El diario on line, islandconnecctions.eu, Diario de noticias de Canarias y el mayor periódico en idioma Inglés de las islas en línea, ha publicado en una de sus ediciones y con la firma de una de sus colaboradoras, Barbara Belt, un extenso artículo en el que hacen referencia a una de nuestras noticias publicadas y en la que un vecino de San Sebastían de la Gomera, denunciaba publicamente el doble rasero que existe en la Isla para cumplir con la Ley.

Por su interés y por las palabras que su autora dedica a este medio, creemos oportuno reproducirlo tal cual se puede leer en este enlace a la web del artículo

     ONE LAW FOR EVERYONE?

News of a small, but important, scandal is breaking in San Sebastián, the capital of La Gomera.
A “neighbour” of the town, fed up with what he sees as unacceptable practice on the part of a municipal council employee, has taken the difficult step of trying to publicize the malpractice concerned.
The first obstacle to overcome for this informant was the obvious one:city dwellers enjoy a level of anonymity that enables them to make such moves without immediately running the risk of local repercussions. This is certainly not the case either in La Gomera, or in small towns on small islands anywhere in the Canaries.
The second is that making the decision to whistleblow is only the beginning of the process. Scandals are only scandals when made known. If they are kept quiet, they are designated for the vast pool of local, inside, knowledge muttered and laughed about in bars. Everbody may know, but 'what can we do?', is the stoical-or apathetic, depending on your point of view-local stance.
A strong weave of collusion, silence and retaliation make up the Canarian blanket that, by tradition, smothers potentially embarrassing disclosures. All continues the same, no matter how lamentably.
So what to do if you know something incriminating and are disgusted? You decide to keep quiet and see how the situation evolves. You don't want  trouble, but then you realise years later that nothing has changed, that the same abuse of power and public employment continues.
In the case of the individual concerned, having made the difficult decision to speak up and suffer the consequences, the problem lay in where to go and who exactly to tell.
It was obvious to him that going to San Sebastián's town council, the man's employers and therefore those who should be very concerned, would be a waste of time, so he threw caution to the winds and contacted the island media and digital press with details and proof.
A resounding nothing happened, see reasons previously mentioned, until the digital Gomera Actualidad had the temerity to publish. José Andrés Medina and team run this digi-newspaper honestly. The rest, which shall remain nameless here, are supressed by fear, political party bias, censorship and a desire to leave the island apple cart of favour and allegiance teetering. Medina may not receive favours, special tips or many official invitations, but his integrity and self respect are intact.
The story he and Island Connections publish might not be a scandal by Brit tabloid standards, lacking as it does celebrities or details of anybody at all's extra-marital affairs, but it is scandalous if we believe that the same laws apply to us all and that public employees have no right whatsoever to assume they are immune. Franco is long dead.
This story, moreover, involves a local policeman whose behaviour suggests his own complete indifference to the laws and sanctions he imposes on members of his community daily.
“As a member of the community of San Sebastián, I want to express the indignation I feel when I see certain persons taking advantage of their position and completely ignoring the constraints of the law”, starts the bold statement from the whistleblower, referred to by initials SRAC throughout
“This member of the Policía Local (non-Guardia Civil, local police force), whose responsibility it is to safeguard... and implement the laws that govern our behaviour, is Number One in breaking them and has been doing so for some years now”, he continues.
“Making a bad situation far worse is the fact that this individual isn't only a policeman, but the Head of the Policía Local of San Sebastián. He drives an illegal blue Ford that hasn't passed an ITV (the local MOT test) since two thousand and six and has been uninsured since two thousand and twelve”.
In the opinion of the whistleblower: “The worst of all as far as I'm concerned is that this man is absolutely shameless. He has been using a car on the road illegally for eight years now without an ITV. He and his colleagues fine people daily for being a few days out of date”.
“As my wife said to me today, if his legs were able to score goals when he played football, why can't he use them now to walk from where he lives to the Police Station?”
“I've just had to pay a parking fine, which I recognize was my fault, and I ask that the Mayor, the Guardia Civil and the Policía Local themselves, do their jobs and make sure this person is also called to account and fined like anybody else in the town. The only measure taken so far has been to remove the out of date ITV sticker from the windscreen”.
As there was no comment from either the policeman in question, or his employers, in response to the news, Island Connections contacted the town hall.
“We are unable to comment as this man is a private individual”, said the press officer of the town council. When it was pointed out that he is in fact a 'funcionario' or public administration employee, and therefore in theory represents the state and is fully accountable-especially given that he is a policeman-for his actions, the reply was: “We have no facts about this case”.
On being pressed, the spokesman said that the car in question did not, in any case, belong to the policeman and our conversation was unsatisfactorily, if cordially, ended.
Together with his allegations, the whistleblower has made copies of the car papers available, clearly stating the owner's name and address and showing that the vehicle is illegal, a fact that must have escaped the spokesman's attention when he spoke to Island Connections. Thus, ten minutes later, he called back to say that in fact it was “uncertain” who the car belonged to and the town council wished to withdraw the earlier comment about ownership.
The plot thickens.

Barbara Belt.
1000 words.
Island Connections 715