Historical study at new Sant Francesc cemetery to deal with remembering democratic past

foto visita 2020 isabel castroEarlier today, Consell de Formentera president Alejandra Ferrer met at the seat of local government with Isabel Castro, head of the Balearic Department of Public Administrations and Modernisation, as well as Formentera cabinet members like the consellera of patrimony, Raquel Guasch, head of interior Josep Marí, chief of new technologies and citizen participation Vanessa Parellada and Marc Herrera, head of the democratic memory division of the Govern balear.

Ms Castro used the meeting to provide an overview of the government’s plan for 2019-2020 concerning mass graves. Part of the plan involves a historical study on the more recent of two cemeteries in Sant Francesc. The goal is twofold: first to determine whether the cemetery has ever held remains of individuals killed during the Spanish Civil War, and second, if those remains are still there, or if the site has been altered.

According to Minister Castro, such a study will be “crucial in determining whether future work is to happen on site. We know there are families who are looking for ancestors and this site could potentially hold the key. The study could help us determine the location of future disinterments or help us avoid wild-goose chases.”

For her part, President Ferrer welcomed the progress made “restoring dignity to the story of our democracy” and said she was glad to see disinterments on the island were moving forward. Consellera Guasch insisted that the regional minister’s visit underscored “the will to work together so we can begin the task of awarding reparations to victims of Franco’s regime”.

Other issues
Consellera Parellada spoke to Castro about issues on the island that require attention —emerging technology, for instance, as well as Wi-Fi coverage and the Consell de Formentera’s online catalogue of services— not to mention about questions relative to citizen participation.

Conseller Marí said the Balearic School of Public Administration owed Formentera police and firefighters more opportunities in training, courses and professional retraining, and called the extension across the island of the energy network “essential”. Attendees also spoke about the possibility of a new, locally stationed “mobility agent”.

11 March 2020
Department of Communications
Consell de Formentera