The church of San Francisco de Asís de Vitoria and the events of March 3, 1976, where five people who participated in a strike were shot and killed, will be declared a Place of Democratic Memory by the Government of Spain, according to the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory, Fernando Martínez, who has participated in the commemorative events in the capital of Alava.

Fernando Martínez, who has indicated that the opening of the file has been published today in the BOE, has participated in the floral offering in the monolith that recalls the victims killed by the Armed Police during the general strike, on March 3, 1976. Accompanied by the mayor of Vitoria, Maider Etxebarria; the commissioner for the celebration of 50 years in Libertad, Carmina Gustrán; and the director of the Gogora Institute of Memory, Coexistence and Human Rights of the Basque Government, Alberto Alonso; the Secretary of State recalled that “the dramatic events of Vitoria marked a turning point within the process of the Transition to democracy”.

He also affirmed that “the case of Vitoria demonstrated the survival of the repressive practices of Franco’s regime after the dictator’s death and that democracy began to be won in the streets” in the same way, that “the workers’ movement, long lived during the dictatorship, was consolidated as a pillar of democratization of daily life”.

In the course of the event, the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory reaffirmed the commitment of the Ministry of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory and the Government of Spain to the memory of the victims, stating that “the Democratic Memory Law has become a tool of reparation and remembrance to those who gave their freedom and their lives in order to improve the living conditions of the citizens.”