Members of the scientific association Aranzadi, led by the anthropologist and forensic Paco Etxeberria, extracted yesterday morning the skeleton of a man. It was Lizarrustín, in the Quifosa area. The Aranzadicos began to work and first opted for the 3 bullets of the two Oviedo rifles. There was also the one that was used to finish the other bullet shell. Next, the skeleton. Next to them also appeared white espadrilles and a spoon.

In the absence of DNA testing and verification, what was extracted from the ground could be the skeleton of Marcelo Lasa Ceberio, a 17-year-old boy from Olaberria. He was a patriot and was killed on August 25, 1936. The skeleton that has been in the forest is very deteriorated, mainly the bones of the legs have been preserved. The DNA samples will be extracted and stored in the bank of the Government of Navarra for the necessary identifications.

The testimony of Francisco Litza Larrazá, from the Casona, to oppose the skeleton, has been indispensable. In 1936 he lived in Lizarrusti and when he was 6 years old he saw how the body was dragged. Apparently he was fishing with his father and uncle, heard gunshots and climbed into a box and from there he saw that two men had another dead man. They said they told him to move and not look. He gave a reference to a beech and the skeleton appeared not far from there. Based on his details and the data collected by his family and the Aranzadi association, the exact place of death could be found.

What has been said

The mayor of Ulaiar, Eneka Asko, thanked the family for their “involvement and courage”, which has been the driving force behind the excavation. He expressed his gratitude to the members of Aranzadi for their “professional work”. The tenants also had a word of thanks to the Government of Navarre for taking on this exhumation. The mayor of Etxarri Aranaz added that a new step was taken in the Map of Suffering of the town with the discovery of the remains. “To build the future in peace and freedom, it is necessary to untie the knots of the past and ensure memory and reparation,” he added.

The Councillor for Relations with Citizens and Institutions, Ana Ollo and Josemi Gastón, heads of the Institute of Memory of Navarre, were present in Lizarrustí. Ollo stressed the importance of citizen testimonies. At the same time, it was recalled that Saturday falls within the framework of the exhumation program of the Government of Navarre, “it is one of the priority commitments of public policies of memory and human rights”. They also highlighted the fruits of their agreement with the Aranzadi Scientific Association: Seventy-five remains have been recovered and 21 people have been identified and returned to their families at institutional reparations events. The relatives of the disappeared persons stressed the importance of leaving their DNA samples for further identification.

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