The Spanish Army has dismissed a captain who led a military unit to the notorious Francoist site the Valle de los Caídos ("Valley of the Fallen"), near Madrid, where they took part in a special Catholic blessing. Following the publication by Público of video showing the act at the controversial Civil War memorial built by Spain's twentieth-century dictator, the army has opened an inquiry into the incident which is to be resolved within 48 hours, aiming to clarify the facts and responsibilities, according to official sources in the Spanish armed forces. Those involved are a military unit of the 'Uad-Ras II' Light Armoured Battalion, members of the 'Asturias' 31 (RI 31) Infantry Regiment, a unit in the 'Guadarrama XII' Infantry Brigade, located at the military base of El Goloso, in Colmenar Viejo (Madrid). In the video, members of the unit can be seen presenting their company pennant for a blessing. Army sources have explained that this is an "unauthorized" activity that was carried out during a scheduled march, which is why an investigation has been opened to clarify the facts and responsibilities.
Militares españoles recibiendo bendiciones en el mausoleo fascista del Valle de los Caídos.
— Miquel Ramos (@Miquel_R) June 1, 2022
El responsable es el capitán de la compañía de MAPO del BIP Uad Ras II/31.
Luego, que si se les relaciona con la extrema derecha y tal. pic.twitter.com/h6aMBUmc9Q
The links between the Spanish army and the far right are becoming increasingly evident. Last Saturday, the International Center for Counter-Terrorism (ICCT), a Dutch think tank based in The Hague, published a report asserting that Spain has soldiers with strong links to the far right. The study, entitled 'Right-Wing Extremism in the Military', highlighting "fears of a possible extremist threat from the armed forces". The text gives examples such as "members of the Spanish parachute brigade BRIPAC making the fascist salute while singing a song about the Spanish military unit that fought alongside the Nazis during World War II."
Opposed to Franco's exhumation
The newspaper Público obtained the images showing members of the company kneeling in front of the steps of the Basilica in the Valle de los Caídos, presenting arms to the abbot and receiving a blessing. "May the Lord bless and always keep those who serve the country under this banner. May the Lord look benevolently on Spain and grant it peace with all the peoples of the world,” said the Catholic clergyman. The abbot was one of the voices that spoke out most insistently against the exhumation from the site of the remains of dictator Francisco Franco. In 2019, when the remains of the dictator were removed by decision of the Socialist government, there was broad endorsement from the church but constant opposition by the abbot Cantera. That is why Vatican secretary of state Pietro Parolin sent a letter to Spain's then-deputy PM Carmen Calvo guaranteeing that the Catholic establishment would force the abbot to allow the exhumation, which took place on October 24th, 2019. Cantera was also a candidate in the Spanish elections of 1993 and the European elections of 1994 for the far-right Falange Española Independiente.
In this context, the pro-independence ERC and the left-wing Más País have presented initiatives to the Spanish Congress asking for explanations from the ministry of defence for the participation of the army unit in the blessing event in the Valle de los Caídos. Unidas Podemos, the minority partner in the Spanish government, and the Basque party Bildu also consider that this matter demands that defence minister, Margarita Robles, clarify the facts. In a tweet, Bildu's Jon Inarritu said: "If you ask the minister of defence about these fascist things she acts like a Hydra. Well, she's going to do it again".
