It is a report drawn up in 2020 by various experts from the UPV/EHU that the relatives of the victims have just received. “Very hurt,” asks Pello Aizpuru, brother of one of those killed 39 years ago today, wondering why this report has been left in the drawer for the past few years.
It happened on March 22, 1984 in Pasaia Bay, around 10:30 PM. Dioni Aizpuru, José Mari Izura, Rafa Delas and Pedro Mari Isart, members of the Anti-Capitalist Autonomous Commands, were shot dead by the National Police. After 39 years, no one has yet been brought to justice for those events and it is the tireless struggle of the deceased’s next of kin, both on the streets and in the courts, that has ensured that what happened is not forgotten.
Simultaneously with the 39th anniversary of the ambushis known that the Basque government commissioned the UNESCO Chair for Human Rights and Public Powers from the UPV/EHU an account of the events that took place in Pasaia Bay. Despite the fact that the work, under the direction of Professor of Criminal Law Jon Mirena Landa, was completed in 2020, the relatives of the victims took note of this investigation at the beginning of this month and are therefore “very hurt”. “The conclusions of the report are chilling. We have been knocking on every possible door for 40 years. How has the Basque government been able to keep this report in a drawer for years? Are these the human rights defenders?” Pello wonders. Aizpuru, brother of Dionisio Aizpuru.
In section conclusionsthe report states that there has been no effective and exhaustive judicial investigation to clarify the facts. After a detailed account of the circumstances surrounding the shooting, the experts believe that “they are all factors that gather a series of factual suspicions that overwhelmingly argue for a police operation escalating into extrajudicial executionLikewise, it is verified that “instead of a swift and effective judicial inquiry, it turned into a judicial ordeal guided by constant delaying human rights” and before a “resistance to the emergence of truth”. “This and the virtually generalized institutional silence have, if anything, increased the degree of injustice,” the document qualifies.
The work of the UPV/EHU also includes some recommendations. Among them making the report public and supporting the families of the victims. However, the report came into the hands of the families in early March during a meeting they had with several technicians from the Basque government. Therefore, Aizpuru harshly denounces the treatment they receive and makes sure not all victims are treated the same way. “It is a report of great value and they have kept it in a drawer. How is it possible? There is no justice, I have no words. Then they will say that they treat all victims equally,” he says.
Similarly, Aizpuru recalls “a promise” made by the Basque government to the victims’ families in 2019 that “has not yet arrived”. “They told us that the evaluation committee of the Directorate of Human Rights and Remembrance and Gogora would open a line of work around the Pasaia massacre, and that they might be able to give an official recognition by the end of the 20th year. Until today”, account. No committee has been opened, nor has there been any recognition. “In addition,” he explains, “we have learned that while the case is pending in court – the case has been reopened at the initiative of Joseba Merino, the only member of the Anti-Capitalist Autonomous Commands to survive the ambush – they can not deal with the matter.”
The Deputy Minister of Human Rights, Memory and Cooperation, Jose Antonio Rodriguez Ranzhas assured that he understands the family’s annoyance, and if he has to apologize, he will, adding that it was intended to hand it over to the committee for judging the events of Pasaia.
Tribute acts
With this scenario and on the occasion of the 39th anniversary, several events have been called to commemorate the victims. The central tribute will take place on Saturday, March 25 at 7 pm in the market square of Azpeitia, but today there will also be a flower offering in that same town, at the monolith in the vicinity of Enparan Dorretxea.
The next of kin have already announced that they will make a more exhaustive assessment of the report and the position of the Basque government on Saturday in the act.
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Source: EITB
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
