Martín Zabraise is the Director of Peace and Coexistence of the Government of Navarra and from that position the Commission of Victims is headed. After overcoming many obstacles in Madrid, in 2019 the law regulating the knowledge and reparation of victims of politically motivated violence was passed, and under its cover the commission was launched, which has received 41 requests for recognition as victims.

Zabenhancement explains that when a request for recognition as a victim is received, an interview is conducted with the applicant and a report is opened on the case. It is then referred to a committee consisting of authorities and experts from the Government of Navarra to check whether or not it will be approved. This is a complex and lengthy process in which no dossier has been completed so far.

In any case, Zabraise has acknowledged that for a long time there has been a widespread violation of human rights in Navarre, and that for a long time this reality of victims of political motivation has been denied, and that there is time to end this denial. Ten people were killed, ten others were tortured and another 18 victims of violence.

Much is missing, but “it’s an important step”

According to the Egia Zor Foundation and the Navarra Network of Torturados, Wednesday has been an important step “in the recognition and reparation of all the violence suffered in our country”.

They reaffirm that there has been an attempt to deny reality and that the report by Torturados de Navarra makes it very clear. From the commission of the Directorate of Peace and Coexistence of the Government of Navarra and the study carried out by the Basque Institute of Criminology, it appears that in Navarra there have been 1,083 cases of torture from 1960 to 2014.

Both associations call on persons who have suffered violence from the State or groups in their environment to report their testimony and to do so have informed them of their cooperation.

They have recognised the path being taken, but have also confirmed that “there is still a long way to go.” These associations argue that the hunger for revenge must advance in the construction of a coexistence based on the values of justice, where “all victims will feel recognized”. Until then we will talk about “incomplete collective memory”.