FUNDACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 93 - ENGLISH

50 T he Association of Victims of Te- rrorism, together with APAVT, held its 11th AVT Conference in the Basque Country, under the slogan "Pain does not expire: victims, memory and prison policy". The meeting, which took place in the Salón de Grados of the Faculty of Law of the University of the Basque Country, brought together victims, experts and institutional repre- sentatives in an event that is now firmly established in the AVT calendar. The opening ceremony was led by the Basque Government's Minister of Jus- tice and Human Rights, María Jesús San José; the president of the AVT, Maite Araluce; and the president of the APAVT, Mónica Muñoz, who asked for a minute's silence before the event be- gan and highlighted the importance of continuing to promote spaces that keep memory alive and make the demands of victims visible. In her speech, Maite Araluce asked tho- se present to "make these conferences a space for remembrance and commit- ment" and insisted that "as long as the- re are unsolved attacks, murderers on AVT the streets who have not served their full sentences, tributes to terrorists and speeches that whitewash the past, it is our duty to remain here, remembering, demanding and telling the truth about what happened." The first panel, entitled "Prison policy for ETA prisoners. Flexibility or full ser- ving of sentences," featured Montserrat Torija, Director General of Support for Victims of Terrorism at the Ministry of the Interior, and Inés Soria, advisor to the Basque Government on prison matters. Moderated by AVT councillor Miguel Folguera, both analysed how prison decisions affect so directly to the victims' perception of justice, empha- sising the need for all measures to be adopted with rigour and transparency. Among the highlights of the round ta- ble, Inés Soria clarified that "the depart- ment's desire is that victims of terrorism should not learn about grade progres- sions through the media," showing her awareness of the harm and negative im- pact this has on them. The second panel, "Pain has no expiry date. What revictimises victims of terro- rism today", featured Aurora Intxausti and José de Jesús, victims of terrorism, in a conversation moderated by Arantxa Soriano, coordinator of the AVT's Psy- chosocial Department. Their testimo- nies showed that, despite the passing of the years, the emotional wound remains open and that many victims continue to face situations that reactivate their su- ffering and question their dignity. The third panel, entitled "Keeping ali- ve the memory of the victims of terro- rism. How it continues to be a stigma for professionals vs. the gratitude of the victims," brought together producer María Luisa Gutiérrez and terrorism victim Lucía Ruiz, moderated by Car- men Ladrón de Guevara, lawyer for the AVT. Both They highlighted the funda- mental role played by culture, the media THE AVT CELEBRATES ITS 11TH CONFERENCE ON TERRORISM IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY ASSOCIATIONS AND FOUNDATIONS