MADRID, 24 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Secretary of State for Democratic Memory, Fernando Martínez López, sent a letter early this morning to the Big Brother of the Brotherhood of La Macarena, José Antonio Fernández Cabrero, asking him to proceed to comply with the Democratic Memory Law through the exhumation and subsequent transfer of the remains of Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra and Francisco Bohórquez Vecina.
This letter comes after the approval by the Cortes and the publication in the Official State Gazette, Law 20/2022, of October 19, on Democratic Memory has come into force.
According to the letter, “this new rule aims to close a debt of Spanish democracy with its past and promote a common discourse based on the defense of peace, pluralism and the condemnation of all forms of political totalitarianism that puts the effective enjoyment of the rights and freedoms inherent in human dignity”.
Thus, they expose that since 1951, the mortal remains of the leader of the 1936 uprising and responsible for the repression in Andalusia at a later date, Gonzalo Queipo de Llano y Sierra, rest under the chapel of the Virgin of the Basilica of Hope Macarena. And that the mortal remains of Francisco Bohórquez Vecina, auditor of war and responsible for the execution of sentences with application of war decree, are also found in the temple.
“During recent years, the paradox that this presence in a religious site intended for worship and prayer entails has been the subject of a broad social debate, which has been echoed by numerous media outlets and national and international publications,” they add. Following.
Therefore, as a sign of respect for the victims and their families, and in compliance with the provisions of the new law, “it is mandatory to put an end to this situation.”
In the letter, Martínez acknowledges that the Brotherhood of the Macarena “plays an undoubted role of reference, both in the city of Seville and in the rest of the national territory” and values ??the statements of his Big Brother, in which he assured that the brotherhood ” will scrupulously comply” with the Law and “is waiting to be told what to do” from the entry into force of the reform because he should not make a “decision” of his own since his brothers are “divided”.
In his opinion, this pronouncement constitutes an “unequivocal expression both of respect for the legal provisions in force and of commitment to comply with them”, for which he shows “no doubt that the observance of the regulations established in Law 20/2022, of October 19, inspired by the principles of International Humanitarian Law, is appropriately inscribed in the operating criteria of the entity that you represent”.
In this regard, the Secretary of State for Democratic Memory thanks Brother Major de la Macarena for his “willingness to facilitate as much as possible and as soon as possible the completion of the necessary procedures for the exhumation and transfer of the remains of Gonzalo Queipo de Llano and Sierra and Francisco Bohórquez Vecina” and is at your disposal “for any questions or queries you may have, in the shared objective of complying with and enforcing Law 20/2022, of October 19, on Democratic Memory”.
“A law of all and for all, which promotes the cohesion and solidarity of citizens and the different generations around the principles, values ??and constitutional freedoms. A law that defends democracy and fundamental rights as a common paradigm and indelible horizon of our public life, coexistence and civic awareness”, concludes the letter.
