The senator Marimar Blancosister of Miguel Ángel Blanco, PP councilor in Ermua (Vizcaya) assassinated by ETA in 1997, attacked on Monday the government of Pedro Sánchez for Txapote Reform which could mean reduced sentences for ETA prisoners. Given the criticism launched these days by the Executive and the PSOE against the PP for “use of victims”, Marimar addressed the PSOE bench: “You accuse this party (PP) of being nostalgic for ETA. I ask you to look me in the eye today. “Will they tell me, a victim of terrorism, that I am homesick?”he told them, immediately receiving applause from the entire PP bench, standing up.
Likewise, from the speakers’ gallery, Marimar Blanco requested a “sincere forgiveness to all Spaniards” for having voted in favor of his party in Congress during the examination of this bill aimed at transposing a European directive on the exchange of information on criminal records. And immediately afterwards, Blanco denounced the “maneuver” carried out by Addgovernment party, to introduce an amendment in favor of ETA prisoners and thus put an end to a safeguard clause that the executive of the Mariano Rajoy (PP).
The popular senator, who again asked the government to withdraw this law, said that the said amendment Sumar “open the prison doors (to the ETA assassins) and to the injuries of the victims” and stressed that this text is “a consequence of Sánchez’s secret pact with Otegi”.
For her part, the president of the Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT), Maite Aralucepersonally addressed Pedro Sánchez last Saturday to reproach him for the approval of the law, especially when the government assured the AVT in 2022 that there would be no reform in this regard, this could open a legal loophole from which ETA prisoners could take advantage.
This scene of the president of the AVT with the head of the Executive occurred as part of the official National Day reception at the Royal Palace. While the President of the Government was having an informal conversation with journalists, Araluce approached him and blurted: “It’s a shame”.
This bill was debated and unanimously approved in Congress last September and adopted by the Senate without no group introduced vetoes or amendmentsthis Monday’s vote was therefore already in a way a testimony, since despite the support of the majority of the Upper House, the text will be published in the BOE as approved.
