Press Conference - Alfonso Dastis
Good evening,
Today, I'm addresing the million of Spaniards whom might be listening to this press conference, apart from you, the press and every European that could be interested on this statement I will read. The press conference today is about, as you might suppose, the current situation at the Union of Syndicates, the threads coming from several citizens and a woman who seems to be leading this dangerous movement apart from the repatriation of those trapped there.
Firstly, I would like to give further details on the security deployment we had yesterday in our airports. 13 Syndicates' citizens were arrested, after an advisory note from the Union of Syndicates' police. After registering them, we found several suspicious objects, along with bladed weapons made of clay, which are undetectable for the security gates. The 134 Spaniards that were in the Union of Syndicates came back on time and they are safe. As of now, I can affirm they are back with their families. Last night, we also received a call from the Nofoaganese Government asking to check if 5 Nofoaganese people had came from the Union of Syndicates on the last flight, which we can confirm. The 5 Nofoaganese people were allowed to enter Spain and they are currently on their way to Nofoaga.
Secondly, we are imposing the following measures to protect our country as the Spanish people security, which is our main concern right now. These measures are similar to those adopted by many European countries and similar to those the European countries have taken in the last 24 hours:
- All citizens of the Union of Syndicates are banned from entering the Kingdom of Spain.
- Travel to the Union of Syndicates shall be suspended indefintiely.
- All flights to and from the Union of Syndicates shall be immediately suspended.
- The Kingdom of Spain suspends the rights of abode and immigration to any citizen of the Union of Syndicates indefinitely.
- Spanish enterprises must suspend any business plans with any Syndicates' enterprise.
Apart from these measures, we have decided to keep the Terrorist Thread Level on 5, which means there a very high risk of attack. To those watching us right now, the Level 5 is just as the level 4 but it deploys the army on the critical infrastructure of the country. The army has received instructions to protect their bases as airports, train stations, bus stations, tourist attractions, embassies and Government's buildings. Apart from that, the police forces and the army have been allowed to shoot down anybody making an attempt on somebody's life.
I know these measures are critical and might seem really worrying, but I want to tell everyone, those thinking to visit our country, those visiting it and our citizens to keep calm. We have the most professional police forces, one of the most professional armies, and we are ready to protect every single person from these midless and crazy people. Spain is safe, and we will be cautious, we will be there for you, and for everybody. Thank you very much, good afternoon.