The Podemos Group in the Cabildo of Lanzarote has denounced "the destruction of a decorative rock on the floor of the Cueva de los Verdes by operators of the Tourist Centers themselves without any permission or license for it and without having requested the mandatory authorization from the Heritage Unit of the Cabildo." The events, according to the formation, occurred on Tuesday morning, when the workers "broke the stone, about 50 x 30 cm and 30 cm high", which was fixed on the access pavement to the Cave.
"The events have already been reported to Seprona in case they constitute a crime", they explained from Podemos, also announcing that they will request the appearance in the next Plenary Session of the Minister of Tourism "to give explanations about events that constitute a new aggression against Manrique's work, and that abound in Podemos' repeated complaints about the lack of sensitivity with which the Cabildo's Centers of Art, Culture and Tourism are being managed".
According to the Podemos spokesperson in the Cabildo, Carlos Meca, "with this intervention, of which it will be necessary to investigate if it may have criminal consequences, it is once again demonstrated that not only are the Centers not being adequately maintained, but that there are even irreversible aggressions against a unique heritage due to the senselessness and lack of respect for Manrique's work that those responsible for the CACT continue to demonstrate".
"Bypassing all protection measures"
"It is not the first time that an action of this type has occurred, and the work on the Jameos del Agua forklift is another proof of the null sensitivity towards the Tourist Centers shown by those responsible for them, to which must be added the installation a few weeks ago of a soft drink machine in the bathroom of the Cueva de los Verdes, which reaffirms us in the complaint we made a year ago about the growing commercialization of the Centers. Now we are astonished to witness the destruction of Manrique's work, bypassing all the protection measures that protect the protected heritage values of the Cave", said Meca.
"For all this", pointed out the Podemos spokesperson, "we are going to demand that all responsibilities be clarified in the face of an aggression of this caliber against the island's heritage, and we will ask the Minister of Tourism to put in place the necessary mechanisms to protect the Tourist Centers from barbarities such as the one that has been committed".
According to Meca, "it is completely incomprehensible, as we already said last year, the contempt that the management of the EPEL is showing towards the cultural and natural heritage of the island while millionaire amounts are allocated to projects such as the underwater museum or, as we have learned this week, to new projects such as the Islote de la Fermina, which have nothing to do with the spirit with which the Tourist Centers were created".
