On Thursday 24, the 50th anniversary of the assassination in 1975 of Mikel Gardoki Azpiroz, a member of ETApm, by the Franco police, shot in the Ergobia neighborhood of Astigarraga. On the eve of the anniversary, organized by the Egia Zor Foundation, a tribute has been paid in the fronton of Ategorrieta, in its neighborhood. In the quarter of a century since the assassination, the Francoist version of what happened continues to be the official version, which is why public institutions have been called to continue taking steps towards coexistence: “It’s time to find out the truth.”

Born in Andoain, Gardoki came to San Sebastian very young, with his parents and sister, to live in Ategorrieta. He was 25 years old when he was killed, and in 1979 his name was given to the Ulia promenade next to the Ategorrieta fronton, the current Bordatxipi promenade. However, in 2011, a ruling forced the City Council of San Sebastián to change the name of the street, contrary to the opinion of the majority of the municipal council of the time. However, as we have seen in today’s event, they have not succeeded in erasing Gardoki’s memory.

Juan Miguel Goiburu Mendizabal Goiherria, who was with Gardoki at the time of the shooting, spoke first and told in great detail what happened. He explains that he and Gardoki brought political propaganda about May Day of ETApm from the Basque Country in the North on April 24, 1975 and after leaving the propaganda in Hernani, they went to have a coffee in a bar in Ergobia. On their way out, however, “more than 20 police officers” were waiting for them; the militants began to run, the Francoists shot them and killed Gardoki there. Goiherria survived, but was arrested, tortured and imprisoned in the context of the state of emergency that was imposed in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia in connection with his arrest. You will find all the details of the story of Goierri here.

Mikel Gardoki Azpiroz was assassinated in 1975 by the Franco Police, tiroz.Euskal Memory Foundation

“The truth is hidden behind the darkness”

Ane Muguruza, from the Egiari Zor Foundation, denounces the long and abrupt path that victims of state violence still have to follow in order to gain recognition: “We have known too many deaths caused by groups and armed forces under the command of the state, as well as official versions built to justify these murders. We have been calling for years for the need to open the dark box of official versions.”

In this sense, he emphasizes that the struggle for truth has borne fruit in these years: “As has already been officially proven in 66 cases of death, the official versions were built to conceal the real crimes. Soon we will surpass the figure of 500 official recognitions of women and men who have suffered human rights violations in the Southern Basque Country caused by the Spanish Police, the Police, the Civil Guard, the extreme right, the Triple A or the Spanish Basque Battalion. In fact, 487 people have already been officially recognized and the process continues.”

That is why Muguruza proclaims the truth about the death of Gardoki: “We know that the shooting was caused by the police. We know, specifically, that only the police shot. And we know the names and surnames of several police officers who organized and carried out this surveillance. Mikel Gardoki was deliberately machine-gunned to death without the intention or opportunity to use the weapons they had on them. Since then and to this day, the police report and the judicial proceedings carried out as a result of these events have remained hidden. Based on lies, the truth is hidden behind official secrets and the obscurity of the courts.”

Likewise, the foundation member criticizes the fact that the official Francoist versions are still considered by the public institutions: “What are the elements that support the official version? There isn't one. The account of those who caused his death has been enough for 50 years to make official the version of the military regime declared illegal by the Law of Democratic Memory.” “This lie has been repeated a thousand times in the story that they want to tell in our schools today,” he added.

In conclusion, Muguruza highlighted the “diversity and diversity” of the Basque society and the “positive evolution in terms of the defense and respect for human rights” in recent years. However, he recalls that much work remains to be done on this path, which requires that all victims of political violence be treated equally, “in order to build a democratic coexistence” and “to ensure that such events are not repeated”. “To do this, new managers should address pre-political commitments: stop attacking and humiliating victims of state rape, allow thousands of citizens without official recognition to do so, and not further promote the exclusion and discrimination we experience in public memory policies.”