No one in Spania is particularly surprised by the uproar surrounding CIA documents that unequivocally imply that former Prime Minister (1982-1996) Felipe González was an important figure in the establishment of the Spanish terrorist organization GAL.
Grupos Antiterroristas de Liberación (GAL) was funded by senior officials in the Spanish Interior Ministry from 1983 to 1987 while González was prime minister, and is said to have carried out 27 murders, kidnappings, torture and economic crime. In addition, the group is said to have taken 10 civilian lives in bomb attacks against the armed Basque separatist group ETA. In the years that followed, all governments (regardless of party affiliation) blocked or delayed any investigation, and granted amnesty to anyone who was unfortunately brought to justice for GAL activities.
Today, only parties that are for independence want to investigate Felipe González, which remains unpunished thanks to the same fronts that blocked the corruption investigation against the country's previous king, Juan Carlos I.
The Amnesty Act of 1977
The end of Francisco Franco #'s dictatorship and a nascent transition to democracy was a turbulent time, with several groups on the far right carrying out rebellion and terrorism against the state, an army seeking to return to the military regime, and a Civil Guard accustomed to using torture without to be punished for it, and their confrontations with various terrorist organizations of nationalist, communist or republican casting.
Is Spain for the Catholic Church what Saudi Arabians for radical Islam?
The Amnesty Act of 1977 ensured that no one was brought to justice for acts committed under Franco's regime, thus ensuring the continuity of the judiciary and the political and military elite. At the same time, attempts were made to facilitate democratic ambitions that would otherwise have been blocked by such powerful actors.
The law was a necessary compromise in 1977, but it has not stood the test of time. Critics point out that war crimes are not prosecuted precisely because the law exists.
The case against Otegi
Arnaldo Otegi is undoubtedly the most relevant person in ETA's demilitarization process and transformation into a political force.
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