Remembering

The park in central Palma next to the Avenida Argentina and bordering the Paseo Maritimo is one of my favourite spots in Palma. But the Sa Feixina Park is always in the headlines for a simple reason: it has a monument to the crew of the cruiser Baleares sunk by the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War. The new left-wing Palma City Council has ordered that the monument be demolished because it is a lasting testimony to the Franco era. In some ways I agree. The Sa Feixina monument is to the sailors who died on the Baleares fighting for the Nationalist cause. And there is no mention of the victims on the Republican side. But the move by the city council has split the good people of Palma. In some ways it has re-opened some old wounds. You can´t erase the past or history but perhaps the council should consider a monument to all those who perished in the Civil War in its place. There are those who say that as it was paid for by the people of the nearby Santa Catalina neighbourhood it should remain in place because it remembers victims from the islands and obviously the vessel had links to the Balearics. Others say that there is no place for such a monument in modern-day Spain. And they are right of course. The Partido Popular, who are now in opposition on the council, do not support the demolition. I think really the council should get all-party support as well as support from all the people of Palma before they go ahead and bring it down. It is a big decision which can´t be taken lightly.