As was to be expected, Spanish conservatives are not happy with the decision of judge Baltasar Garzón to investigate the disappearance of over 100,000 people during and after the Civil War.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office is also against the idea and intend to appeal the decision. Fellow judges also believe the move to be a mistake. Many question the judge’s decision to declare himself ‘competent’ to order the inquiry in view of the fact that an amnesty was declared in 1977.
However, Garzón, who is no stranger to controversy, stated in his ruling that any amnesty law that seeks to whitewash a crime against humanity is invalid in law.
Partido Popular founder Manuel Fraga, who was a Minister under Franco from 1962 to 1969, described the decision as ‘absurd’. The conservatives have always been against what they describe as ‘the opening of old wounds’.