Report due soon on Madrid train bombings
Politicians investigating the Madrid train bombings were to meet today to discuss a final report on Spain’s worst terrorist attack.
The 16-member panel were scheduled to hold a closed-door meeting late this morning in which each party will present its own draft proposal.
The commission then has until June 22 to negotiate the final version, which is expected to be voted on in the lower house of Parliament on June 30, a year later after the commission began its work.
All the parties, except the conservative Popular Party, which was in power at the time of the attacks, agree in their final reports that the former government of Jose Maria Aznar could have foreseen – and prevented – the attacks.
They also agree officials misled the public by blaming Basque separatists for the bombings, which took place days before a national election.
The Popular Party is expected to insist the investigation is still incomplete, the state news agency Efe reported.
The politicians also intend to present a series of preliminary recommendations on helping victims of the attack and increasing security to prevent another one.
Islamic militants linked to al Qaida are blamed for the bombings, and the ruling Socialists have accused Aznar’s government of blaming the Basque separatist group Eta to score political points.
Aznar has defended his government’s response to the bombings and accused the Socialists of exploiting the attacks to win the elections.
The March 11 commuter train bombings killed 191 people and injured more than 1,500.
