"This act contributes to dignifying the memory of victims", says Pedro Sánchez

'Duque de Ahumada' School for Young Cadet Officers of the Guardia Civil, Valdemoro (Madrid)

A total of 1,377 weapons and 19 key parts that had been seized by the Weapons Intervention Unit of the Madrid Command of the Guardia Civil were destroyed with the authorisation of the National High Court in September 2016. 90% of these weapons belonged to the terrorist group ETA, a gang that "was defeated by the State law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, the political parties and international collaboration", recalled the President of the Government, "but above all by the firm backing of a society that wished to live freely".

The event was attended by other members of the government, such as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Arancha González Laya, the Minister for Justice, Juan Carlos Campo, the Minister for Defence, Margarita Robles, the Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Minister for Education and Vocational Training, Isabel Celaá and the Minister for Territorial Policy and Public Function, Miquel Iceta.

It was also attended by the Attorney General, Dolores Delgado, the President of the National High Court, José Ramón Navarro, the Chief of the Army Staff, Francisco Javier Varela, and the Director-General of the National Police, Francisco Pardo, the Director-General of the Guardia Civil, María Gámez and representatives of the regional police forces: the Ertzaintza, the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Foral Police Force of Navarre.

Pedro Sánchez stressed the importance of this unprecedented symbolic act, which reflects the victory of the rule of law and democracy over terrorism, because "it contributes to dignifying the memory of the victims", whom he paid tribute to, indicating that "the weapons have been destroyed but the echo of their shots must remain with us, not to represent death but the democratic memory".

The President of the Government expressly referred to the collaboration between Spain and France in the fight against ETA terrorism, recalling the act to hand over the assets and documents of the armed gang in October 2018 by the French authorities, which was baptised the "mémoire vivante" - a living and democratic memory which, for Pedro Sánchez, is an "exercise in dignity, humanity and justice", as well as "a moral claim for the democratic values that the victims represent".

Memorial Centre

Pedro Sánchez reiterated the government's commitment to the Memorial Centre for the victims of terrorism, in the presence of its director, Florencio Domínguez, indicating that the government will "continue to defend the memory of those who were murdered, injured, kidnapped and threatened by the different terrorist organisations that operated in our country, from ETA to DAESH, including GAL, GRAPO and the organised far-right groups, and this will be done by strengthening the rule of law".

"We cannot recover the lives that were lost, nor can we destroy the dark past, as we have destroyed these weapons today, but we can fight an absence of memory to repair the pain and honour", stated the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, by way of conclusion, and it is in the hands of all of us to do away with fear in order to continue building a path towards peace and liberty.

The Director of the Memorial Centre for the Victims of Terrorism, Florencio Domínguez, recalled in his speech how the handing over of the weapons portrayed an image of defeat that terrorist groups try to avoid and that had never before been achieved at this level in Europe. "This idea is the embodiment of this event held here today with this symbolism. The destruction of these weapons visually reflects the defeat of the groups that have cause so much harm", declared Florencio Domínguez.

Non official translation