Toledo.- The delegate of the Government in Castilla-La Mancha, Milagros Tolón, presided on Monday the institutional act in tribute to the victims of terrorism in the National Police, a commemoration in which she expressed "the respect, affection and commitment of the Government of Spain with those who gave their lives to protect democracy and our freedoms."
During her speech, the delegate recalled the 188 members of the National Police killed between 1968 and 2015, and sent a direct message to their families: “Your pain is also ours. You have experienced in your own flesh the highest cost of public commitment.”
In this regard, he reiterated that the Government of Spain “reaffirms its firm will to protect the memory of the victims and accompany their loved ones, not only in acts like this, but through a State policy based on respect, justice and reparation.”
Loyalty to the rule of law
The event has also served to pay tribute to the victims related to Castilla-La Mancha, “a land that has also suffered severely from terrorism”, in the words of the delegate, who has had a special memory for the families present at the event.
He also highlighted the firm and calm response of the National Police to terrorism: “A response based on professionalism, humanity and loyalty to the rule of law. In every agent who serves our streets today there is an echo of those who are no longer there, and a firm commitment not to take a step backwards in the defense of our freedoms.”
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The delegate highlighted the Government’s commitment to the permanent improvement of the body’s resources and means: “We have seen this recently with the increase in staffing levels or with the new Cuenca Police Station, which is another example of the firm support for the work of the National Police in our region.”
Finally, he has dedicated a few words of thanks to the Superior Chief of Police in Castilla-La Mancha, Javier Pérez, who retires after a long history of public service: “Thank you, Javier, for your dedication, your professionalism and your closeness. As a delegate and before as a mayor, I have always found in you a professional and personal support in difficult times. We wish you the best in the new stage that you are now beginning,” he concluded.
“We won’t lower our guard”
For his part, Javier Pérez has stressed that terrorism, in any of its forms, “is a maximum expression of cowardice, a direct threat against freedom, peace and fundamental rights that has cost us so much to conquer”. In his speech, he warned that in the face of terrorism, “the National Police continues and will remain vigilant. We will not lower our guard against those who try to impose fear or attack our way of life.”
“Each of the 188 colleagues we remember today had a face, a name, a story. They were children, fathers, mothers, brothers and friends. They were policemen who understood that protecting others sometimes involved the risk of not coming home,” he said.
And it has concluded with a clear message of commitment and continuity: “Our 188 comrades, victims of terrorism, are a constant reminder that freedom has a price, and we will not allow that price to have been in vain.”
“I leave my post, but I don’t leave my values,” he said in his farewell. “I am leaving, but I take with me the pride of having been part of a great family, a family that does not bow to adversity and that works tirelessly for the well-being of all citizens.”
Special Tribute
A special tribute was paid to Susana Rodríguez, a national police officer assigned to the Toledo squad, daughter of police officer Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Pozuelo, who was wounded by an ETA attack in Madrid in 1987 in which agent Wenceslao Maya was killed; and the civil guard Josune Villamuaría, sister of María de Coro Villamuaría, killed by ETA in 1991 by a lapa bomb in her father’s car, a national police officer, who was wounded along with Josune herself and her brothers.