victims

Secretary General of ‘abertzale’ Basque separatist party Sortu and former member of Basque terrorist group ETA, Arnaldo Otegi met this Wednesday with Parliament’s President, Carme Forcadell. The meeting provoked huge media expectation and also triggered fierce criticism amongst several groups in the Parliament. The People’s Party of Catalonia (PPC) and Spanish Unionist ‘Ciutadans accused Forcadell of “listening to terrorists” and met with the Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT) instead. Earlier this morning, Otegi explained in an interview with Catalunya Radio that Catalonia’s pro-independence process “has no turning back” and that the aim of his visit is “to listen and to learn”. Otegi also hoped that the Basque pro-independence process would have a leader such as former Catalan President Artur Mas.

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont and current Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy presided over the tribute to the victims of the Germanwings aircraft which crashed in the French Alps one year ago, on its way from Barcelona to Düsseldorf, with 150 on board. Both presidents exchanged “cordial” words during the institutional event but avoided commenting on any political issue, sources from the government stated. This Wednesday’s coincidence was the first meeting between Puigdemont and Rajoy since the Catalan President took office, on the 12^th of January. The Catalan government’s spokeswoman, Neus Munté, noted that Rajoy didn’t call Puigdemont when he was instated as President or to “show condolence” after the coach crash which killed 13 international students this past Sunday in the south of Catalonia.

Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, travelled this Monday to Catalonia on a private visit, as he was related to one of the victims of the coach crash which occurred in the South of Catalonia on Sunday, killing at least 13 internationals who were returning from a trip to Valencia. 7 of the 13 victims, all of them female, were Italian, two were German and the rest were from Romania, France, Austria and Uzbekistan respectively. All of the victims were aged between 19 and 25. Catalan President, Carles Puigdemont, received Renzi at the airport in Tortosa and will accompany him during his visit. Eight families have already travelled to Catalonia to start the identification of the victims and three more are expected to arrive throughout this Monday.

MEPs from eight different parties asked the European Commission to urge Spain to investigate and judge the crimes committed during Franco’s dictatorship. “Justice doesn’t expire. We don’t aim for vengeance but reparation”stated Catalan left-wing ERC-NeCAT MEP Ernest Maragall on Tuesday at a joint press conference in Strasbourg. Maragall was joined by Catalan MEPs from ERC-NeCAT, liberal party CDC, left-wing ICV and christian democrat UDC, as well as MEPs from Basque nationalist PNB and Bildu and alternative left-wing Spanish parties Compromís and Podemos. They wrote a joint declaration which stated that “the principle of universal justice makes impossible the impunity of the crimes”committed during Francoism and “forces the State to judge those who were responsible”. “This is not about opening wounds but to close them”stated PodemosMEP Miguel Urbán.

Catalan civil society association Òmnium Cultural will organise a massive event this Friday to pay tribute to Francoism's forgotten victims and condemn the crimes committed during Franco's dictatorship. The homage coincides with the 40^th anniversary of General Francisco Franco's death, who died in bed afterwinning the Spanish Civil War, with the aid of Hitler and Mussolini, and leading a regime of terror that lasted 36 years. Different to what happened in Germany or Italy after their fascist regimes, Spain started a transition period towards democracy but many crimes were left unpunished. The homage will take place in Barcelona's Model prison, since it was "a symbol of repression and torture" during Francoism, stated Òmnium's president, Quim Torra. Òmnium has also written a document which "condemns the dictatorship" and urges for the "victims' reparation".

A state funeral for the victims of the Germanwings plane that was intentionally crashed in the French Alps in March is to be held this Monday evening at 6pm (CET) at Barcelona's Sagrada Família basilica. The flight was going from Barcelona to Düsseldorf and, out of the 150 casualties, 53 were living in Catalonia. The ceremony follows the state funeral that took place in Cologne's Cathedral 10 days ago. The King of Spain, Felipe VI, is going to be attending the Barcelona ceremony, together with his wife, Queen Letizia. There has been some controversy over the fact that the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona, Lluís Martínez Sistach, has chosen to celebrate a Catholic mass, instead of holding a multi-confessional ceremony in order to represent as much as possible the victims' different faiths. Regarding language diversity, the ceremony will be held in Spanish, Catalan, German, French, English and Greek. In the German ceremony, Catalan was not included, nor was it included on the memorial plaque set at the crash site.

On Thursday, the families of the Germanwings crash victims arrived at the crash site to bid farewell to their relatives. They did so on the day it became known that the aircraft was deliberately crashed by the co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, killing all 150 people on board. A private ceremony took place in a field in Le Vernet that hosts a small chapel and faces the mountain on which the plane crashed. The relatives of the victims, most of them Germans and Catalans, arrived by bus from Marseille, escorted by the French Gendarmerie and psychological support teams. A tribute plaque was unveiled and they were told that the crash happened just on the other side of the mountain in front of them. After the ceremony, they were transferred to a pavilion in Seyne-les-Alpes, where they were offered religious services of various faiths for those who needed them. In the evening, most of the Catalan families decided to return home, as initially planned.

A bus transporting relatives of the passengers of the Germanwings flight that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday has departed on Wednesday evening from Barcelona, together with a support team from Catalonia's Medical Emergencies Service (SEM). In addition, on Thursday morning, Lufthansa, which owns low-cost airline Germanwings, will put on a plane from Barcelona to Marseille to transport other relatives, who will also travel with SEM teams. The CEO of the German company, Carsten Spohr, held a press conference in Barcelona El Prat Airport on Wednesday evening, in which he announced this measure, after meeting with some relatives. Spohr also stated that the accident was "incomprehensible" and that the aircraft had departed from Barcelona with a half-hour delay due to airport traffic and not because of a technical problem. During the day, relatives have been taken care of in a hotel in Castelldefels.

The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas, travelled on Wednesday morning to France in order to visit the crash site of the Germanwings Barcelona-Düsseldorf flight, which crashed in the Alps on Tuesday killing all 150 people on board. Out of the 51 passengers with Spanish passports whose identities have so far been confirmed, 39 of them were Catalans, although this figure is likely to increase in the coming hours. Furthermore, although not Spanish nationals, other victims had been living and working in Catalonia. Mas joined the Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy, who was also visiting the area together with the French President, François Hollande, and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Rajoy and Mas flew together to France, and arrived at the crash site by road a few minutes after Hollande and Merkel.

Town halls and the Catalan Parliament, but also private companies, public institutions and a high school related to the victims of the Germanwings aircraft have observed a minutes silence on Wednesday at noon, in tribute to the 150 people killed in the accident in the French Alps. At least 39 of the 51 victims with Spanish nationality were Catalans, although this figure is likely to increase in the coming hours. Many were businesspeople on their way to an agri-food fair in Cologne. Among the victims there was also a group of 16 high school students and 2 teachers from Germany, whom had spent an exchange week in Llinars del Vallès (Greater Barcelona). The high school that hosted them held a homage and mourning tribute. In addition, Barcelona's Liceu Opera Theatre also observed a minutes silence, since baritone Oleg Bryjak and mezzo Maria Radner, and her family, were among the victims.

Barcelona El Prat has been the main centre in Catalonia for assisting the relatives of the passengers flying on the Germanwings aircraft between the Catalan airport and Düsseldorf that crashed in the Alps this morning. 150 people were on board and, most likely, there will not be any survivors, according to French authorities. Teams of psychologists, social workers and first responders, from the Catalan Government, the Red Cross and professional associations have been deployed at Terminal 2. Lufthansa, the owner of Germanwings, attended more than 150 relatives and booked nearby hotels to host them during the upcoming days. The flight was regularly used by Germans working in Catalonia as well as by tourists. A group of 16 German high school students was on board, after spending an exchange week in the Greater Barcelona area. At least 31 Catalans were also travelling to Düsseldorf on this flight, many of them to attend a trade fair. Catalan authorities have declared 3 official days of mourning.

A Germanwings Airbus A320 airliner covering the route between Barcelona El Prat and Düsseldorf has crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday around 11am (CET), according to initial information from the radio station Europe 1. According to the French President, François Hollande, it is very likely that "there will not by any survivors". The GWI9525 flight, run by Lufthansa's low-cost company, was carrying 144 passengers and 6 crew members (2 pilots and 4 cabin staff). The Spanish Government announced there were "45 people with Spanish surnames" on board, and 42 passengers were of Spanish nationality, announced Germanwings. The Vice President of the Catalan Government, Joana Ortega, is heading to the area.

The terrorist attack in Tunis' Bardo National Museum that took place on Wednesday killed 23 people, 20 tourists and 3 locals, and injured more than 40. Among the fatalities there was an elderly couple from Barcelona, who were celebrating their 50^th wedding anniversary. Antoni Cirera, aged 75, and Dolors Sánchez, aged 73, were given a cruise trip by their children to celebrate the special occasion. Their family is already on their way to the North African country. Neighbours preferred not to talk to the press out of respect for the family. The Catalan Government and Barcelona City Council have expressed "a fervent repulsion" to the attack and have paid tribute to the victims in Sant Jaume Square on Thursday. In addition, the Spanish PM, Mariano Rajoy, expressed his sorrow "for the Cirera-Sánchez family" and announced that members of the Spanish Police specialised in counter-terrorism have travelled to Tunisia.

The victims of Franco's regime have denounced before the European Parliament in Brussels crimes committed during the dictatorship and their impunity in Spain. They urged EU institutions to play “a more active and committed role” in facing the problem. Merçona Puig, sister of Salvador Puig Antich, who was one of the last victims of the Francoist garrotte executions, hopes that this action will serve “to apply pressure” so that Francoist ex-ministers can be extradited to Argentina, where there is an ongoing judicial process. Other figures also participated in the Brussels event, such as representatives of the association for babies stolen during the dictatorship and the association of the 1976 Vitoria massacre, where police fired on striking workers.

On Wednesday evening, spontaneous demonstrations were organised in front of the French Consulate in Barcelona and in other places across Catalonia in solidarity with the victims and in condemnation of the Jihadist slaughter that killed 12 people in the Paris headquarters of the weekly satirical magazine ‘Charlie Hebdo’. On Thursday morning, hundreds of citizens gathered in front of the main Catalan town halls as well. Furthermore, Catalan authorities have also paid tribute to the victims on the day after the massacre. The President of the Catalan Government, Artur Mas; the Mayor of Barcelona, Xavier Trias; and the political groups of the Catalan Parliament all stood in front of their office buildings and observed a minute’s silence to pay homage.