Covite denounces that six other Basque municipalities include ETA members in victim lists

Six other Basque municipalities include ETA members in their lists of victims on memory pages identical to those of the Galdakao City Council, prepared in conjunction with Aranzadi, the group of victims of terrorism that Covite denounced this Wednesday.

Covite explained in a statement that the Gipuzkoan municipalities of Villabona, Oiartzun, Hernani, Azpeitia, Tolosa and Orio, all governed by EH Bildu except Tolosa (PNV), have memory websites identical to Galdakao’s, integrated into Aranzadi’s “Oroimena” project, which contains data from ETA members affected by human rights violations “arising from political violence”.

On the Villabona website, Óscar Zelarain Ortiz, convicted of two murders, appears as a victim of “penal policy and the application of exceptional laws”, while the Oiartzun website contains the file of Joanes Larretxea Mendiola, one of those convicted of the murder of businessman Inazio Uria.

The Hernani page contains the file of Ekain Ruiz, also classified as a victim of “other events arising from political violence” resulting in death, in particular due to the “explosion of the devices or weapons with which he was engaged”. Ruiz, attached to the commando that killed José María Martín Carpena of the PP in Malaga, died on August 7, 2000 along with three other members of ETA when the car loaded with weapons in which they were driving through the Bolueta neighborhood of Bilbao exploded. .

The historical leader of ETA José Luis Arrieta Zubimendi, Azkoiti, who died in Baiona in 2001, is listed by the City Council of Azpeitia, classified as “dead in a situation of deportation”. “That is,” Covite added, “died of natural causes as a fugitive from justice.” There is also Gotzon Aranburu Sodupe, sentenced to 35 years in prison, who was allegedly tortured, just as Patxi Uranga Salbide is reported on the Orio City Council website.

Finally, the Tolosa memory section mentions Txabi Etxebarrieta Ortiz, the first member of ETA to kill, most notably the vigilante José Antonio Pardines, and who was later shot dead by the Armed Institute. Etxebarrieta appears as a victim of the “violation of the right to life” committed by the Guardia Civil.

“There is nothing more insulting and humiliating to the victims of ETA than being equated with their killers. It is absolutely unworthy that web pages that distort and falsify the recent memory of our country in such a way should be financed with public money .” perverse,” Covite warned.