing that there was no “legal fraud” over his actions.

But he admitted that he knew the scheme had been turned down for a number of reasons – in particular the rejection over the issue of water.

But he said his town hall would overcome the demand using water from the town’s own sewage works, a proposal that has never been approved.

He added that the scheme was first included in the PGOU town plan of Ronda in 1993, which was before he was even the mayor.

He also denied that the project was going to alter more than the 25 per cent of the area, as claimed by the IU party.

He insisted that, in fact, the multi-million euro scheme would only alter four per cent of the actual area of the site.

Last issue the Olive Press reported how a research project by three professors insisted that seven towns – including Ronda itself – would have their water supply seriously affected by the scheme.

“It will destroy the rich natural habitat,” claimed their report.

The mayor is set to launch his own lawsuit against the IU party, accusing it of being a “species of terrorism”.

His demands to get the case thrown out of court were rejected.

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