Spain says Franco's family has 15 days to pick new burial site

Published Feb 15, 2019

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Madrid - The exhumation of former Spanish dictator Francisco

Franco is set to go forward after the relevant legislation was

approved by the cabinet on Friday, said Justice Minister Dolores

Delgado.

The final fate of Franco's remains has unearthed old controversies in

Spain. Opponents of Franco's rule say his current resting place - the

Valley of the Fallen, north-west of Madrid - is too grandiose for a

man responsible for the death of so many political opponents.

But those who look back fondly on Franco's rule consider the decision

to move his remains as an unnecessary insult, more than 40 years

after his death in 1975.

Delgado said Franco's family now has 15 days to decide where the

remains should go.

After the law allowing the move was approved by the legislature last

year, the family had said it would pick Almudena Cathedral in central

Madrid. But the government has ruled that out, saying it fears the

cathedral could become a pilgrimage site for those who support Franco

and his fascist politics.

The family has opposed the exhumation plan.

Franco dedicated the site where he would eventually be buried as a

resting place for some 32 000 people killed on both sides of the

Spanish Civil War. However, the site is a popular place of pilgrimage

for Franco's followers and right-wing extremists.

The question of Franco's remains became more of a key issue last year

after the Socialists formed a minority government. That party's

backers tend to dislike Franco's legacy, unlike the centre-right

People's Party, which was ejected last year after losing a

no-confidence vote.

dpa

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