The plans to change the physiognomy of the monument to the fallen of Pamplona – in memory of the 4,500 Navarrese killed in the civil war – continue to go ahead in a “resignification” that could be branded as a test bench for the Valley of the Fallen, with which this monumental building of the Navarre capital has been compared, which raffled a request for demolition and was armored for maintenance with modifications.
Specialist Committee
It is planned that elements of “Francoist exaltation” disappear as The exterior arches, the crypts in which the remains of Mola and Sanjurjo were (exhumed in 2016) and the marbles with inscriptions of Franco.
A Committee composed of 14 specialists will be in charge of proposing the contents of the future memory center that is expected to be located in the complex, and that will have as a priority “incorporate the story of Who were the perpetrators and how that time of repression was developed and death »during the civil war and the Franco dictatorship, according to the Pamplonica City Council.
The creation of the Center forces to modify the degree of protection of the Fallen monument, a measure in charge of the Consistory Governing Board as a previous step. The decision will be transferred to the General Directorate of Culture – Prince of Viana -, whose mandatory and binding report will complete the process.
The plans were revealed by the mayor of Pamplona, Joseba Asiron, who said that in the future memory center “the story centered on the perpetrators will be prioritized, how they acted and how repression was structured during the civil war and the subsequent Franco regime ». A vision that “will complement the perspective of the victims, which has been collected in the different memory spaces and will be perfectly coordinated with the Institute of Memory in such a way that they will be complementary,” in the words of the councilor. In fact, The director of this institute is in the expert committee.
These plans are opposed by the association for reconciliation and historical truth, which fought for the declaration of the complex as a good of cultural interest (BIC) and pursues a foral law that protects the monument as a historical-artistic heritage “of all.” Its president, Javier Campal, radically rejects the modification of the enclave and laments the «Canibration of the other people’s monuments».
“A shame”
Speaking to La Razón, deplores the planned plans. “One has to Stop manipulating, trying to change history by destroying it; It is a shame, ”says the head of the assignment of the Pyramid of the Italians to the presiding entity, for rehabilitation.
For his part, Ismael de la Barba, an architect of the entity, believes that «the team of 14 alleged experts is Hypertrophied historians, philosophers and some graduate in Fine Artsespecially overturned in the museum spectrum ».
In the opinion of this specialist, «it significantly suffers from the presence of architects, and it is significant that all, without exception, are linked to the world of democratic memory o dignify the dead of only one side.
For this reason, «the feeling is that only the contents to be implemented are given value, convening a group that blends the political decision and moves away from establishing an impartial debate that can define what really happened and who was linked »with the enclosure.
Assures of the beard that “There is no intention to establish a debate about the quality of the monument.” In this sense, there are a series of “unquestionable facts,” he argues, starting because it is “one of the few examples of votive architecture of the second half twentieth centuryand not only in Spain ».
The building «is responsible for the best architects and artists of the moment; All of them members of the Academy of Fine Arts, and with an extensive work for the most part ».
“Emblematic” building
In the urban area of Pamplona, «the presence in the growth of the city in its second width makes the fallen monument An emblematic building as a counterpoint To the Plaza del Castillo, ”he affects.
And, ultimately, the enclosure “It has a historical and artistic meaning of the first magnitude.” The architect considers that “all are sufficient merits to be listed both in the municipal and regional list, with a very high degree.”
The planned modification “implies a process that changes the General Urban Planning Plan”, which “It will also entail a appeal in the courts.”
Therefore, as in the valley of the fallen, «there is a feeling of end of the cycle that It drives to take precipitated initiatives and without sufficient guarantees to be completed with the intention of being able to maintain in court the arbitrary decisions that are being taken, ”concludes Ismael de la Barba.