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The government of the PP was accused of falsely blaming ETA for the attacks. The very day of the attacks Police officials wrongly informed the Government that the explosives usually used by ETA were found at the blast sites which along with other suspicious circumstances led the PP to blindly believe in ETA's authorship. There was not any direct or indirect evidence from the investigation of the bombing pointing to ETA involvement [1], however the group had been caught with a large amount of explosives some months ago, which looked like preparations for a big strike. [2] The government sent messages to all the Spanish embassies abroad ordering that they upheld the ETA version. President José María Aznar even called a number of newspaper directors to ask for their support of this version. [3]
Broadly speaking, the extremely tense political atmosphere in Spain over the previous term of office served as a breeding ground for a situation that the attacks turned into a chasm, bringing the conservative government to the very edge of it just three days before the elections. On one hand, José María Aznar was aggressively opposed to any dialogue with ETA and based most of his campaign on the threat of terrorism (the 9/11 attacks in New York reinforced his view of the war against the terrorists). On the other hand, Aznar's friendship with U.S. president George Bush Jr. led him to support the 2003 invasion of Iraq against the view of the overwhelming majority of the population (causing the biggest demonstrations ever seen in Spain since restoration in the late 1970's) [4]. [5] This left Aznar on a tricky situation: if Basque terrorists were proved to be responsible of the attack, it would favor is campaign; if an Islamic group appeared to cause the blast, people might blame him for earning himself enemies.
The Summary of the Judicial Enquiry concluded that the decision to attack Madrid was taken after and as a result of the invasion of Iraq. Nevertheless, The New Yorker claimed that the decision was taken before 9-11 according to an Italian police report. [6]
The day before the elections there was an illegal demonstration in front of the conservative party, [7] accusing the government of lying about the responsibility of the attacks. The demonstration was allegedly invoked via spontaneous cell phone messages. The candidate of the governing conservative party, Mariano Rajoy, gave speech on television complaining about the demonstration and asking the opposition to condemn it. [8] On behalf of the socialist party, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba gave a message saying that "the Spanish people do not deserve a government that lies to them" and that they neither organized nor supported the demonstration. [9]
Thirteen improvised explosive devices were reported to have been used by the Islamic militant group that was responsible for the bombing, all but three of which detonated. This group seems to have worked with a very tenuous connection with Al-Qaeda but with the aim of acting on its behalf. Shortly after the bombings, the group was completely dismantled by the Spanish police and the core members committed suicide when they were surrounded in the nearby city of Leganés. [10]
The bombings in Madrid have led to a sharp political and social fracture in Spain. This result stands in sharp contrast to other large scale terrorist attacks such as those of New York and London, which galvanized society and political forces.
Spain's political division is exemplified by the accusation by members of the Partido Popular and several conservative media outlets regarding the responsibility for the bombings and whether the attacks were for political gain. [11] Some of these source initially supported the hypothesis that ETA was behind the attacks. These groups have focused their investigation on unexplained details and inconsistencies in the Summary report and expressed scepticism about the truthfulness and bias of the evidence presented thus far.
Over the last three years, conservative forces in Spain have overtly argued the possibility that the Socialist party, the police, the Spanish, French, and Moroccan secret services, and, of course, ETA, may have had a role in organizing the bombings. [12]
Not all conservative media outlets are involved in this campaign. There is a distinct difference between those who believe that the PSOE use it for political gain as it had access to information (either through France or through links to the Police) which it used to ridicule the government in the aftermath of the bombing, and those who consider the possibility that the ETA, some groups in the State Security Forces (possibly related to the GAL), in the Moroccan secret services and in the Socialist Party (PSOE) may have had a role in organizing the bombings or in blocking official investigation or confusing it with misleading evidences. [13] Los agujeros negros del 11-M (El Mundo)]</ref> The first group includes the Newspaper ABC, while the second group includes the Radio Station COPE and the newspapers La Razón and El Mundo. [14] Spain’s 11-M and the right’s revenge (Open Democracy)]</ref> This group claims that the official version is more than questionable and that the truth is still unknown. They have coupled this claims with doubts about the legitimacy of the current government, which they ideollogically oppose.
The PRISA owned Cadena SER said on March 11th 2004 that three different sources assured to the SER that a suicidal terrrorist wearing several layers of underwear was in the trains [15].
This assertion proved later as false.
José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero propagated the falsehood [16].
In May 2006 when the newspaper El Mundo published on its front page that a business card of the Basque firm Mondragón Cooperative Corporation (MCC) had been found in the Renault Kangoo van which was alleguedly used by the terrorists. This piece of evidence, discovered by the policemen which found the van, wasn't present on the numerous Police reports, while new pieces of information appeared. [17] The rationale of "El Mundo" was that Mondragón has no relationship with ETA but it could point to ETA as well as the Coranic cassette pointed to Al Qaeda conception.
It was later asserted by the Spanish police that, it was not a business card but the cover of a music CD of the popular Spanish 80s rock group "Orquesta Mondragón". [18] The CD itself with its box was found in a pile of various other music CDs. The rear of the cover have been apparently used by the legitimate propietory to warn people when he parked in the middle of the street since it has handwritten a message that said "I am coming back inmediately". [19]
On the other hand, "El Mundo" insisted in the existence of a MCC card in the van. [20]
The Spanish police also asserted that a card from "Gráficas Bilbaínas" (i.e., "Bilbao printing", a printing shop located in Madrid) found in the van was the source of the allegued confussion. [21]
On July 11th 2006 the Spanish newspaper El Mundo published this headline:
El Mundo argues that:
El Mundo founder and manager, Pedro J. Ramírez, has said about this issue:
Nevertheless, on July 17th 2006, Mr. Sánchez Manzano stated before the investigating judge that he had mistakenly used the word "nitroglycerine" because of its historical connection with dynamite citation needed.
The 19 July 2006 digital edition of El Mundo contains a report on the appearance before the investigating judge, Juan del Olmo, of the inspector belonging to the bomb disposal squad (TEDAX) who was responsible for the preliminary reports on the explosives used in the bombings. [31] This officer, head of the TEDAX investigation group and a graduate in Chemistry, stated before the judge that she was unable to determine the type of dynamite used in the bombs because it was not possible to obtain a test sample of sufficient size to study the composition of the explosive. She also declared that at no time did she ever mention the presence of nitroglycerine to any of her commanding officers - who include Mr. Sánchez Manzano. citation needed
Part of the Spanish Judiciary oficially stated that it is impossible to know which kind of Dynamite exploded in the trains "El Mundo" article, The prosecutor for the Madrid 2004 train attacks say that it is impossible to know what kind of dynamite exploded in the trains
The clues in the 13th bomb allowed the police to arrest the first allegued perpetrators on Saturday, 13 March, when three Moroccans (Jamal Zougam, Mohamed Chaoui and Mohamed Bekkaliand) and two Indian citizens were arrested [5].
[11] [12], and PP leader, Mariano Rajoy, asserted in march 2006 that he had no doubts about this exhibit [13].
In december 2006 "El Mundo" published that one of the policeman in the Vallecas Police Station during the allegued discovery of the 13th bomb was under investigation due to his allegued participation in a plot to sell illegaly Goma 2-ECO and in the assassination of a petty thief [14].
Journalistic sources and the spanish judiciary stated that there was a shooting in Leganés, with the allegued terrorists employing Sterling SMGs.
Only five empty shells were recovered from the rubble of the flat after the explosion. One of the recovered empty shells was a shotgun empty shell. The allegued terrorists had no shoutgun in the flat.
Engineer anf journalist w:es:Luis del Pino asked for the "volatilized" empty shells in his book "Los enigmas del 11-M" ( ISBN 8496088456) Pages 161-163.
Several suspected terrorists were blown up - or blew themselves up' - in an apartment on the outskirts of Madrid days after the bombing" [16]
Luis del Pino documentary, aired in Madrid regional T.V., argues against the "collective suicide" theory. See from minute 66. [17].
The People's Party regards the "collective suicide" of Leganés a "suposition":
Common source: [18]
A reference to ETA was deleted from a spanish police report by a spanish police chief [20]. The reference to this report was erased with Tipp-Ex correction fluid [21].
There is no independent account about how many Spaniards give credit to the spanish judiciary indictment or to the doubts against the indictment.
" El País" denounced that some spanish judiciary members of "compartir sus delirios conspirativos sobre el 11-M" [23] ("sharing their conspirative delirium about the 11 March 2004 Madrid bombings").
The controversies are supported by the second ( El Mundo) and fourth ( La Razón) spanish newspapers, and by the business newspaper La Gaceta de los negocios and the COPE radio station.
Pedro J. Ramírez, El Mundo founder and director, is a regular guest in COPE program "La Mañana"
COPE is owned by the spanish catholic church.
"La Mañana" host Federico Jiménez Losantos, writes a column in "El Mundo".
The first ( El País) and third ( Diario ABC) spanish newspapers Cadena SER
ABC is called as "El País II" and "el paisín" (the little El País) by Federico Jiménez Losantos.
ABC former director and current La Razón director, Luis María Anson, calls La Razón ""el ABC auténtico"" ("the genuine ABC") [26].
El País and SER are owned by the same media conglomerate: PRISA.