The Gipuzkoa Square in San Sebastián, which hosted the first silent protest against ETA's violence 40 years ago, also served as the venue yesterday afternoon for a similar event. Attendees observed fifteen minutes of silence, mirroring the first gathering in 1986 following the assassination of national police officer Manuel Fuentes Pedreira by ETA.
Prominent figures from these pacifist groups, such as Cristina Cuesta (former director of the Miguel Ángel Blanco Foundation) and terrorism victims like Rubén Múgica, participated in the event under the slogan "40 years of struggle against ETA and its legitimization". Cuesta expressed gratitude for the participation and praised the "citizen example", emphasizing that "it cannot be allowed for terrorism to continue to be legitimized".
The attendees, many holding signs with the words 'Memory', 'Justice', and 'Dignity', paid tribute to both Manuel Fuentes Pedreira and all victims of terrorism. The event also received support from representatives of the Basque People's Party, including Javier de Andrés, Muriel Larrea, Borja Corominas, and Mikel Lezama, as well as former Basque Government socialist councilor José Antonio Maturana and former San Sebastián councilor Jorge Letamendia.
Similar to the protests during the years of ETA's terrorism, yesterday's event concluded with sustained applause. Cuesta, one of the founders of the Association for Peace and Covite, recalled that the 1986 protest following Fuentes Pedreira's murder was among the first calls to gather the day after any terrorist crime.
Cuesta highlighted the "intense militant and civic activity" carried out by groups like the Association for Peace, Gesto por la Paz, Denon Artean, and Basta Ya, stating it was "in favor of the victims and against violence and terrorism". She detailed, "Our objective was always to reclaim public space through criticism of violence and terrorism, to delegitimize it, and to be close to the victims, for which we held hundreds of events".
She explained that this is a reality that "unfortunately" many young people are unaware of in a city like San Sebastián and in a historic territory like Gipuzkoa, where "so much killing has occurred". "In any case, although we were always few, we provided a different testimony and were present for many decades. And now, while we still have energy, we believe it is a good time to gather and thank all the citizens who supported us at some point for being there with us," she remarked. "There was always a group of civic rebels who maintained a democratic message of non-violence, solidarity, and compassion towards the victims, setting an example of non-violent behavior," she concluded.
