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ARCHIVED - Spain passes law honouring Franco-era victims
Lawmakers in Spain have passed a flagship bill to bring 'justice' to the victims of the 1936-1939 civil war and the ensuing dictatorship
Almost 50 years after the death of General Francisco Franco, Spain's senate has approved its flagship 'Law of Democratic Memory' to honour those who died or suffered violence or repression during the war and decades of Franco's dictatorship.
The aim is to bring “justice, reparation and dignity” to the victims of the civil war and subsequent authoritarianism, and measures within the bill include the creation of a census and a national DNA bank to help locate and identify remains.
The legislation, which was approved by Spain's congress in July, was put before the upper house of parliament on Wednesday October 5, where the socialist-led government’s Democratic Memory law was passed with 128 votes in favour, 113 against, and 18 abstentions.
In addition to a census and DNA bank, the document contains other measures to help "settle Spanish democracy's debt to its past", including a ban on groups that glorify the Franco regime, and a “redefinition” of the Valley of the Fallen where Franco lay for 44 years until his exhumation three years ago.
In a tweet after the vote, Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said the law will “encourage a shared discussion based on the defence of peace, on pluralism and on broadening human rights and constitutional freedoms”
"Today we are taking another step towards justice, reparation and dignity for all victims," he wrote.
The new legislation seeks to build on a 2007 "historical memory" law, which experts and activists say fell short of excavating the hundreds of still untouched mass graves across Spain. It will also annul the criminal convictions of opponents of the Franco regime and a prosecutor will be appointed to probe human rights abuses during the war and the ensuing dictatorship.
In other news: Explosion in Madrid leaves five-year-old boy dead and his mother and baby brother in critical condition
Image: Archive
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