OUR DAY AT THE SPANISH EMBASSY
Thursday, May 5, 2011 @ 2:21 AM
OUR DAY AT THE SPANISH EMBASSY................
9.10am - Wed 4 May 2011
We have just been ejected from the Spanish Embassy in London.
We were very polite but the staff said to us:
"Todays event is private and by invitation only. It is to promote the Spanish Property Market to specially invited corporate investment companies. We are not here to discuss your issues. You must go through the courts. We must ask you to leave the building"
We did however leave some documentation with the staff and asked them to pass it to Sr. Blanco and Sra. Corredor.
The press conference is scheduled for 11am.
Will report more later.
Keith
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11:30am
Nobody else here - just me and one other member of the Finca Parcs Action Group.
The Press Conference started at 11am.
We were at the main door just before the Press Conference handing out our Press Releases.
The press were very interested, especially the Spanish media and radio.
I was interviewd by El Mundo and a Spanish Radio Station.
We are doing more interviews when the Press Conference is finished.
Keith
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Afternoon Update:
After standing outside the Spanish Embassy for almost 6 hours since being ejected early this morning and ringing the intercom and phoning them we were finally invited inside for a meeting at around 2:45pm.
The meeting was with an Embassy official and 2 representatives from the Government delegation (not Sr. Blanco or Sra. Corredor).
They listened to our views, took notes, took paperwork from us and said they were keen to work on solving the issues in the Spanish Property Sector.
We will keep in close contact with them and push them for a way forward over the next few weeks.
From previous experience we know words come easy - let us see if this time they are prepared to take action.
After today they are certainly aware of the level of feeling against the Spanish Property Market. They know that they can only move forward if they begin to tackle the problems of the past.
So after feeling very negative for most of the day we do now feel just a little tiny bit positive!
Let's see what transpires over the next few weeks - only time will tell.
Keith
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Evening Update:
I have learnt over the past 5 years that to get anything done in Spain you have to be persistent!!
The work with the Spanish Government has just begun!! There is much to do but we have surely made a small start today. They acknowlege us and know we exist and that we won't just go away.
I was accompanied today by Reg - a member of the Finca Parcs Action Group.
We gave some newspaper and radio interviews in the morning to both the UK and Spanish Press. We distributed our Press Releases in English & Spanish (thanks to María de Castro for the translations).
Around midday we were joined by 5 other 'protestors' who were a great support. One of them was Mike who posts on EOS & SPI.
The Government delegation would only meet two of us - so myself and Mike were put forward to represent the small group.
We understand the BBC did an interview with Sra. Corredor inside the Embassy. The BBC then came outside and while myself and Mike were in the meeting they interviewed the other 'protestors' outside the Embassy.
I am sure Mike will add something to this thread following our meeting with the Government officials. I think Mike may have also spoken to the BBC after our meeting.
Kind regards
Keith