Commission into 11 March massacre

20 May 2004

MADRID – Spain’s ruling Socialists and opposition conservatives agreed Thursday to set up a commission to investigate the 11 March terrorist attacks.

The commission would be given two months to clarify all the facts related to the attacks and the subsequent response by authorities.

According to Socialist sources, after the two main parties agreed to the commission, smaller regional parties were asked for their views.

There were no parties opposing the plan for a commission.
 
But the opposition conservative Popular Party has asked for reports of  the Spanish secret service or CNI, covering the period before the attacks, to be declassified.

The PP also wants the commission to examine information offered by the government – in PP hands at the time of the bombings – and the media on initial police investigations into the attacks.

The Socialists came to power after their surprise victory in the 14 March elections, held three days after the Madrid attacks.

In the days between the bombings and the election, opponents of the then-PP government accused officials of continuing to insist that the attacks were carried out by the Basque terrorist group ETA, even after the investigation began to point to Muslim extremists.

The PP angrily denied misleading the public and blamed the criticism for contributing to its election defeat.

The attacks killed 192 people and left more than 1,500 injured. 

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news