The Valencian Government wants a practice such as stolen babies to be investigated beyond the legal framework allowed by the laws of democratic memory. Executive sources admit to La Vanguardia that they have evidence that the theft of newborns continued after the approval of the Constitution but, as the Minister for Democratic Quality, Rosa Pérez Garijo, pointed out yesterday in a public appearance, only cases that have occurred can be investigated until 1978.
The proposal of the regional government is that wounds can be repaired and closed without this time limit, but for this a change at the state level is necessary. This is not the only claim that the department of the Esquerra Unida councilor makes to the Government of Spain.
Yesterday Pérez Garijo also demanded that he create a State DNA Bank "that allows the crossing of data between autonomous communities and increases the chances that family members can be reunited."
He did so at a press conference in which he announced the identification of the kinship of two pairs of brothers who were stolen from their biological parents during the Franco regime. In this sense, the minister regretted that this type of investigation is "in its infancy" since no other autonomy has a similar system and in many cases it is difficult to detect them because they have changed communities throughout their lives. "We know that a regional bank falls short," she said.
In this line, Pérez Garijo highlighted that the Generalitat Valenciana is "the first public administration in Spain to carry out a study on cases of stolen babies through the most advanced techniques" of DNA sequencing and added that it is "essential" to continue taking samples from people affected by the theft of newborns "so that they are part of this DNA bank that will clarify a practice that was carried out in Spain for decades with absolute impunity."
Yesterday the Interdepartmental Commission for the Recovery of Democratic Memory also met, which approved the Strategic Plan for Democratic Memory to promote "the right of victims and their families to their recognition, justice, and reparation as a guarantee of non-repetition."
The document, of four-year duration, contains the objectives and priorities of the regional Executive in this matter, in addition to establishing specific measures related to the work of investigation, location, exhumation and identification of the victims of the Civil War and the Franco regime.
Among the measures of the plan is, precisely, the creation of a map of graves and a DNA data bank in collaboration with Fisabio (Foundation for the Promotion of Sanitary and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community) that allows the preparation of a census of victims as well as a specific plan for stolen babies for identification.
The total elimination of vestiges contrary to democratic memory is also addressed and a policy of exhibition of the heritage related to the Second Republic, the Civil War, the Franco dictatorship and the transition is developed to make the rich existing heritage known to Valencian society and provide educational elements to the public to learn about the past.
At the same time, the protection of war heritage, the construction of monuments and memorials dedicated to the victims of Franco's repression and interpretation centers of democratic memory are contemplated, as well as the creation of a documentary collection on Valencian democratic memory.
There are other objectives such as the creation of assistance and assistance offices for victims that cover the Valencian territory and the promotion of a legislative initiative to modify the Penal Code to introduce the crime of apology for Francoism is addressed as an innovative proposal, in the same way that the exaltation of terrorism is included in article 578 of the Spanish Penal Code.
The last of the axes deals with the different actions of collaboration, coordination and cooperation in the Valencian Community and also with the State and other autonomous communities to share the best practices in democratic memory.
