The Victims Foundation calls on Congress to stop ETA's whitewashing: "Memory is not negotiable"

Urges to follow the recommendations of the European Parliament and put an end to the last vestiges of impunity for terrorists

MADRID, 27 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The president of the Foundation for Victims of Terrorism, Tomás Caballero, has called on politicians to regain unity against terrorism and avoid attempts to "whitewash" ETA: "Remember that the memory and honor of the victims is not negotiable much less waivable", he stated.

Caballero made this appeal in the Chamber of Congress, in the annual tribute to the victims of terrorism, which was attended by the Ministers of the Interior and of the Presidency, Fernando Grande Marlska and Félix Bolaños, among other members of the Government. Instead, Vox and several of the main victims' associations have dropped out, while the PP has preferred to have a reduced representation.

In his speech, Caballero thanked Parliament for its work in "turning terrorism into a state issue" and "cornering up the entire armed and ideological network of terrorists". "Without that effort, without that constant work, the defeat of indigenous terrorism would not have been possible, nor the achievements made in the fight against the global phenomenon that jihadist terrorism represents today, nor the milestone that was the approval of the Law of Recognition and Comprehensive Protection of Victims of Terrorism".

Of course, he believes that "there is still a long way to go" and sees it necessary to review aspects such as "the essential equalization of compensation for victims of attacks by all unsolved and unsolved terrorist groups, because it is not fair that the inability of our system to resolve the pending attacks is, moreover, the cause of the lack of equal compensation between the victims with or without a judicial sentence". His commitment is to prioritize the protection of the victims over the clarification of the perpetrator of the attack.

But he has questioned whether the objective of "the fair normalization of coexistence, with a clear recognition of victims and perpetrators" has been met, and he does not even believe that the unity against terrorism of years ago is maintained today.

"Why, many years later, are there still so many unsolved ETA attacks? Why are there still tributes to terrorists upon their release from prison, something objectively undignified and immoral? Why is public space still occupied with various demonstrations that whitewash what happened and disguise the only reality, that caused by the perpetrators and suffered by the victims?", he asked.

Caballero has asked to follow the 'roadmap' of the report carried out by the European Parliament delegation that visited Spain in 2021 and which estimated 379 unpunished murders, which "shows a lack of justice with respect to the families of the victims" , while "no former member of ETA has collaborated in the resolution of unsolved cases".

Caballero shares the European Parliament's recommendation to "exhaust the interpretive possibilities of criminal law, including the possible recognition of ETA's terrorist crimes as crimes against humanity -against humanity-, even before 2004, so that they are considered not to be subject to prescription or amnesty".

It also supports "being able to prosecute, as intellectual authors and instigators of the order, the leaders of the ETA leadership at the time of the commission of the different unsolved attacks", as well as forcing those convicted of terrorism to collaborate in the resolution of the attacks in order to gain access to prison benefits and avoid public glorification (the 'ongi etorri') of convicted terrorists when they are released from prison.

In his opinion, this "pioneering role" of the Cortes will be of no use if they do not continue to work along the same lines that the European Parliament has marked: "Today I want to ask you to work in defense of the victims and in the full recognition of their rights, to combat impunity and to make any form of whitewashing of the material or intellectual authors of the attacks unfeasible and that they do so not only looking at the past, but also at the future, because that is also a way of protecting our democracy. holds.

As he underlined, Parliament must take into account that "the memory and honor of the victims is not negotiable, much less renounceable". "Today I want to remind you that the dignity of the victims is not achieved just by marking a day on the calendar, because the pain, the loss, the impunity, remain 365 days a year -he has summoned-. Ladies, don't forget, don't ignore, don't make excuses. Please listen to those who have reached out to us to help."