The PSIB demands that the columbarium of the Palma cemetery be opened with the remains of 200 repressed by Francoism

PalmaThe PSIB has requested this Wednesday that the Government open a columbarium in the Palma cemetery to house nearly 200 unidentified victims of Francoist repression, as well as other figures such as the siblings Aurora and Gabriel Picornell. The socialist spokesperson in Cort, Xisco Dalmau, has asked that the inauguration be accompanied by a recognition ceremony with the participation of memorialist entities. He also argued that this space should become a living center for study and research, open to both students and the general public.

In the same vein, the president of Memòria de Mallorca, Maria Antònia Oliver, has called for the opening of the future space, which she has proposed naming "Columbari de la Dignitat", to be marked with a State act. As she explained, the objective is to create a space of collective memory that dignifies all victims who died defending their ideals.

Oliver recalled that the bodies of the victims of Francoist repression, which have been buried for 90 years, are currently distributed in separate small houses, but that the entity's intention is to gather them all in this columbarium. Furthermore, she requested that the victims' families participate in the organization of the inaugural ceremony, also in aspects such as the choice of flowers or music, as she considers it a "very reparative" gesture.

The president of Memòria de Mallorca has also pointed out that the columbarium could become a space for studying the history of Mallorca and has compared it with other European places of remembrance, such as Auschwitz and other scenes of Nazi repression. The columbarium project was approved last legislative term, but the socialists have lamented that the PP is "obsessed with blocking these spaces of democratic recognition".

For their part, PSIB deputy Omar Lamin has accused the Government of acting with "hypocrisy and cynicism" after organizing a tribute event to the victims of the Republican bombings of the Civil War while, at the same time, trying to repeal the Democratic Memory Law. According to Lamin, the Popular Party has "no commitment to human rights or to democratic memory".

The deputy also assured that the "contempt" for the victims of repression is "the bargaining chip" of the PP's pacts with Vox. In this regard, Dalmau recalled that the Palma City Council, governed by the PP, "has allocated zero euros" to democratic memory policies.