The delegate of the Government in Cantabria, Eugenia Gómez de Diego, presided today, together with the Superior Chief of Police, Carmen Martínez, the commemorative event of the Day of the Victims of Terrorism in the National Police, which was held in memory of the 188 agents who were killed between 1968 and 2015.
The event took place on the esplanade of the Superior Police Headquarters of Cantabria, on the Avenida del Deportes in [MSVB1] Santander, starting with the interpretation of the National Anthem, and where then, the delegate of the Government and the Superior Police Chief, have made a magazine pass to police training.
In her speech, the government delegate stressed that this commemoration is a sign of "recognition, respect and solidarity" to the victims of terrorism in the National Police and all their families. "All of Spanish society and the National Police have a debt of gratitude and an ethical obligation of recognition, especially with those who were murdered," he said.
Gómez de Diego pointed out that "memory must serve to be able to look forward without forgetting how we have arrived here", and that is that, in his opinion, "only the recognition of the past will allow us to build a more free and tolerant society". "Memory, truth, dignity and justice; four great words so that the example of the victims may remain alive among us, and so that the scourge of evil may not find any justification again, either here or anywhere," he concluded.
For her part, the Chief of Police, who was in charge of opening the event, stressed in her speech that “the whole of Spanish society has been threatened by terrorism but, certain groups such as the Security Forces and Corps have suffered the cruelty of it with greater distress.”
Likewise, the Superior Chief also stressed that “the National Police has been at the forefront of this battle that began more than half a century ago.”
The Superior Chief concluded her speech by stating that “the commemorative acts of the Day of the Victims of Terrorism in the National Police, are intended to show recognition and gratitude, as well as to preserve and keep alive the memory of the victims of terrorism in the National Police”.
The event was attended by a wide representation of civil and military authorities, among them the President of the Parliament of Cantabria, María José González Revuelta; the Mayor of Santander, Gema Igualada Ortiz; the Councilor for Presidency, Justice, Security and Administrative Simplification, Isabel Urrutia; the President of the High Court of Justice of Cantabria, José Luis López del Moral; the Superior Prosecutor of the Autonomous Community of Cantabria, María Pilar Jiménez Bados, as well as Mandos, members of the Tabra’s Citizens.
Victims of Terrorism Day at the National Police
The Resolution of January 10, 2024 of the General Directorate of the Police establishes that June 16 of each year or in the near future will be commemorated the "Day of the Victims of Terrorism in the National Police".
The celebration of this commemorative event aims to show recognition and gratitude, as well as to preserve and keep alive the memory of the victims of terrorism in the National Police, extending this recognition also to the dozens of wounded police and shattered families who suffered these circumstances.
From this year 2024, the victims of terrorism in the National Police will be paid a tribute as a sign of recognition, respect and solidarity, so that their memory is perpetuated within the police institution and in the rest of society.