Yesterday saw the start of the trial of those accused for the bombings that killed 191 people in Madrid on March 11th 2004. The chief culprits face extreme sentences, including a possible 38,656 years for Rabei Osman el Sayed, aka “Mohamed the Egyptian”, who is accused of masterminding the attacks, and 38,670 years for Jose Emilio Suarez Trashorras, the Asturian miner accused of selling 200 kilos of explosives to those that carried them out.
There is more at stake here than simple justice. The Partido Popular claimed at the time that ETA was responsible for the attacks, and along with El Mundo newspaper, continue to cast doubt on the veracity of forensic findings that show the explosive used to be Goma 2 Eco, the same explosive stolen by the above mentioned miner in Asturias and allegedly sold to those currently on trial. The matter of the explosives has become central to the whole trial, with conspiracy theorists and El Mundo claiming that that there is reasonable doubt that Goma 2 Eco was in fact involved, which theoretically still leaves room for an ETA (or other) connection in the whole complicated puzzle. The results of the trial could have a serious affect on the integrity of both the newspaper and the PP.
Those who jump on either side of the Goma 2 Eco fence face harsh criticism, or worse. Pilar Manjon, Presisident of the Association of those affected by the March 11th bombings, lost her 20 year old son in the attacks. For openly criticising the El Mundo theories, and the Partido Popular and their “playgound politics”, this emotionally devastated woman has received death threats and now has to live with a permanent bodyguard.
For thorough coverage of the most important trial in Spain’s recent history, the main players, and the whole Goma 2 Eco debacle, see the appropriately named blog “Playing Chess with the Dead”.
Brandon
16 Feb 07 at 9:50 pm
It seems the politics of a situation never sleeps, everyone will try to get their angle in. Let’s hope it’s sorted out fairly and justice is served- to whomever.
bobb
18 Feb 07 at 8:00 pm
Ben, surely your first line should read,
“Yesterday saw the start of the trial of those accused…”
Jose
18 Feb 07 at 9:00 pm
He also fails to mention that the PSOE have the most to lose if the trial it proves a connection between 11-M and la ETA. I hope that those reading about this case in my country read some more opinions than those of the english man Ben. We will wait and accept justice when it happens.
Ben
19 Feb 07 at 9:07 am
“Ben, surely your first line should read,
"Yesterday saw the start of the trial of those accused…—
… you are completely right, I have changed it.
Henry Cybulski
19 Feb 07 at 1:24 pm
Whether Goma 2 Eco was used in the March 11 attack is not the only doubt raised by El Mundo and the PP as your post seems to imply and thereby insinuate that the integrety of both rests on only that one issue. There have been many other questions raised that at the very least should arouse a bit of curiosity–among the rest of the press, other political parties and the man on the street–about whether the full story is coming out. I certainly don’t have the answers, but I’m glad that El Mundo, and perhaps others, are at least attempting to look into the broader picture. It could all be nonsense, of course, but that’s what journalists should do–investigate, and let the reader and, ultimately, history decide.
Charles Butler
19 Feb 07 at 4:28 pm
Let’s not be mixing up what El Mundo does for a living with looking at the broader picture. One might have considered it to be an investigative newspaper when it uncovered corruption during Felipe Gonzalez’s presidency, but since Pedro J.’s incident with the whore, Exuperancia, and her love-cam it has done almost nothing but dedicate itself to discrediting the PSOE – with such vigour that it has replaced ABC as the voice of the hysterical right, the Roman Catholic church and the Opus.
Much as I admire Ramirez’s giant brass balls, any newspaper that can, in a back page editorial, characterize the United States as a country created by a bunch of drunken Irishmen is not worthy of consideration as a source of anything of value. “Yellow” would describe its editorial stance more correctly.
Unfortunately, all the news outlets here have some bone to pick (monarchists, falangists, communists, anarchists, Carlists, republicans, ad infinitum), so I have no suggestion as to a replacement.
As an aside, the PP’s diversionary tactic of attempting to associate ETA to 11-M is, quite clearly, a political ploy, being so improbable as to be laughable. Their interest in unravelling the mystery is limited to the extent that they can gain mileage from the issue – at any cost.
Jose
19 Feb 07 at 7:40 pm
The PSOE is elected because of the Spanish losing their cojones and that’s not laughable too?
…(monarchists, falangists, communists, anarchists, Carlists, republicans, ad infinitum)
Which one are you?
Charles Butler
19 Feb 07 at 8:26 pm
Well, the PSOE gets elected in every small town in Andalucia because everybody’s scared the PP will cut off the paro and they’ll have to get jobs paid in ‘A’ and file income tax returns. On the other hand, the right controls most of the cities here because people aren’t as economically dependant on the socialist gravy train and are more concerned with good government. Córdoba and its excellent communist mayor is the big exception, proving to me that quality government is not necessarily correlated with party affiliation or political philosophy.
Which one am I? Seeing as you seem to imply that I have to choose… since they all seem to claim that the fate of Spain as a nation rests solely in their hands – none of them. I vote PSOE municipally because I like the mayor and the opposition consists of a kabal of whining ex-señoritos, PP in the comunitarias because Chavez and Zarria have mounted their personal kingdom in Andalucía and should be barred from public office, and, until they can come up with national candidates that are not afflicted with grave mental deficiencies, I don’t vote in the generales.
Bono vs. Aguirre would get me interested again, though.
bobb
19 Feb 07 at 8:55 pm
‘…Aznar and his cabinet office in fact erased all records covering their eight years of government. According to the New York Times, a Spanish official said every file had been wiped out on the hundreds of computers at the presidential complex, known as the Moncloa Palace. "Not a single trace of any files was left behind,†the official said. "Zero, nothing.‒
http://wsws.org/articles/2004/dec2004/spai-d29.shtml