Formentera Council chair Jaume Ferrer was joined today by regional culture minister Fanny Tur, Formentera's secretary of culture and patrimony Susana Labrador, and forensic archaeologist-anthropologist Almudena García-Rubio in unveiling the conclusions of the exhumation carried out in late November and early December 2017 at the Sant Ferran cemetery.

Engineers of the effort set out to recover the remains of five individuals —Jaume Ferrer Ferrer (Jaume de na Morna), Josep Ribas Marí (Pep de Baix), Joan Tur Mayans (Joan de can Pep Damià), Jaume Serra Juan (Jaume de can Mariano d'en Corda), Vicent Cardona Colomar (Vicent de can Fumeral)— who were executed on March 1, 1937 in the Sant Ferran cemetery.

Results of effort
As part of the undertaking, crews performed various targeted digs on and adjacent to the cemetery (six and five, respectively) and analysed skeletal remains found in a charnel house. Probes of the charnel produced three pieces of bone fragments (two skull fragments and one from a humerus bone) with bullet entry holes and marks produced by firearms. Four bits of 7-mm caliber Mauser projectiles used in the killing were also unearthed nearby.

Additional efforts this year involved checking genetic material against DNA of the five victims' relatives. Unfortunately samples extracted from skeletal remains were insufficient for genetic analysis to be conducted.

Scouring causes of death listed in the island's civil registry, researchers were unable to recover any records of death by a firearm. This fact supports the hypothesis that the found remains belong to three of the five murder victims.

“The review of documentary evidence has made it possible for us to certify that the uncovered remains correspond to three of the five individuals killed at the Sant Ferran cemetery wall”, said Tur, which, for the CiF culture and patrimony secretary, helps bring closure to the events of March 1, 1937. “Mass grave legislation and a committee decision to exhume unmarked graves at the Sant Ferran cemetery have meant we've begun talking about this chapter of our past”, said Labrador, “and that families have been able to relate their experiences”.

The Palma and Formentera administrations have left the fate of the unearthed remains in the hands of the victims' families. One suggestion is that they be deposited in an urn inside the cemetery with a plaque commemorating the events of March 1, 1937.

The Formentera Council celebrated its September plenary session today, bringing cross-party support for a preliminary motion that will establish criteria in determining which areas can be zoned for holiday rentals and which must be restricted to residential.

Defended by Alejandra Ferrer, who is the Council's land, trade and tourism secretary and a member of Gent per Formentera, the proposal is identical to one adopted this June by the island's coalition of community leaders, the “Council of Entities”. Both put urban settlements like Sant Francesc, Sant Ferran, La Mola and Ses Bardetes which have residential ordinances and structural characteristics outside the category permitting holiday rentals.

The proposals envision tourist-use zoning  for urban areas with “full tourism” or “mixed” designations, such as La Savina, Es Pujols, Es Ca Marí, Mariland, Es Caló, Punta Prima, Sa Roqueta and any rural properties. In an effort to forestall “urbanising pressure”, landowners in rural areas will face one caveat: to obtain a listing as “apt for tourism-use”, a structure must have been in place already in 2010, when Formentera's land use strategy took effect.

Secretary Ferrer said the proposal, aside from delivering islanders “a quality of life improvement”, is about “bolstering Formentera's stock of year-round housing, improving the quality of our for-tourist offering and reducing the strain that human presence on the island represents”.

Other agreements

Gent per Formentera also secured unanimous backing for five more proposals, like guidelines for tourism-related ordinances, the 'strategic plan for children and young people' for 2018-2022, and an appeal for Madrid's buy-in on a new agreement concerning highways.

Meanwhile the Partido Popular won full support for a motion to provide more information about local restrictions on quads. Three other motions stalled after failing to garner the votes of the remaining groups. The PSOE scored cross-party support for a proposal to oversee upgrades at the island's athletics pitch.

When a PSOE request for improved accessibility to public documents revealed cross-party support for supplying council members with access to pertinent documentation, the original motion took on a transactional quality, ultimately emerging as a request for a detailed legal report from the Council's secretary regarding the extent and way in which the administration ought to facilitate such information. CiF chief Jaume Ferrer assured that the measure would be met with the “full cooperation” of his administration.

Request to fast-track maritime transport decree

During the part of the session dedicated to expedited motions, senior administration members on the Gent per Formentera side aired frustration about delays that have dogged a decree on maritime transport ordinances. They urged the Govern balear to fast-track the drafting of the decree, which is expected as a follow-up to a piece of legislation known as “11/2010” and would fix ferry passage frequency and regulate other aspects of maritime excursions. The expedited motion passed with “yes” votes from Gent per Formentera and Compromís. Partido Popular and PSOE party members abstained.

Report

Taking the floor to provide a report on efforts over the last year in the infrastructures, mobility and new technologies offices, Rafael González highlighted the drafting and presentation before the Council of Entities, and approval from the Palma administration, of a piece of legislation regulating inbound vehicles on the island. He also applauded a recently completed “mobility plan” and described both measures as “extremely important in orienting Formentera towards the future”.