Torture is the intentional destruction of a human being at the hands of another. The methods used to inflict great pain and suffering vary, but they all have the same goal: to break the victim, destroy them as a person, and deny their human condition.
This is the definition offered by the World Organization Against Torture. I looked it up to talk about the campaign that victims of the repression and civil organizations have just launched to demand justice and denounce the fact that the crimes of Franco's regime still go unpunished.
Yet. This year will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Francisco Franco, which is a bit early. Half a century.
European justice has said on several occasions that the victims of Franco's regime are overdue. And the campaign it has launched emphasizes that if, indeed, too much time has passed, it is because the Spanish political context at the end of the dictatorship made it impossible to investigate those crimes. And yet it is not too late: it is now or never. We still have time; the victims are still there. And so do the torturers.
The campaign slogan couldn't be more apt: "It's never too late for justice, but it must be done now."
A hundred victims of Franco's regime have sent a letter to the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Committee Against Torture to demand that Spain be forced to investigate the torture committed during the late Franco era and the Transition. In the letter, the victims lament that many of those who suffered the crimes have already died without those responsible having been brought to trial. They claim that justice must be done now, while the perpetrators can still answer for the horrific acts they committed.
Reparations are necessary for the victims and their families, but, even more so, they are essential to put an end to so-called sociological Francoism. This kind of nauseating shame that emerges from the depths of the State, half a century after the dictator's death. In this sense we must recognize that when Franco said he was leaving everything behind,tied and tied well"He was not wrong.
Spain has not had the slightest intention of judging and condemning Francoism until now. It was only four days ago that the The Congress of Deputies has approved the law that should allow the outlawing of Francoist associations. and apologists for the dictatorship—the law, however, does not affect the Francisco Franco Foundation.
During the Transition, the vast majority of us believed—out of naiveté and youth, or out of fear of our elders—that we had to give in, negotiate, and reconcile, to avoid greater evils and preserve a democracy that was in its infancy. Many believe that the evil comes from there, and they are very likely right. But we still have time, and, as the campaign says, IT MUST BE NOW.
I don't know how each of us can help beyond signing the letter. It may seem like a useless gesture, but as we know, many voices are raising a cry. And it may be a cry that allows us to preserve our dignity. You can add the link to Justiciaantifranquista.org.
The signatures will translate into strength to push the hundreds of people who suffered repression under Franco's regime, who, in a letter addressed to the European Court of Human Rights and United Nations agencies, are calling for a final investigation into Franco's crimes.
