Nine forgotten deaths in Africa
The Spanish newspaper ?El Pais? announced on the 24th April 2005 that the ?Audiencia National? (the Spanish High Court that deals with crimes against humanity) would investigate the deaths of four million people in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It dedicated two entire pages to remember the events that happened in 1994 and outlined a brief biography of the nine Spaniards who were killed, including our four brothers Fernando, Julio, Miguel Ángel and Servando.
The criminal complaint was presented on the 22nd February 2005 by the Forum for the Truth and Justice in the Great Lakes and referred to the nine Spaniards who were killed during the genocide of 1994.
The Forum provided sworn declarations and about ten witness accounts and tried to show that some of the people responsible for this are part of the government. The initiative was not taken by groups affiliated to the victims, but by some associations made up of families and some personalities including the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel.
?We are participating in this out of respect for the memory of our dear ones,? said a representative of the families. ?The identification of the assassin will not bring back those who were killed, but will help to make sure that this does not happen to someone else. The complaint is a form of aid because those responsible are still in power and could kill again.?
The Supreme Court confirmed that the ?Audiencia National? would be able to investigate these crimes of a universal nature as nine Spaniards are among the victims.