Vito Quiles has announced a new call in Murcia for next Monday, November 9. According to the information released through his communication channels, the meeting is scheduled for 18:30 at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Murcia (UMU). However, the academic institution has clarified that it has not authorized the event and that it has not received any request to use its spaces.
The rector of the UMU, Samuel Baixauli, has conveyed this position in writing in response to the concern expressed by university workers. The institution assures that no request for the assignment of facilities has been submitted by Quiles or by any person or entity on his behalf.
In addition, the Rectorate has advanced that, if it were to receive a request to hold the meeting on its premises, it would not authorize it. The university justifies its stance on the need to guarantee coexistence and safety on the campuses, as well as the normal development of academic activity.
More than 1,100 workers ask that it not be held on campus
The response from the University comes after 1,118 teaching staff and members of the technical, management and administration and services staff (PTGAS) signed a written document addressed to the Rectorate and the University Ombudsperson.
In the letter, the workers request that the institution’s spaces not be allowed to be used for the call announced by Quiles. They also demand that any possible authorizations, if any exist, be reviewed and that measures be adopted to protect university students and staff.
The signatories express their concern about episodes of tension recorded in other visits by the communicator to university settings, including those of the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Navarra, Zaragoza and Deusto. The initiative, as they explain, does not aim to limit freedom of expression, but to prevent disruptions to coexistence and academic activity from occurring.
The University’s refusal does not equate to prohibiting an event on the street
The UMU’s decision refers to the use of its facilities, spaces and resources. Therefore, that the university does not authorize the call on its premises does not automatically mean that the event is prohibited in any other place in Murcia.
These are different issues: the academic institution decides on the use of its own spaces, while calls in public places are governed by the regulations on the right of assembly and the communication procedures to the government authority.
In this case, sources from the Delegation of the Government consulted by EFE have pointed out that they had not received communication about the call either. However, they have indicated that the security forces will carry out the corresponding follow-up and will deploy the device that turns out to be necessary.
In the absence of knowing whether the announced location is modified or whether any other site is specified, the call remains scheduled for Monday. Attention is now focused on where it intends to be held finally and on the measures that the authorities may adopt to guarantee safety and the conduct of the day.