A Spanish parliamentary panel investigating the Madrid rail bombings has concluded that the former government of Jose Maria Aznar ”manipulated” and ”twisted” information about the blasts to further its electoral interests, it emerged on Wednesday.
The panel majority, which published its findings on Wednesday after a year of highly politicised hearings, also determined that Eta had played no role in the blasts, contradicting a conservative conspiracy theory that sought to establish links between the Basque separatists and the Islamist extremists police hold responsible.
The Aznar administration initially blamed the attacks, which occurred on March 11 last year — three days before the general elections — on Eta, despite mounting evidence pointing to a Moroccan group tied to al-Qaeda.
Aznar’s party, now in opposition, had campaigned on its fight against Eta. The party rejects the panel’s conclusions.
According to the 290-page document, the Aznar administration largely ignored the increasing threat of an Islamist strike on Spanish soil.
Among the warning signs, the panel cited Spain’s support for the war in Iraq and the 2003 explosions in Casablanca, which killed 24 people at a Spanish social club.
”The Casablanca attacks marked a turning point,” the panel concluded, citing testimony from intelligence experts.
”Without a doubt, what most surprised the commission is that the politicians leading the fight against terrorism were conscious of the threat and what measures should have been taken, and yet they did not act accordingly.”
A fragmented police force, poor coordination with intelligence services and a lack of resources, including few Arabic translators, also hindered the government’s ability to prevent an attack, the report concluded. — Â