Alex Trelinski
SPAIN’S armed forces have suspended an army captain after video footage appeared showing his soldiers kneeling at the former burial site of dictator General Francisco Franco.
Around 30 troops from the 31st Asturias Infantry regiment were seen paying homage in front of the Valley of the Fallen mausoleum, 50 kilometres outside Madrid.
The regiment’s base is a few kilometres away.
The Valley of the Fallen is a ‘de facto’ pilgrimage site for Franco followers with the structure built after the Spanish Civil War by thousands of political prisoners who suffered under the dictator’s regime.
The dictator’s remains were removed from the controversial site in 2019 and reburied.
A law passed 15 years ago prohibits any gatherings outside the mausoleum.
A Spanish Army spokesperson has confirmed that a captain had been suspended and that an investigation is taking place.
The video of the incident was taken by soldiers who were angry with what had happened.
They posted it to a social media account called ‘Citizens in Uniform’ and labelled it as a ‘disgraceful video’.
The soldiers led by the captain are seen kneeling on the steps of in front of the late dictator’s former mausoleum outside Madrid.
In front of them is a priest who gives them a blessing.
It’s alleged that the captain cancelled all leave on the day and his troops were ordered to attend the blessing of the company’s flag at the Valley of the Fallen.
READ MORE:
- Spain’s ministers back law to fine people up to €140,000 for publicly supporting ex-dictator General Franco
- Spain set to exhume Franco victims from controversial Valley of the Fallen and return them to relatives for burial
- Grant to dig up Francoist mass graves throughout Spain approved by the government
- Franco sympathisers gather at Valley of the Fallen amid tight security as Spain’s former dictator Francisco Franco is exhumed
