Axarquía town hall condemns burning of crocheted LGBT rainbow flag

Almáchar town hall has condemned the burning of a LGBT flag in the early hours of Sunday 31 July. The flag had been raised to celebrate International Pride Day on Wednesday 28 June and was hanging from a flagpole on the Forfe viewpoint in the Axarquía village, which has a population of just 1,900.

The town hall said in a statement that it condemns "any act of vandalism that infringes on people's freedoms", and at the same time "deeply regretted” seeing "the work done by the women in the crochet workshop end like this".

"We cannot stand still, nor remain silent in the face of messages like this, we must continue to fight for a village full of diversity," the statement read. It went on to say, “We want to continue to support a village without phobias, without rejection or attacks on the LGBT community, where everyone can love whoever they want and can be whoever they want to be".

"The act of burning the flag itself is not only an act of hatred and vandalism, it is also an act that could have had many more consequences, such as setting fire to the mountain and with it the nearby houses," said the statement. Local Police have “already begun efforts to locate the alleged perpetrators," it concluded.