Manacor pays tribute to the victims of fascism and against the Parliament's forgetfulness

The Manacor cemetery hosted, this Sunday, the annual commemoration ceremony in memory of the victims of fascist repression. Organized by the Comitè de Son Coletes, it was attended by neighbors, collectives, and relatives of the repressed. The event, which had to be held in the entrance gallery due to the rain, combined verses and music with a firm message against war and the oblivion of memory.

During the ceremony, figures of victims from current conflicts were recalled, in order to highlight the persistence of violence worldwide, and then to draw a parallel between the trauma left by the Spanish Civil War and contemporary threats against rights and freedoms.

“No to war. No to wars. Are there more consistent arguments than the figures we have just read to understand that violence between humans leads nowhere? The Spanish Civil War broke out after a coup d'état by a group of military personnel (and all the powerful people behind them) to rebel against the rule of law of the II Spanish Republic”, they explained from the Comitè de Son Coletes. “They did not tolerate the victory of the Popular Front. They did not tolerate seeing their privileges in danger, which they believed to be inherent, innate, and untouchable. They did not tolerate the empowerment of the popular classes. ·Nor that of women. ·Nor that of the peoples who still live today under the yoke of Spain”.

Rejection of the repeal of Parliament

Sebastià Gaià, one of the spokespeople for the collective, has denounced the recent decision by the Government of the Balearic Islands to promote the repeal of the democratic memory law, a measure that puts at risk the milestones achieved in terms of memory, justice, and reparation, and "weakens the protection of the dignity of the victims and the understanding of a past that should not be repeated".

"Therefore, we express our most energetic rejection of the repeal of the democratic memory law that the Parliament, led by a cowardly right and tutored by the most reactionary far-right we remembered since the dictator is gone, approved just a few weeks ago. This decision is as sad as it is dangerous, as undignified as it is unconscious, as perverse as it is shameful. A measure that adds fuel to the fire of resentment. They rub salt in the open wound and open a path that we already knew and do not want to forget," they added when reading this year's manifesto.

“That is why we are here. To remember those who died defending what we defend today. The dignity of all people, equal opportunities for all. The emancipation and empowerment of women. The right to decent housing for everyone. The need for those who have more to pay more. Or the right to speak our language in our land without having to ask for permission or forgiveness”.

Throughout the ceremony, specific names and experiences were remembered—militiawomen, neighbors, and activists—and figures such as Aurora Picornell and the Roges del Molinar were commemorated, whose remains were found in the Manacor cemetery during the third exhumation plan, promoted by the previous legislature. The Committee has underlined the need to preserve collective memory as a tool to combat hatred, dehumanization, and the rise of authoritarian and populist positions.

The meeting concluded with a call for mobilization and reflection: “To remember those who died defending freedom and the rule of law,” they stated, and they called for the continuation of actions of memory, research, and reparation, as well as the involvement of civil society in the defense of human rights and of their own language and culture.