The commemoration of the Day of Remembrance for the sixteenth consecutive year this morning brought together the Government Delegation in the Basque Country, the Memorial Center for the Victims of Terrorism, the mayor of Ermua, associations of victims and various authorities in the Izarra Centre of the Biscayan town. Following the words of Beatriz Gámiz, Florencio Domínguez and Marisol Garmendia, Cristina Cuesta (director of the Miguel Ángel Blanco Foundation), Imanol Zubero (member of the extinct Gesture for Peace) and Iñaki took part.

Vélez (member of the Itaka Group of Scholapios), specially invited on this day

Dedicated to pacifist movements in the fight against terrorism.

The Government delegate, during her speech, stressed that this day calls us to three essential commitments: memory, recognition and commitment. “Memory, because only from the truth is coexistence built. Knowing what happened, who the victims and the perpetrators were, why they murdered, extorted, persecuted and why many defended, cheered or silenced them. Recognition, because each victim has a name, a history, a dignity that must be restored and never forget. And commitment, because preserving the memory and memory requires a firm political commitment That is reflected in the inalienable defense of fundamental rights, justice and reparation for the victims. It requires keeping alive the democratic conscience of a Basque society that still has pending duties -- some Basques with more pending duties than others, whatever may be said."

Marisol Garmendia has dedicated part of her speech to highlighting the figures of the guests in a day dedicated to civic movements and pacifist groups. “who raised their voices calling for peace and the word (remembering the poet Blas de Otero) in the face of terrorist barbarity. A Gesto for Peace, who every week in the streets and squares, in thunderous silence, in minority to the shame of the majority, and calmly, recalled that democratic firmness does not need to shout. A Cristina Cuesta, whose personal courage and public commitment are examples of civic ethics and the defense of human rights. And also to Imanol Zubero, whose calm reflection, social commitment and open thinking have been a guide to building a culture of peace and dialogue in the Basque Country. His voice —intellectual and human— has been an ethical reference to understand that coexistence is not imposed: it is educated, shared and cultivated from honesty.”

And a special section for the Schoolboys of Bilbao on their 40th anniversary. “For decades, the Scholapios have trained thousands of young people in values, in critical thinking, in solidarity. From that Itaka Association, formed by teachers, students, alumni and parents of the school who concentrated in silence to repudiate ETA. In times of violence, the school was a refuge, it was dialogue, it was hope. Educating in peace is a profoundly democratic task, because educating in truth and justice is essential to building committed citizenship.”

Marisol Garmendia also had words dedicated to the Memorial Center of the Victims of Terrorism that “in that educational work, I have to highlight the valuable work she is doing with schools throughout Spain. I trust that, in the Basque Country, the Basque educational community will also recognise and join the collaborative work with the Memorial. And that the voice of the victims will remain the moral compass of our democracy.”

Garmendia has thanked all the participants in this Day of Remembrance “for reminding us that freedom – this year we celebrate 50 years of Spain in freedom – is not a gift, but an achievement that is conquered, that is taken care of and that we must defend against the rise of extremist, reactionary and totalitarian populisms that try to undermine the very pillars of democracy and coexistence.”

And a teaching for the present and the future because “this Day of Remembrance is not just an act of remembrance. It is a call to compromise. To continue working from public institutions, from school and university, from civil society, as did the pacifist movements, for a Basque society capable of coexisting between different, without forgetting but without hating”.