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oil 11 |
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See also this article from Nature. a year after—the Spanish cover-up starts to slip
Nunca Mais and Izquierda Unida [United Left] are suing the Galician government.
a year after—the mess continues
a year after—wildlife battered
a year after— Spanish government stupidity continues
a year
after—Captain Scapegoat the web address for the article above
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20.11.2003 |
oil 11 | Current estimates for fuel oil spilt from the Prestige, still the wreck and still in the sea These figures come from the WWF International report, The Prestige: One Year On, A Continuing Disaster
the web address for the article above
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11.11.2003 |
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the politics of
irresponsibilitythe Prestige Hard on the heels of a Gironde municipality, La Teste-de-Buch [3] , now a whole Departement (fairly equivalent to a US State), Les Landes with its 17 coastal municipalities [2], is suing Spain, whom they regard as “denying their responsibility for the ship wreck of the Liberian tanker Prestige, and the consequent oil spill, for nearly a year” – citing “inadequate public service organisation, moving the ship away from the coast and insufficient means for pumping the oil”. Spain is being sued for 1.7 million euro (1,700,000 €), this being the cost of repeated cleaning of the beaches and connected inland waters, as well as protection measures, since oil started arriving in France. However, this may not be the final sum as no account has been made of losses to the tourist industry (with bookings down by 30% or more) since the Spanish irresponsibility began, nor to future losses.
Meanwhile, Spain clings to their excuse for the mess, their political prisoner, Captain Scapegoat Mangouras. Their Constitutional Court has upheld the berserk bail requirement of 3 million euro because
In other words, Captain Scapegoat remains imprisoned, although the prison is now larger, with Captain Mangouras obliged to report to a Barcelona police station each morning at 9am. This highly experienced seaman, who wisely suggested that his troubled tanker be taken to port or beached, rather than dragged off-shore into a full storm, as the Spanish authorities insisted, has now been caged in Spain for almost a year, without trial, separated from his family and home, unable to continue his chosen career or to retire as he would have once the Prestige’s last voyage was finished. It appears that not only does Spain have little intention of facing their responsibilities with honour, but they also indulge in cruel and unusual punishments in their multiple attempts to divert attention.
The US branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US) published a report today, The Prestige: One Year On, A Continuing Disaster, http://www.panda.org/downloads/marine/finalprestige.pdf
Further, Spain’s post-disaster investment plan for Galicia
Endnote to article: the web address for the article above
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06.11.2003 |
the web address for the article above
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01.11.2003 |
the politics
of irresponsibility Determining the mandate of a “temporary commission” is a preliminary step before such a commission starts its investigations. It appears that the Liberals may bow to pressure from the right-wing European Popular Party (EPP) for a “watering down” of the commission’s mandate [1], allowing the elimination of references to “the causes and consequences” of the catastrophe and limiting the commission’s work “to the reinforcement of marine security”. (In the Spanish parliament, EPP deputies have been accused of being disloyal for allowing the creation of the commission on the Prestige.) The European Basque Party announced that it will highlight Spanish governmental pressure for this “watering down”, particularly that of Ana Palacio, the Spanish External Affairs minister. Recall that the Prestige catastrophe has badly effected the fishing and beaches of the Basque Country, whilst the Popular Party is the ruling political party in Spain. testing
the Spanish oil salvage plan If these tests fail, the fall-back action will be to shroud the wreck. But as yet, the appears to no discussion as to how this might be achieved, or that two coverings will be necessary, given that the two halves of the wreck are about 2 miles apart. More
criticism of Spain Nor did Spanish official methods of ship inspection escape criticism: “It is one thing to inspect the ship when it is in pristine condition, it is another to visit the ship when it is under working conditions.” End notes to article: the web address for the article above
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15.10.2003 the politics of irresponsibility September 2003 |
email email_abelard [at] abelard.org © abelard, 2003, 15 october the address for this document is https://www.abelard.org/news/oil11.htm variable words
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