Redaccion
El Ayuntamiento de Alcobendas held a heartfelt tribute yesterday in memory of Miguel Ángel Blanco, the PP councilor kidnapped and murdered by ETA in July 1997. The event was attended by the mayor of Alcobendas, Rocío García Alcántara – currently on maternity leave; the acting mayor, Marta Martín; the Minister of the Interior between 1996 and 2000, Jaime Mayor Oreja; the president of the Miguel Ángel Blanco Foundation, Marimar Blanco; the Deputy Minister of Justice and Victims, Carmen Martín; and the Commissioner for Attention to Victims of Terrorism, Rocío López. Also present at the Victims of Terrorism Park were councilors from the Corporation, members of the Security Forces, representatives of the social fabric, and numerous residents.
A Moral Obligation
The acting mayor, Marta Martín, stated that "Alcobendas is a city convinced that keeping the memory of Miguel Ángel Blanco alive is a moral obligation for all democrats who refuse to live in the twilight and threat of those who only know how to hate." The mayor added that, from the pain following the assassination of Miguel Ángel Blanco, the "spirit of Ermua" was born, as a symbol of the unity of the Spanish people against terrorist barbarism. Subsequently, all present, standing up, observed a respectful minute of silence in memory of the councilor murdered by the terrorist group ETA. Marta Martín read the manifesto "Somos memoria," prepared by the Miguel Ángel Blanco Foundation on the twenty-eighth anniversary of the assassination. The manifesto reflects on the emotional turmoil, shattered hope, indignation, compassion for the victim, and repulsion towards terrorism that citizens of sufficient age felt during four days that changed the history of the fight against terrorism in Spain. It describes Ermua as a symbol of resistance against terrorism, following the 777 fatal victims of ETA. The text advocates for the assassins of Miguel Ángel Blanco to serve their sentences "without shortcuts, without illegalities, for justice." The manifesto defends the construction of "a memory of terrorism and its victims that defends the constitutional democracy for which thousands of Spaniards gave their lives. Let us honor this sacrifice."
Marimar Blanco, president of the Miguel Ángel Blanco Foundation, stated that the murder of her brother "was a turning point in the conscience of our country. Millions of Spaniards took to the streets to defend human dignity and freedom."
Former Minister Mayor Oreja thanked the City Council for the tribute paid "not only to Miguel Ángel Blanco, but to all victims of terrorism," and added: "We all have a permanent debt of gratitude to the victims of terrorism. The truth about terrorism is the victims and the pain they cause."
Musical Rehearsal Spaces
After Rocío García Alcántara took office as mayor in June 2023, one of the first decisions of the new Alcobendas government team was to restore the solemnity of this municipal tribute in memory of Miguel Ángel Blanco. Two years ago, at the tribute held in July 2023, the mayor announced that the new musical rehearsal spaces in the city would be named after the murdered councilor, in recognition of his "passion" for music. For the mayor, this tribute from the city responds to "a neighborhood demand" and settles "a historical debt of Spaniards with those who sacrificed themselves to defend freedoms in a context of terror."
