Breaking the fence in Ocean Park: WELL DONE !
It is hard for me to believe how certain individuals in Puerto Rico will so blatantly violate other citizens rights, but when they suffer an offense they come out with a 'scream to the sky'. A few days ago, the 5th of february of 2007, the residents of luxurious homes in Ocean Park placed a fence, blocking an opening commonly used by the public to get to the beach. It is situated on the street Atlantic Place, just behind a popular destination for bodysurfing in San Juan known as "La Bomba" (The Bomb) for its strong breakers. A group of environmentalists tore down the fence, noting that Puerto Rican law stipulates there needs to exist free access to the beaches. The police arrived on the scene, alleging there were going to be arrests; Governor Acevedo Vila claimed that "one cannot take the law into one's own hands'. What I find totally ironic about the case is that the residence of said street, for more than a year have placed immense pots with palm-trees on the street, without any policeman ordering its removal. A transit street, by definition, is public and a private resident does not have the right to place an obstacle to the flow and parking of said street. Instead of recognizing the 'common right' of the general public, who constantly use the entrance to access the beach, the government and the police took entirely the opposite direction. Is this what neoliberal privatization is all about--the giving away public rights to private entities?