In recent days, the Oztaran school in Lasarte-Oria has made headlines after about twenty squatters, who have been living in the building without educational activity since 2002, placed a sign at the entrance. On it, they declare the building to be their home and state their intention not to leave.
This situation has caused concern among some residents of the municipality and has prompted a response from the Gipuzkoan local council. Last Monday, the council announced that it has already taken action «with the aim of prioritizing the safety of the people» inhabiting the property, given the «structural risk of the building and the existing sanitary conditions».
This is, for now, OUR HOME. Here we develop our personal and family life, and we have no intention of leaving. We invite any person, natural or legal, who questions this situation to resort to legal channels so that the courts may resolve what they deem appropriate.
The building, which ceased to be used for educational purposes in 2002, was then integrated into the support network of the Basque Government's Department of Education as a Berritzegune, a function it performed for over two decades. However, just over a year ago, that administration decided to abandon the facility after detecting structural technical problems. This led to «the occasional and itinerant presence of two or three people inside» in recent months, according to the Lasarte-Oria City Council itself, and which in recent days had «intensified significantly with the presence of 20-25 people in just five days».
The Lasarte-Oria City Council has stated that it has already requested and received the corresponding authorization from the Basque Government to intervene in the Oztaran school and has issued an eviction decree for the building, which «has already been communicated to the people inside». The municipal action «responds exclusively to safety criteria, given the structural risk of the property and the existing sanitary conditions».
