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By Humphrey Carter

PALMA
THE two Civil Guards murdered by the Basque separatist group ETA at the end of July in Palmanova were yesterday posthumously awarded the Balearic Gold Medal, the region's highest honour, to commemorate Armed Forces Day and the Dia del Pilar, Spain's National festival.

The main act in honour of the patron saint of the Guardia Civil, was held at the Palma airport exhibition centre where the two victims of the fatal car bomb, Diego Silva and Carlos Saez de Tejada, were also awarded the Guardia Civil's Order of Merit.

The parents of Diego Salva were presented with their son's Gold medal by the President of the Balearics, Francesc Antich, and the Parliamentary Speaker, Maria Antonia Munar. Carlos Saez de Tejada's medal will be presented to his family in Burgos, in the north of Spain, over the next few days.

A wreath was also laid in honour of the fallen members of the Guardia Civil.
Both the Colonel in Chief of the Guardia Civil, Basilio Sanchez Rufo and the central government delegate to the Balearics, Ramon Socias, spoke of the sorrow and pain the ETA terrorist attacks in the Balearics have caused this year.

In his address, Sanchez Rufo stressed the need for a “united front” in the war against domestic terrorism and thanked the local population for the support, solidarity and backing the Guardia Civil has received in the wake of the bombings.