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17 March 2005
MADRID-A bronze statue of General Francisco Franco, the last symbol of the military dictator in Madrid, was pulled down on government orders.
The statue of Franco on horseback, erected on the Plaza San Juan de la Cruz in central Madrid in 1959, was pulled down under police supervision at 2:40 am local time and driven away by truck to a public works ministry depot.
The operation had not been advertised and only a small group of bystanders and the curious saw the statue come down.
Some clapped, others shouted, causing tense scenes between supporters and opponents of the initiative.
The supporters made fascist salutes and sang Francoist songs.
Images of Franco being hauled away dominated the front pages of Spanish newspapers.
“Franco’s last parade,” headlined the centre-right El Mundo.
The dictator, who took power after defeating the elected republican government in Spain’s 1936-1939 civil war, remains a deeply controversial figure nearly 30 years after his death, provoking bitter arguments over his legacy.
[Copyright EFE with Expatica]
Subject: Spanish news