Nerea Melgosa attends the inauguration of the gardens dedicated to Miguel Angel Blanco, murdered by ETA

• On Chile Street, in the Txagorritxu neighborhood of Vitoria-Gasteiz
• “Like so many other people who have suffered terror and violence, Miguel Ángel Blanco and his family deserve the most loving and close memories”

VG 2024 01 17

Ms Nerea Melgosa, Minister of Equality, Justice and Social Policies of the Basque Government, attended this morning the inauguration of the gardens dedicated, on Chile Street in Vitoria-Gasteiz, to Miguel Angel Blanco, Ermua local councilor murdered by ETA on 12 July 1997 two days after being kidnapped. His parents and sister later lived for a time in the capital of Araba-Álava.

In an event in which the mayor and councilors of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Cristina Cuesta, president of the Miguel Ángel Blanco Foundation, participated; and institutional representatives, a plaque has been dedicated in memory of Miguel Ángel Blanco in the gardens that bear his name in front of number 7 Chile Street.

“Like so many other people who have suffered terror and violence” commented Nerea Melgosa, “Miguel Ángel Blanco and his family deserve the most affectionate and close memories of Basque society and today we dedicate it to them in our capital”

On Thursday, July 10, 1997, Blanco was kidnapped by ETA terrorists. This generated an important social reaction against ETA. Two days later, a demonstration against Blanco's kidnapping was called in Bilbao. It was the largest demonstration against ETA in history, gathering 500,000 people. There were also demonstrations in Donostia-San Sebastián, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Pamplona-Iruña, Madrid, Barcelona and dozens of cities. In total, more than 2.5 million people participated in some demonstration against the kidnapping.​