The institutional vice-secretary of the PP, Esteban González Pons, called for the resignation of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlasca, this Tuesday due to the events that took place at the Melilla border in June last year, in which dozens of people died. At least one of them is in the territory of Spain, according to the journalistic investigation of the International Media Consortium. “It is insurmountable from a democratic point of view that the president of the government and the minister of the interior are liars,” assured Pons at the press conference.
“For this reason, for human rights, to protect the values of our constitution, because the truth should always prevail in a democracy, because lies are unacceptable in our political system, the minister should resign tonight,” he said. And he concluded: “If he doesn’t resign, the president should fire him tomorrow morning.” And if not, he will become co-responsible for his minister’s lies.”
Pons admitted that in Melilla “there were almost 500 forced returns, injuries and deaths that were not treated and transferred to the other side of the border” in Spanish territory. According to this thesis, “President Sánchez and the Minister of the Interior lied to the Parliament and the Spanish people.”
The deputy secretary also criticized the fact that the Spanish learned about the incident “first through the BBC and then through the international consortium”. “It is not a symptom of democratic health, if [los españoles] They should find out through the BBC or the international media. We need to find out through the Spanish media and immediately.”
PP wants to raise the responsibility beyond the internal affairs. Pons noted that if Marlasca “does not resign tonight, the president must fire him tomorrow morning, and if he doesn’t, he will be jointly responsible for the minister’s lies.”
“In democracy, lies are paid with resignations”
Marlasca is scheduled to appear in Congress this Wednesday precisely to inform Congress of what happened in Melilla in June. Pons believed that the minister did not even mention his appearance: “He should be ashamed if he does not go to Congress to defend his lies.”
“Stop hiding behind the Civil Guard and the National Police, the minister is there to protect his dignity, not to cover his shame and lies,” he pledged.
When asked what is the difference between what happened in Melilla and the tragedy in Tarajal (Ceuta), when 15 people drowned in 2014, together with Jorge Fernández, the Minister of the Interior of the government of Mariano Rajoy and Ponce himself in the leadership of the PP. After being fired with rubber balls by the Civil Guard while swimming in Spain, Pons said “he doesn’t know” what the differences are.
“If what he’s trying to say is that no one should resign after what’s been revealed, he’s found an argument that allows him to continue to do so,” he replied. “I am telling you that the minister should resign tonight. I am speaking today, which is obviously a blatant lie on the part of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the President of the Government. And I think there should be resignations today. Tell me or anyone else, the evidence is there and there is no need to point out that lying in a democracy is paid for by resignations.”
Source: El Diario
