Congress will not investigate, at least not yet, the tragedy in Melilla last June, in which an unknown number of people died trying to cross the fence into Spain. PSOE, PP, Vox and Ciudadanos prevented a plenary discussion on the creation of the commission, as United Podemos and the usual parliamentary allies of the governing coalition demanded and despite the police action on the border with Morocco. The ombudsman questioned, in addition to non-governmental organizations and MPs who saw some of the images of the incident.
This is the second time that these parliamentary groups have obstructed the debate on the creation of a commission of inquiry into the massacre. The first was in July as the events unfolded. Now, Unidas Podemos, ERC, Bildu, Más País, Compromís, BNG, Junts, PDeCAT and CUP have tried again after a BBC documentary that pointed to Spain’s responsibility for the deaths at the border, since some of the deaths may have occurred on Spanish soil.
This report was accompanied by the findings of the institution led by Angel Gabilondo, which claims that the state security forces and the corps violated the law during the police operation.
All this prompted a group of MPs from the Interior Commission to travel to Melilla to get information about the event. Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlasca got to see some of the pictures. Some parliamentarians then concluded that part of the tragedy had taken place on Spanish soil.
Despite the pressure that the PP also exerted on this case, it finally rejected the commission of inquiry in the Congress. But he leaves the door open for it to be reinstated in the coming weeks or months. The leader of the party, Alberto Núñez Feijoo, assured during an intervention before the media in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) that “they” “do not intend to change the commitment of the PP” “to or towards the state. [política de] immigration.” “We know that it is not easy to manage the problems that arise at the fence in Melilla and Ceuta,” he added. And while everything seems to point to that [el ministro] He did not tell the truth, we asked him to appear before his trial in the “commission of inquiry”, he noted.
“If what he’s telling us is enlightening, it doesn’t seem appropriate” to open a parliamentary inquiry, he said. “If it is proven that he did not lie and the president of the government did not treat the facts unfairly, we will be satisfied,” he insisted. And it was justified that the PP will not go “against the state security forces and bodies”. “We want clarity and truth to be told to the citizens,” he explained.
A few minutes ago, the speaker of the parliament, Kuka Gamara, spoke about “an episode of obstructionism, lies and concealment of information”. “We hope for that [Marlaska] Make amends, admit you lied, provide all the information and then resign,” he added. And he recalled that he “does not refuse” the request for a commission of inquiry. “We can reactivate it. The opportunity is open and quite thoughtful,” he said.
Interior Productivity: Groups will see the full picture
Gamarra explained that the PP started negotiations in exchange for voting against the commission of inquiry, that Marlasca appear at the plenary session and be able to see the images recorded by the cameras installed on the border.
Groups had already traveled to Melilla to view these images, but then they were unable to access the full frame. Now the government has promised to make available hours of tapes of what happened that day in Melilla. The groups will be able to attend the ministry from next week. Another decision that has led to complaints from groups who complain that the images are not available to MPs but must be handed over to Home Affairs HQ.
The Council of Spokespersons also rejected a request for an announcement by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who is supported by two groups in the coalition government, as well as parliamentary partners.
Source: El Diario
