Yesterday, after 38 days, the National Police and the Madrid Municipal Police put an end to the illegal encampment at Puerta del Sol.<\/p>\n
That encampment, set up by the far left on Saturday, September 26, amounted to the illegal occupation of a public space by activists who have forgotten that the streets belong to everyone<\/strong> \u2014activists who believe they have the right to usurp, for weeks on end, something that the rest of the citizens have paid for with their taxes. Furthermore, the end of that encampment necessitated the removal of 36 tons of trash by the Madrid City Council\u2019s cleaning services<\/a>\u2014services paid for by all the residents of that city<\/strong>. <\/p>\n In addition to the removal of that massive amount of trash, there is another equally significant aspect of the cleanup efforts: the repair of public property damaged by far-left campers<\/strong>, who vandalized the famous \"Bear and the Strawberry Tree\" statue<\/a>\u2014a symbol of the city\u2014as well as the equestrian statue of Charles III<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Left claims to be a great champion of justice, yet it seems to have forgotten one of its most fundamental principles: that those who cause damage must pay for it. If these activists have occupied a public space for weeks, it is only fair that they\u2014and not the residents of Madrid\u2014should foot the bill for the cleanup<\/strong>, especially since those residents have already suffered enough by being unable to move freely through the Puerta del Sol for those 38 days.<\/p>\n Furthermore, local business owners have been unable to conduct their operations normally due to the presence of this illegal encampment<\/strong>, which for weeks has obstructed access to their establishments\u2014all while the former Government Delegate in Madrid, the Socialist Francisco Mart\u00edn Aguirre, did absolutely nothing to prevent it. Both those in the encampment and Mart\u00edn should be held liable for any appropriate compensation<\/strong> for the loss of earnings these business owners have suffered over the past 38 days.<\/p>\n In a democracy, it is intolerable for shameless individuals to dirty or damage public property<\/strong>, nor should they be permitted to cause financial harm to business owners who diligently pay their taxes\u2014only to then go unpunished and face no consequences for their actions<\/strong>. The Madrid City Council and the regional government (Comunidad de Madrid) must demand that the members of this encampment, along with the Socialist politician who gave them free rein for weeks, pay for the damage and mess they have caused<\/strong>. In a democracy, no citizen should enjoy privileges over others\u2014regardless of how much the political Left may have embraced the notion that their ideology places them above everyone else<\/strong>.<\/p>\n ---<\/p>\n
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