José Luis Úriz Iglesias: “BILLY” Torture, impunity, silence

Jose Luis

Next Tuesday, November 3, the Seville Film Festival begins, during which “Billy” Tortures, impunity, silence” will premiere, a documentary film by filmmaker Max Lemcke, in which I have collaborated by giving my testimony.

I admit that I have not yet seen the complete montage, I leave it for the emotion that I will experience that day in the screening room of its premiere. That is if the blessed coronavirus allows it and if not from home electronically.

I hope so, because in some way Lemcke's work means paying a part of the debt that Spanish society owes to the people who suffer from that sinister character.

Antonio González Pacheco was (I say well because the coronavirus took him away last May), a relevant member of the brutal Social Political Brigade BPS, which during the late Franco era viciously persecuted the democrats who were fighting to end that regime of oppression and terror.

His activity focused mainly on the university environment, although not only, where he became a dark legend like his nickname; “Billy, the boy”, I suppose due to his childish manner and the cruelty that characterized him.

The BPS played the role of the regime's attack dog and brought together professional police officers who wanted to launch their careers, addicts to the dominant ideology and also psychopaths like “Billy” who enjoyed making their victims suffer and humiliating them.

His mission when carrying out his interrogations and torture was not so much to obtain information as to physically and psychologically destroy his victims.

The film is about that and collects the testimonies of about twenty democrats, including mine, who on several occasions I have recounted in my articles, who during the seventies were detained, interrogated, and suffered mistreatment and torture at the hands of that scoundrel.

Among others, José María “Chato” Galante, from whom the paradoxes of fate also snatched the virus just a few weeks before “Billy.” Victim and victimizer united by the pandemic, half justice.

That day, November 11, will be one of those that are considered historic, because those who attend its viewing will not only be observing a small part of our history, they will also hear from those who left a part of their lives so that we can now enjoy this democracy.

An imperfect system, defective in some aspects, with elements to correct, but democracy, after all.

We will not talk about people who have already died, but rather there will be first-person testimonies from living victims. We may also speak for others who cannot. In my case, in addition to “Chato,” I will think of Enrique Ruano.

I hope many young people come that day, because we need new generations to know what happened here just 50 years ago.

It is likely that by seeing and listening to our testimonies, you will be able to clearly appreciate the differences that exist between the dictatorship that “Billy” enjoyed and the democracy of today.

I would ask you to then spread your experience of that day everywhere, so that more and more young people get to see it and hear us. We need it, it will thus be an essential didactic task of democratic hygiene.

Then they persecuted you, detained you, beat you or tortured you, for the “crime” of fighting for freedoms in our country, for the sole reason of having a different opinion than the established power.

To do this, they used their BPS watchdogs, people like “Billy”, to guarantee its perpetuation.

Those of you who will listen there, only and nothing less demand memory, justice, reparation.

Memory so that what happened is never forgotten, that it remains in the collective memory of our people, justice so that those who perpetrated it in some way pay for it and reparation so that society, our leaders, recognize the suffering we suffered.

For example, that the next Democratic Memory Law includes the withdrawal of any decoration or recognition from those who mistreated and tortured us and specifically from “Billy” posthumously.

From these lines I encourage you to attend the premiere of “Billy” Tortures, impunity, silence” on November 11 in Seville and then make an effort to distribute it in cinemas and television throughout the country, in order for it to be seen by the majority of citizens. They owe us, you owe us.

May torture, impunity, and much less silence never exist in this country. On the 11th our voice will resound like a cry in favor of all of this.

We will see…..

Opinion is a free space on our radio, in which different people collaborate by leaving their opinions on current issues, which we may or may not share from this station.

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