Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 10 Apr. (Press Europa) –
The Socialist Group in the Parliament of the Canary Islands has urged the Ministry of Presidency, Public Administrations, Justice and Security of the Canary Islands to expedite the final phase of the catalogue of Francoist vessels, thereby providing the municipalities with “legal certainty” to proceed with the removal of Franco’s symbols.
During a parliamentary committee meeting, the socialist spokesperson, Jorge Tomás González, requested that advisor Nieves Lady Barreto implement specific measures to ensure the effective enforcement of the Democratic Memory Law in the Canary Islands. González also inquired about the number of removed Francoist symbols, to which no response was provided as there is no “updated figure.”
“It is up to the municipalities to act, and I do not possess that updated data,” stated the advisor for the area, who indicated that she will soon convene the next Historical Memory Commission, where the Ministry of Universities of the Canary Islands Government will present the final phase of the catalogue, which includes 428 recorded items, with 225 located in Santa Cruz and 203 in Las Palmas.
From the opposition side, González expressed his belief that this process is “very slow.” In that regard, he urged the advisor for greater “agility,” emphasising that it concerns “justice” and “memory.” “If we discuss these matters today in a calm manner, I believe it will hasten the initiation of the catalogue,” he remarked.
He advocated for the legal certainty that, according to him, must be provided to the municipalities in their efforts to remove Francoist symbols from public spaces, along with “specific measures” that adhere to the Law of Historical Memory in the Islands.
Conversely, Lady Barreto, who reviewed the various actions undertaken by the Ministry of Historical Memory – including the completion of the first phase of exhumation of the Pino of the Consuelo in Fuencaliente (La Palma) – reiterated the commitment of central, regional, cabildo and City Council authorities to proceed with the exhumation of the entire site, while ensuring “maximum legal security” as mandated by the law.
