Aburto preside el acto de homenaje en el que se ha hecho una ofrenda floral junto a los familiares de la víctima
Bilbao has inaugurated a commemorative plaque in memory of Ramón Baglietto, shot dead by ETA on May 12, 1980 in Elgoibar (Gipuzkoa), in an event presided over by the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan Mari Aburto. Members of the Forum for Peace and Coexistence, representatives of the municipal corporation, other institutions, and entities defending Memory, as well as the victim’s widow, Pilar Elías, and her eldest son, Ramón Baglietto, were present.
The attendees, along with the family members, gathered at Anselmo Clavé promenade in Doña Casilda Park, the chosen location for the plaque in memory of Ramón Baglietto, accompanied by the sound of txistus. After a minute of silence in memory of the victim, they made a floral offering.
Baglietto’s eldest son thanked the City Council for their support and recognition of his father with the plaque. Aburto highlighted that this murder «should never have happened,» like many others «that have occurred in our country.»
The Mayor emphasized that «violence has no sense, and no one has the right to take another person’s life.» «Today, with this gesture, we only want to show Pilar and Ramón the closeness of the Bilbao City Council, our empathy, and our support,» he said, adding «they are not alone.»
RAMON BAGLIETTO MARTÍNEZ
Ramón Baglietto was born in Bilbao, married, had two children, and although he lived in the town of Azkoitia, he owned a furniture store in Elgoibar. He was a former councilor of Azkoitia and a member of the Union of the Democratic Center (UCD). At the age of 42, he was killed on the Azkarate hill when returning home from work, as stated by the Bilbao City Council.
His vehicle was shot at while driving on the road, about three kilometers from his house. As a result of the shots, he lost control of the car and crashed into a tree. «Subsequently, the perpetrators of the attack approached and, upon realizing he was still alive, shot him at point-blank range and fled,» it was added, but they were arrested five days later by the security forces.
The council highlighted that years before, Ramón had saved one of his killers from being run over by a truck when he was a child, in an accident that resulted in the death of the mother and brother.
In 2004, one of the terrorists who killed Baglietto opened a glassware business next to his widow’s house. As a result, the National Court ordered the auction of the business for the compensation owed to the victim’s family.
In 2008, the auction took place, and the wife of the ETA member who killed him acquired the business by paying an amount lower than the total compensation due. Ramón Baglietto’s widow, Pilar Elías, later joined the Popular Party’s lists for municipal elections and was a councilor in the town of Azkoitia from 1995 to 2011.
TWELVE PLAQUES FOR VICTIMS IN BILBAO
The City Council emphasized that this plaque is the twelfth installed in the city in tribute to terrorism victims. Each plaque includes a QR code linking to the City Council’s website, where the so-called Memory Map is being developed, documenting events related to political violence and terrorism in the city.
The plaques, the first of which was installed in 2022, commemorate victims such as Ángel Pascual Múgica, José María Urquizu Goyogana, Benicio Alonso Gómez, Fermín Monasterio Pérez, Francisco Javier Núñez Fernández, Anastasio Leal Serradilla, David Salvador Bernardo, Joseba Goikoetxea Asla, Angel Esparta Basterra, Yolanda González Martín, and José Luis De Raymundo Moya.
All of them are part of the ‘Memory Map of Bilbao,’ an initiative of the City Council and the ‘Bilbao Forum for Peace and Coexistence,’ aimed at preserving the memory of these victims and geo-referencing events linked to political violence and terrorism in the city.
This forum was established on October 16, 2017, as a meeting and collaboration space to support municipal public policies related to terrorism and violence victims. Its goal is to work and agree on actions and programs that help deepen the values of respect and coexistence.
Comprising victims, political groups, technical agents, and recognized experts in the field of Peace and Coexistence, the forum also provides an «added value,» according to the council, by placing victims at the center and creating a space to work on a memory based on the principles of truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition.
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