María San Gil Advocates for Gregorio Ordóñez's Memory at CEU in Elche

The University CEU Cardenal Herrera of Elche hosted a new session of the 'CEU with the Victims' series on Wednesday, December 3rd, dedicated to remembering Gregorio Ordóñez, a Popular Party leader assassinated by ETA in 1995. Before the event began, María San Gil, director of the CEU-CEFAS Observatory for Victims of Terrorism, addressed the media, emphasizing the importance of bringing this story to younger generations.

"I find it crucial that young people learn firsthand who Gregorio Ordóñez was," she stated, insisting that "the victims of terrorism are the heroes of our democracy." San Gil lamented that many young people are unaware of this recent part of history and warned that "ETA is not just past, it is present and future, because its political project remains alive." In this regard, she denounced that current formations like Bildu "directly stem from the network of the group," expressing concern over their growing institutional presence in the Basque Country.

During her speech, the former president of the Basque PP took time to reflect on the mistakes made as a society by not clearly delegitimizing, as she explains, ETA's political project: "We have done something very wrong for those who were part of that terrorist history to be considered men of peace today," she noted. Therefore, she advocates for the need to recover the memory of the victims and encourages young people to "seek the truth," even though "it is often very hidden."

The event included the screening of a documentary dedicated to Ordóñez, directed by Basque filmmaker Iñaki Arteta, whom San Gil describes as "another Basque who has dedicated his life to telling the story of the victims." Regarding the audiovisual piece, she recalled that it was made to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the assassination of the Donostia politician and that "only Arteta could do it, with the collaboration of the Community of Madrid."

The documentary traces Ordóñez's career, "a committed, honest, and brave man" whose figure had become a reference in 1990s San Sebastián.

Additionally, San Gil explained that the 1995 polls placed Ordóñez as the favorite candidate for the mayoralty of the Gipuzkoan capital and that this change would have had a decisive political impact: "ETA knew they could not allow Gregorio to become mayor," she stated. "They knew he was an enemy they could only kill from behind."