FUNDACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 94 - ENGLISH

6 IN MEMORIAM NEWS M adrid hosted a moving In Me- moriam ceremony for Lucía Jiménez González, who chaired the Canarian Association of Victims of Terrorism since its creation in 2004 and passed away on 20 December in Be- nalmádena (Málaga), whilst attending the annual conference of the Association of State Security Forces and Corps Victims of Terrorism. Organised by the Ministry of the Inte- rior, the Victims of Terrorism Memorial Centre Foundation and the Victims of Terrorism Foundation in the Mármoles Hall of the Palacio de Zurbano, the event brought together representatives of as- sociations and foundations for victims of terrorism, who paid tribute to the wom- an who, for years, was, in the words of José Vargas, president of the Federation of Regional Associations, “a key figure in the defence of victims of terrorism in the Canary Islands”. IN MEMORIAM BY LUCÍA JIMÉNEZ Among those in attendance were Lucía’s sisters, Virginia and María Encarnación, and her husband, Francisco, accompa- nied by the Undersecretary of the In- terior, Susana Crisóstomo; the director of the Office for Support to Victims of Terrorism, Montserrat Torija; the pres- ident of the Victims of Terrorism Foun- dation, Juan Benito Valenciano, and the director of the Memorial Centre, Flor- encio Domínguez. Representatives from various associations were also present: Maite Araluce (AVT), Francisco Zarago- za and Francisco Javier López Ruiz (As- sociation of Security Forces), Juan Car- los Cuervo (Covite), José María Antón (Extremadura Association), Sebastián Nogales (Castile and León Association), José Ma-nuel Sánchez Riera (Valencia), Jerónimo López (La Rioja), Martina and Rebeca Vidal (Andalusia), Mónica Arau- jo (Support Platform), Asun Olaeta (Zai- tu), Batiz Sánchez (Ertzainas), Alfonso Sánchez (Vitepaz), Alejandro Benito and José Ignacio Martínez (Rodolfo Benito Samaniego Foundation) and María Ca- ballero (Tomás Caballero Foundation), as well as victims and friends of the family. The regional governments were rep- resented by Arritxu Marañón, Deputy Minister for Human Rights, Memory and Coexistence of the Basque Government. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM THE FAMILY The managing director of the Victims of Terrorism Foundation, María Zarauz, opened the floor by highlighting the figure of a woman deeply committed to “the memory and dignity of the victims of terrorism”. A commitment shaped by her personal history: her father was one of the victims of the Polisario Front af- ter being seriously wounded in 1976 in the mines of Fos Bucraa, in Western Sa- hara. “That loss shaped her life and be- came the driving force behind her fight for so many forgotten families,” recalled Zarauz. Among the speeches, that of Virginia Jiménez stood out; she spoke on behalf of the family “with a broken voice, a shattered soul and a broken heart to pay tribute to my elder sister”. After thank- ing everyone and all the institutions for attending, she spoke of Lucía and the indelible legacy left by her work at the helm of ACAVITE, always in defence of the memory, justice and dignity of the victims. She also expressed the family’s gratitude to the Royal Household, and in par- ticular to King Felipe and Queen Leti- zia, for the telegram of condolence they had received. She likewise extended her gratitude to the members of the victims’ associations : “They have been a second