The Government Delegation in Aragon has commemorated in Bielsa the “Day of remembrance and tribute to the men and women who suffered exile as a result of War and Dictatorship”, as established by Law 20/2022 of Democratic Memory. The event, which included a floral offering and a historical contextualization by Professor Alberto Sabio, in addition to the intervention of representatives of the Bolsa de Bielsa Association, was presided over by the Government’s subdelegate in Huesca, Carlos Campo, accompanied by the subdelegates in Zaragoza, Noelia Herrero, and in Teruel, Enrique Gómez. Various French and Spanish institutional representatives were also present at the ceremony.
The Democratic Memory Act establishes the date of May 8 for the memory of exile, coinciding with the date on which in 1945 there was the European victory over fascism and Nazism, a historical fact to which the men and women of Spanish exile contributed decisively. In this sense, Campo has pointed out that the place chosen for this event “brings together a great symbolism as a place of democratic memory, remembered for one of the most significant episodes of the Civil War in Aragon, the Bielsa Stock Exchange”.
The subdelegate of the Government in Huesca pointed out in his speech that “since the repeal of the Democratic Memory regulation of Aragon has nullified the autonomous declaration of Bielsa as a Place of Memory, we will work together with the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory to incorporate Bielsa and other significant Aragonese places into the state inventory of Places of Democratic Memory, so that the Bielsa Stock Exchange and the exile that came out here to France continue to have the official recognition they deserve”.
Democratic Memory Law
“Remembering the victims and doing so in accordance with proven historical facts is ‘a fundamental ethical imperative’, as established by the Democratic Memory Act,” said Campo. For this reason, “it is the responsibility of the State to apply a restorative, inclusive and pluralistic policy, which includes the recognition and dignification of those people who saw their human rights violated during the historical period of the Civil War and the Dictatorship.”
The three subdelegates have cited the Democratic Memory Act, which states in its articles that “the General Administration of the State shall adopt the necessary measures and actions for the knowledge and commemoration of the events representative of democratic memory and the recognition of the people who fought for freedom and democracy.”
“This fulfillment with memory is not a matter of ideology, but of human rights. It is not even an autonomous or state issue, but is subject to international law. This has recently been declared by the UN, which points out that there can be no alternative formulas or omission of condemnation on sufficiently proven facts,” said the subdelegates.