FRAP and GRAPO. How did Spain become the scene of terrorist radical attacks
Despite the fact that Generalissimo Francisco Baamonde Franco died in 1975 and a gradual democratization of the political regime began in Spain, those opposition forces who, even during Franco’s rule, took the path of revolutionary struggle against the fascist government and recognized armed actions as acceptable and the desired means of political struggle, continued to resist in the postfrancist Spanish monarchy. Gradually, there was a transformation of anti-fascist and national liberation organizations into terrorist groups that did not shun political assassinations, robberies, and explosions in public places. We will describe below how this transformation took place and what the “urban guerilla” represented in Spain in the 1970's - 2000's.
The radicalization of the communist movement
Armed resistance to the Franco regime in Spain in the second half of the twentieth century was exerted by two types of political organizations — national liberation organizations of ethnic minorities living in certain regions of the country, and left-wing anti-fascist organizations — communist or anarchist. Both types of political organizations were interested in overthrowing the Franco regime - left for ideological reasons, and national liberation - because of the tough policy of the Franco in relation to national minorities. Indeed, during the years of Franco's rule, Basque, Galician, and Catalan languages, instruction in schools, and activities of national political organizations were banned.
The repressions affected tens of thousands of people, only the number of people missing during the years of the Franco regime is estimated by modern researchers at 100 - 150 thousand people. Given the particular mentality of the Spaniards, it should be understood that many people could not forgive the murder regime and torture of their relatives and loved ones. It is the national regions of Spain - the Basque Country, Galicia and Catalonia - that became the main centers of radical resistance to the Franco regime. Moreover, on the territory of these regions, support from the local population was found both by national liberation organizations and radical left organizations. The most powerful organizations of national liberation, operating in the territory of the national regions of Spain in the 1970-1990-x. were the Basque ETA - "Basque Country and Freedom" and the Catalan "Terra Lure" - "Free Land". However, the activity of the Catalan terrorists was significantly inferior to the activity of the Basques. Even less active were the Galician separatists - supporters of the independence of Galicia. By the way, the Spanish left and national liberation organizations closely cooperated with each other, since they understood perfectly the common goals - overthrowing the Franco regime and changing the political system in the country. However, the Spanish Communist Party, which adhered to the pro-Soviet position, after Joseph Stalin called on the Spanish communist movement in 1948 to take the course of curbing the armed struggle, gradually abandoned the radical methods of fighting the Franco regime. Unlike the communists, the anarchists and the radical part of the communist movement, which did not accept the pro-Soviet line, continued to fight quite actively with the Franco regime.
Once in 1956 The Communist Party of the Soviet Union at the XX Congress set a course for the de-Stalinization and condemnation of the Stalin personality cult, the more orthodox Communists did not recognize the new line of the Soviet leadership and reoriented themselves to China and Albania, which remained loyal to the ideas of Stalinism. In the world communist movement, a split occurred in almost all countries of the world, with the exception of the states of the socialist bloc led by the USSR, new “pro-Chinese or Maoist” dissociated themselves from the “old” pro-Soviet communist parties. The Spanish Communist Party has remained loyal to the pro-Soviet positions since 1956. focused on the “policy of national reconciliation”, which consisted in the rejection of the armed struggle against the Franco regime and the transition to peaceful methods of counteracting the Franco dictatorship. However, in 1963 several groups of activists who disagreed with the official line of the Spanish Communist Party left its ranks and established contact with the pro-Maritist Marxist-Leninist Party of Belgium and with Chinese diplomatic missions that supported the formation of pro-Chinese Communist parties throughout Europe. During 1963-1964 years there was a further consolidation of the radical communist groups who disagree with the official position of the Spanish Communist Party. That was the formation of the Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist), focused on Maoism and advocating the deployment of a revolutionary armed struggle against the Franco regime, with the aim of carrying out a socialist revolution in the country. Already in December 1964 Spanish police began detaining activists of the Maoist party suspected of treason. In April, the 1965 a group of activists was arrested, trying to start distributing the Workers Avant-garde newspaper In September, the 1965 A group of militants led by Fernando Crespo, who formed the Revolutionary Armed Forces (RVS), left the Communist Party of Spain (ML). However, at the beginning of 1966 Crespo was arrested. Other activists of the organization were also arrested in the next two years. In view of the repression of the Franco regime, the organization shifted its activities abroad and received help from China, Albania and the Belgian Maoists. In 1970, after the party had disagreements with the Chinese Communist Party, it largely shifted to Hoxhaism - that is, the political line shared by Albania and the leader of the Albanian Labor Party, Enver Hoxha. After that, the party moved its headquarters to Tirana, the capital of Albania, where Spanish-language radio began to work. Thus, the party adopted the most orthodox version of Stalinism, since Enver Hoxha and the Albanian Labor Party criticized even the Chinese Communists, seeing in the activities of the Maoists certain deviations from the "Lenin-Stalin doctrine."
FRAP headed by former Minister of the Republic
In 1973, a group of activists of the Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist) created the Revolutionary Anti-Fascist and Patriotic Front (FRAP), proclaiming its main goal the armed struggle against the dictatorship of Franco and the creation of the Spanish popular revolutionary movement. In May, 1973 was held in the Plaza de Anton Martin by the FRAP and KPI activists (ML). Armed with rods, stones and knives, the FRAP fighters were dispersed in small groups, despite the presence at the rally of significant police forces. In 19.30, a demonstration began and immediately the demonstrators were attacked by police forces. As a result of a fight with the police, Deputy Police Inspector Juan Antonio Fernandez was killed and Inspector Lopez Garcia was seriously injured. A police agent named Castro was also injured. The murder of a policeman was the first violent action of the FRAP. Later there were other attacks on the Franco police officers, as a result of which a total of about twenty law enforcement officers were injured. The activities of the FRAP led to increased political repression in Spain, as a result of which many activists of the militant organization and the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party were arrested and tortured in police stations. 30 August arrested Cipriano Martos, who died on September 17, unable to bear the grueling interrogation by Spanish police. The cause of death was that the operatives forced him to drink the Molotov cocktail.
However, FRAP officially announced the beginning of its activities only in November 1973 in Paris. The founders of the organization gathered at the apartment of Arthur Miller, an American playwright who lived in Paris and was a long-time good friend of the Spanish socialist Julio del Vaio, a former foreign minister in the government of the Spanish republic. Among the priorities facing the FRAP were: 1) the overthrow of the fascist dictatorship of Franco and the liberation of Spain from American imperialism; 2) the creation of the People's Federal Republic and the provision of democratic freedoms and self-government of the national minorities of the country; 3) the nationalization of monopolies and the confiscation of the property of oligarchs; 4) agrarian reform and confiscation of large latifundia; 5) rejection of imperialist politics and the liberation of the remaining colonies; 6) the transformation of the Spanish army into a true defender of popular interests. At the national conference held on November 24 1973, Julio Alvarez del Vaio y Olóki (1891-1975) was elected chairman of FRAP. Although the organization was youth in composition, Julio del Vaio was already a deeply elderly 82-year-old.
From early youth, he participated in the activities of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, became widely known as a journalist in Spain and the United Kingdom, and reviewed the events of the First World War. In 1930, Mr. del Vayo participated in the preparation of an anti-monarchist uprising in Spain, and after proclaiming a republic for two years, he served as the Spanish ambassador to Mexico - very important, given the developed relations of the two countries. 1933 to 1934 represented Spain in the League of Nations, participated in resolving the political contradictions between Bolivia and Paraguay in 1933, when the Chak war began between the two states. In 1933, Mr. Del Vayo later became the Spanish ambassador to the Soviet Union, joining the revolutionary wing of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, which was led by Largo Caballero. During the Spanish Civil War, del Vayo held important positions in the republican government, including two times foreign minister. After the conquest of Catalonia, del Vayo participated in the last battles with the Franco, and only then fled the country. In 1940's - 1950's. del Vayo was in exile in Mexico, the United States and Switzerland. During this time, his political views have undergone significant changes. Del Vayo was expelled from the Spanish Socialist Workers Party and created the Spanish Socialist Union, which is close in its program to the Communist Party of Spain. In 1963, after the Communist Party finally abandoned the idea of armed struggle against the Franco regime, del Vayo did not agree with this overly moderate line and called for the continuation of the armed struggle against the Franco regime. He founded the Spanish National Liberation Front (FELN), which, however, was never able to turn into a large and active organization. Therefore, when the FRAP was created on the initiative of the Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist), Alvarez del Vaio included his organization in its composition and was elected acting president of the Revolutionary anti-fascist and patriotic front. However, due to his old age, he was already unable to take an active part in the activities of the organization, and on May 3, 1975 died as a result of an attack of heart failure.
FRAP became one of the first Spanish terrorist organizations of the last period of the existence of the Franco dictatorship. The front approvingly applied violent methods of political struggle and fully approved the assassination of Spanish Prime Minister Admiral Carrero Blanco, who was killed in an explosion organized by the Basque terrorist organization ETA. FRPA stated that the murder of Carrero Blanco was an act of "restoring justice." In the spring - summer of 1975, the activities of the FRAP combat groups intensified. So, on July 14 a military police officer was killed, a police officer was injured a little later, in August a lieutenant of a civil guard was killed. In addition to attacks on policemen, the FRAP was engaged in a violent resolution of labor conflicts armed with robberies and thefts, positioning this activity as the “revolutionary violence of the working class”. In response to the growing political violence of the FRAP, the Spanish security forces began repressions against the militant structures of the organization. Since the activities of the intelligence services in Spain during the reign of Franco were put on a high level, they soon managed to detain three FRP fighters José Umberto Baena Alonso, José Luis Sánchez and Ramon Bravo García Sanz. September 27 1975, along with two Basques from ETA, detainees of FRAP activists were shot. The execution of FRAP members caused a negative reaction not only to the Spanish, but also to the world community. It so happened that these executions were the last during the life of the dictator.
20 November, 1975, Generalissimo Francisco Franco passed away. After his death, political life in the country began to change rapidly. 22 November 1975, in accordance with the will of Franco, the power in the country was returned to the monarchs of the Bourbon dynasty and Juan Carlos de Bourbon became the new king of Spain. By this time, Spain was one of the most economically developed countries in Europe, the living standard of the population was rapidly increasing, but Franco’s political authoritarianism until his death was a serious obstacle to the further development of the Spanish state and the strengthening of its positions in the world economy and politics. The King appointed Conservative K. as Prime Minister. Arias Navarro, who included in the government representatives of the moderate trend in Spanish francism. The new prime minister spoke in favor of an evolutionary way of bringing Spain closer to other democratic countries of the West, without a radical and rapid breakdown of the order that had developed during Franco's rule. At the same time, knowing full well that further preservation of the repressive regime is fraught with the intensification of the armed struggle of opposition groups, the cabinet of Arias Navarro announced a partial amnesty. There was an expansion of civil rights and freedoms, the development of parliamentarism. It was assumed that democracy in Spain would still be “controlled” in nature and would be controlled by the king and the government. Repression against the communists and anarchists continued under the government of Navarro, but they were already much smaller. The gradual decrease in the intensity of political confrontation contributed to a decrease in the activity of radical groups, including FRAP. In 1978, finally convinced of the democratization of political life in Spain, the FRAP leaders dismissed the organization. By this time, a new constitution was adopted in Spain, proclaiming the country a democratic state and transforming Spain into a “state of autonomy”. The government made certain concessions to the Basque, Catalan and Galician national-liberation movements, because it understood that otherwise the lack of real rights and freedoms of national minorities would lead to an endless confrontation of national suburbs with the central government of Spain. From the central government, a specific set of powers was transferred to the regional autonomous communities, aimed at expanding local self-government. At the same time, the level of real autonomy of national regions remained extremely inadequate, especially since the nationalist-oriented representatives of local left-wing organizations did not intend to accept the level of freedoms that Madrid provided to the regions and focused on the continuation of the armed struggle against the regime until it reached “genuine” autonomy or even the political independence of their regions. It is the national regions of Spain, first of all the Basque Country, Galicia and Catalonia, that became the centers of the new armed resistance of the already post-Franco government of the country. On the other hand, there was a danger of a “right reaction” and a return to the methods of governing the Franco regime, as revanchist sentiments prevailed among the officers of the army, police, special services, and the convinced Francoists were convinced that democratization would not bring Spain to the good, blamed the socialists and communists in an effort to destroy the Spanish statehood and created their own armed groups who fought the Basque separatism and the radical left movement.
Group October 1st
However, FRAP, despite the high activity that it showed in 1973-1975, can hardly be called the most powerful Spanish radical left-wing organization in the second half of the twentieth century. Much more domestic, and Western, the reader is known GRAPO - Groups of patriotic anti-fascist resistance on the first of October.
This organization got its name in memory of October 1 1975. It was on this day that an armed retaliation was carried out for the execution of September 13 by three FRAP activists and two ETA activists, after which the Spanish radical left as a sign of retaliation against the regime of Franco for like-minded people, they launched an attack on military police officers. The GRAPO was formed as an armed unit of the Communist Party of Spain (revived), which also spoke from left-wing radical positions. The 27 in Paris created the Marxist-Leninist organization of Spain, which was formed by a group of activists of the Spanish Communist Party, dissatisfied with the pro-Soviet stance of the latter and accusing it, and at the same time both the Soviet Union and the communist parties of the pro-Soviet orientation in "revisionism". In 1968, on the basis of the Marxist-Leninist organization of Spain, the Communist Party of Spain (revived) and its armed wing, the Groups of Patriotic Anti-Fascist Resistance, appeared on October 1. The GRAPO’s strongest positions were in the north-western regions of Spain — Galicia, Leon and Murcia, where the Marxist-Leninist Organization of Galicia operated, whose activists formed the core of the GRAPO. The economic backwardness of the north-western regions of Spain contributed to a certain support of the radical communist movements from the population of these territories, who felt himself socially discriminated and robbed by the central government of the country and wanted radical social and political transformations in the life of the Spanish state. National feelings were added to social discontent - Galicia is inhabited by Galicians, who are ethnolinguistically closer to the Portuguese than to the Spaniards. The Maoists proclaimed the struggle for the national self-determination of the Galician people, which earned the sympathy of the local population and provided themselves with personnel reserves from among the radical-minded representatives of the Galician youth.
History GRAPO as an armed organization began on 2 on August 1975, although at that time it did not yet have its official name and simply was an armed section of the Communist Party of Spain (reborn). On this day in Madrid, Calisto Enrique Cerda, Abelardo Collazo Araujo and José Luis González Zazo, nicknamed “Caballo”, attacked two soldiers of the Civil Guard. A few days later, gunmen killed policeman Diego Martin. After the FRAP and ETA militants were executed, on October 1 1975, four military police officers were killed by the militants of the future GRAP in one of the streets of Madrid. This action was widely publicized by the left-wing radical press - as revenge for the execution in the Franco Prison of the Basque militants and members of the FRAP. After the formal political democratization began in Spain, the GRAPO, the Communist Party of Spain (reborn) and a number of other radical left organizations signed the “Five Point Program”, which outlined the main tactical demands of the Spanish ultra-leftists in the direction of real democratization of political life in the country. The five points included: a full and universal amnesty for all categories of political prisoners and political exiles, with the repeal of anti-terrorism laws against radical opposition; total cleansing of the authorities, justice and police from former fascists; the abolition of all restrictions of political and trade union freedoms in the country; the refusal of Spain to join the aggressive NATO bloc and the liberation of the country from the US military bases; immediate dissolution of the parliament and holding free elections with equal access to all political parties in the country. It goes without saying that the royal regime of Spain, which had replaced Franco, would never have gone to the realization of these points, especially in the direction of interrupting cooperation with NATO, since this was fraught with a deterioration in relations with the United States of America and the appearance of numerous economic and diplomatic problems in Spain. It is unlikely that the Spanish authorities would have agreed to the dismissal of high-ranking officials from the law enforcement and judicial system, who began serving under Franco, since they were the backbone of the Spanish judges, prosecutors, senior officers of the police, civil guard and armed forces. Moreover, the majority of Spanish high-ranking officials belonged to aristocratic and noble families, who had great connections in government circles and influence. Finally, the Spanish government feared that in the event of complete democratization of political life in the country, representatives of the irreconcilable communist opposition could get into the parliament, and the expansion of the influence of communists and anarchists on political life in post-Franco Spain did not enter into the plans of the king and his conservative environment, or pro-Western liberal and social democratic political parties in Spain.
Decades of Bloody Terror
Despite the fact that Generalissimo Franco died in 1975 and the political situation in Spain began to change towards democratization of domestic policy and refusal of repression against the radical left opposition, GRAP continued its terrorist activities. This was due to the fact that the Spanish government did not go for the implementation of the “Five Point Program”, which, in the opinion of the GRAPO and other ultra-leftists, was evidence of the fact that the Spanish government actually refused to genuinely democratize political life in the country. In addition, dissatisfaction of the GRAP was caused by the expansion of Spanish cooperation with the US and NATO, since the GRAPA acted in conjunction with other European left-wing armed organizations - the Italian Red Brigades and the French Direct Action, which carried out actions against NATO and the US. But the target of the GRAP, most often, were the representatives of the Spanish government and security forces. The GRAPO carried out a number of attacks on police officers and military personnel of the Spanish army and civil guard, and also engaged in robberies and extortion from businessmen for "the needs of the revolutionary movement." One of the most audacious and famous actions of the GRAP was the abduction of the President of the State Council of Spain, Antonio Maria de Ariol Urhiko. A senior official was abducted in December 1976, and at the beginning of 1977. Emilio Vilaeskus Quillis, President of the Supreme Council for Military Justice, was abducted. However, 11 February 1977 Urhiko was released by the police, who left on the trail of GRAPO militants. Nevertheless, the series of armed attacks of militants continued. So, February 24 1978 a group of militants attacked two policemen in Vigo, and on August 26 robbed one of the banks. January 8, 1979 Miguel Cruz Cuenca, President of the Supreme Court of Spain, was assassinated. In 1978 was Jesús Haddad, director general of prisons in Spain, was killed, and a year later, his successor, Carlos Garcia Valdés. Thus, in 1976-1979. A number of high-ranking officials of the Spanish law enforcement system and justice became the victims of the attacks of the GRAPO militants. With these actions, Grap avenged Spanish judges, policemen and military leaders who had begun their careers under Franco and, despite the formal democratization of political life in the country, who retained their posts in government and the judiciary. A whole series of attacks on policemen and civilian guard personnel was carried out in alliance with FRAP fighters. 26 May 1979 city a bloody act of terrorism was committed in Madrid. On this day in the cafe "California", located on Goya Street, a bomb was detonated. The explosion thundered in 18.55, when the cafe was crowded. His victims were 9 people, 61 people were injured. The cafe building inside was completely destroyed. This has become one of the most brutal and unexplained terrorist acts not only of the GRAPO, but of all European left-wing terrorists.
A series of terrorist acts in Spanish cities in 1979 forced the country's police to intensify their efforts to combat terrorism. In 1981, the leaders of the GRAP José Maria Sanchez and Alfonso Rodriguez García Casas were convicted by the National Court of Spain to 270 years of imprisonment (the death penalty in the country after the death of Generalissimo Franco was abolished). In 1982, the GRAPO proposed that Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez should conclude an armistice and after negotiations held in 1983 with the leadership of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, most of the GRAP militants put down weapon. However, many militants did not want to surrender to the authorities, and police operations against the remaining active activists of the GRAPO continued in various cities in Spain. 18 January 1985 18 people suspected of involvement with the GRAP armed uprisings were arrested in a number of cities in the country. However, such prominent militants as Manuel Perez Martinez ("Camérade Arenas" - in the photo) and Milagros Caballero Carbonell managed to avoid arrest, leaving Spain.
In 1987, despite the fact that Spain had long ago become a democratic country, the GRAP was reorganized to continue the armed actions against the Spanish government. In 1988 by GRAPO militants, Galician businessman Claudio San-Martin was killed, and in 1995, businessman Publio Cordon Zaragoza was abducted. He was never released, and only after the arrest of the GRAPO militants many years later, it became known that the entrepreneur died two weeks after being stolen. In 1999, GRAPO militants attacked a bank in Valladolid and bombed the headquarters of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party in Madrid. In the 2000 year in Vigo, GRAPO militants attacked an armored van of collectors for robbery and killed two guards in a shootout, seriously wounding a third. In the same 2000 in Paris, the police managed to arrest the seven leading activists of the organization, but on November 17, the GRAPO militants shot dead a policeman who was patrolling the Madrid district of Carabanchel. In addition, several enterprises and government agencies were mined in the same year. In 2000, the police again succeeded in causing serious damage to the organization, arresting 2002 activists - 14 people were arrested in France and 8 people in Spain. After these arrests, the group was very weakened, but it did not cease its operations and in 6, it attacked a bank branch in Alcorcon. The same year, 2003 members of the organization were arrested. Spanish justice has paid close attention to the political activities of the Communist Party of Spain (revived), rightly seeing in it a "roof" for the armed struggle carried out by the GRAPO.
In 2003 was Judge Baltazar Garzón decided to suspend the activities of the Spanish Communist Party (revived) on charges of collaborating with the terrorist organization GRAPO. However, already 6 February 2006 GRAPO militants attacked businessman Francisco Colet, who owned an employment agency. The businessman was injured, and his wife died as a result of the attack. In the same year, an exchange of fire took place on the street of Antena, and on February 26 2006. The police arrested Israel Torralba, who was responsible for most of the killings committed by the group in recent years. However, 4 July 2006 two GRAPO militants robbed a branch of the Bank of Galicia in Santiago de Comostella. As a result of the attack, the militants managed to kidnap 20 thousand euros. The policemen identified the attackers - it turned out that they were the militants of the GRAP Israel Clemente and Jorge Garcia Vidal. According to the police, it was precisely these people who attacked the entrepreneur Kolya, as a result of which his wife Anna Isabel Herrero was killed. According to the Spanish police, at least the 87 man was killed by the GRAPO militants by the time in question — most of them were victims of attacks on banks and collector cars, since the militants had never been particularly scrupulous in choosing targets and openly firing to defeat, even if peaceful citizens turned out to be in the line of fire. In June, the 2007 The conspiratorial apartments of GRAPO were found in Barcelona, and in 2009 French gendarmerie was discovered a cache near Paris, in which the militants GRAPO kept their weapons. 10 March 2011 city a small bomb was blown up in the house where the mayor of Santiago de Compostela, José Antonio Sanchez, the representative of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, had lived. On suspicion of involvement in the blast, a former member of the GRAPO Telmo Fernandez Varela was arrested, during a search in whose apartment they found materials used in the manufacture of incendiary bottles. However, some experts are inclined to associate the recent terrorist attacks in Santiago de Compostela with the activities of the Galician resistance group - the separatists who are in favor of secession of Galicia from Spain. Apparently, up to the present, the Spanish police and special services have not been able to completely eliminate the GRAPO cells, thereby destroying the terrorist threat posed by the radical Galician militants. Therefore, it is possible that in the foreseeable future, Spain may encounter regular armed forays of militants.
It should be noted that in recent decades, Spain has created all the conditions for political activity through peaceful means. The country no longer has the fascist regime of Franco, democratic elections are held, and the government acts by harsh methods only when it comes to confrontation with the radical opposition. Nevertheless, militants from armed leftist radical and nationalist organizations do not even think about stopping armed resistance. This indicates that they have long been interested in the path of violence and expropriation more than the real solution of the social problems of Spanish society. After all, no social problem can be solved by means of terrorist attacks, as evidenced by the whole century-old history of modern terrorism - of the left, the right, and the national liberation. At the same time, it is impossible not to note the fact that the very possibility of mass armed violence with the support of a certain part of the population indicates that not everything is calm in the Spanish kingdom. There is a mass of socio-economic and national problems that, due to certain circumstances, official Madrid cannot or does not want. These include, among other things, the problem of self-determination of the regions of Spain inhabited by national minorities - Basques, Catalans, Galicians. It remains only to hope that the Spanish political organizations, including those of a radical nature, will find more peaceful arguments to convey their position to the Spanish authorities and stop the terrorist attacks, of which people who simply perform their duties as soldiers and policemen are victims. not at all related to politics civilians of the country.
The radicalization of the communist movement
Armed resistance to the Franco regime in Spain in the second half of the twentieth century was exerted by two types of political organizations — national liberation organizations of ethnic minorities living in certain regions of the country, and left-wing anti-fascist organizations — communist or anarchist. Both types of political organizations were interested in overthrowing the Franco regime - left for ideological reasons, and national liberation - because of the tough policy of the Franco in relation to national minorities. Indeed, during the years of Franco's rule, Basque, Galician, and Catalan languages, instruction in schools, and activities of national political organizations were banned.
The repressions affected tens of thousands of people, only the number of people missing during the years of the Franco regime is estimated by modern researchers at 100 - 150 thousand people. Given the particular mentality of the Spaniards, it should be understood that many people could not forgive the murder regime and torture of their relatives and loved ones. It is the national regions of Spain - the Basque Country, Galicia and Catalonia - that became the main centers of radical resistance to the Franco regime. Moreover, on the territory of these regions, support from the local population was found both by national liberation organizations and radical left organizations. The most powerful organizations of national liberation, operating in the territory of the national regions of Spain in the 1970-1990-x. were the Basque ETA - "Basque Country and Freedom" and the Catalan "Terra Lure" - "Free Land". However, the activity of the Catalan terrorists was significantly inferior to the activity of the Basques. Even less active were the Galician separatists - supporters of the independence of Galicia. By the way, the Spanish left and national liberation organizations closely cooperated with each other, since they understood perfectly the common goals - overthrowing the Franco regime and changing the political system in the country. However, the Spanish Communist Party, which adhered to the pro-Soviet position, after Joseph Stalin called on the Spanish communist movement in 1948 to take the course of curbing the armed struggle, gradually abandoned the radical methods of fighting the Franco regime. Unlike the communists, the anarchists and the radical part of the communist movement, which did not accept the pro-Soviet line, continued to fight quite actively with the Franco regime. Once in 1956 The Communist Party of the Soviet Union at the XX Congress set a course for the de-Stalinization and condemnation of the Stalin personality cult, the more orthodox Communists did not recognize the new line of the Soviet leadership and reoriented themselves to China and Albania, which remained loyal to the ideas of Stalinism. In the world communist movement, a split occurred in almost all countries of the world, with the exception of the states of the socialist bloc led by the USSR, new “pro-Chinese or Maoist” dissociated themselves from the “old” pro-Soviet communist parties. The Spanish Communist Party has remained loyal to the pro-Soviet positions since 1956. focused on the “policy of national reconciliation”, which consisted in the rejection of the armed struggle against the Franco regime and the transition to peaceful methods of counteracting the Franco dictatorship. However, in 1963 several groups of activists who disagreed with the official line of the Spanish Communist Party left its ranks and established contact with the pro-Maritist Marxist-Leninist Party of Belgium and with Chinese diplomatic missions that supported the formation of pro-Chinese Communist parties throughout Europe. During 1963-1964 years there was a further consolidation of the radical communist groups who disagree with the official position of the Spanish Communist Party. That was the formation of the Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist), focused on Maoism and advocating the deployment of a revolutionary armed struggle against the Franco regime, with the aim of carrying out a socialist revolution in the country. Already in December 1964 Spanish police began detaining activists of the Maoist party suspected of treason. In April, the 1965 a group of activists was arrested, trying to start distributing the Workers Avant-garde newspaper In September, the 1965 A group of militants led by Fernando Crespo, who formed the Revolutionary Armed Forces (RVS), left the Communist Party of Spain (ML). However, at the beginning of 1966 Crespo was arrested. Other activists of the organization were also arrested in the next two years. In view of the repression of the Franco regime, the organization shifted its activities abroad and received help from China, Albania and the Belgian Maoists. In 1970, after the party had disagreements with the Chinese Communist Party, it largely shifted to Hoxhaism - that is, the political line shared by Albania and the leader of the Albanian Labor Party, Enver Hoxha. After that, the party moved its headquarters to Tirana, the capital of Albania, where Spanish-language radio began to work. Thus, the party adopted the most orthodox version of Stalinism, since Enver Hoxha and the Albanian Labor Party criticized even the Chinese Communists, seeing in the activities of the Maoists certain deviations from the "Lenin-Stalin doctrine."
FRAP headed by former Minister of the Republic
In 1973, a group of activists of the Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist) created the Revolutionary Anti-Fascist and Patriotic Front (FRAP), proclaiming its main goal the armed struggle against the dictatorship of Franco and the creation of the Spanish popular revolutionary movement. In May, 1973 was held in the Plaza de Anton Martin by the FRAP and KPI activists (ML). Armed with rods, stones and knives, the FRAP fighters were dispersed in small groups, despite the presence at the rally of significant police forces. In 19.30, a demonstration began and immediately the demonstrators were attacked by police forces. As a result of a fight with the police, Deputy Police Inspector Juan Antonio Fernandez was killed and Inspector Lopez Garcia was seriously injured. A police agent named Castro was also injured. The murder of a policeman was the first violent action of the FRAP. Later there were other attacks on the Franco police officers, as a result of which a total of about twenty law enforcement officers were injured. The activities of the FRAP led to increased political repression in Spain, as a result of which many activists of the militant organization and the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party were arrested and tortured in police stations. 30 August arrested Cipriano Martos, who died on September 17, unable to bear the grueling interrogation by Spanish police. The cause of death was that the operatives forced him to drink the Molotov cocktail. However, FRAP officially announced the beginning of its activities only in November 1973 in Paris. The founders of the organization gathered at the apartment of Arthur Miller, an American playwright who lived in Paris and was a long-time good friend of the Spanish socialist Julio del Vaio, a former foreign minister in the government of the Spanish republic. Among the priorities facing the FRAP were: 1) the overthrow of the fascist dictatorship of Franco and the liberation of Spain from American imperialism; 2) the creation of the People's Federal Republic and the provision of democratic freedoms and self-government of the national minorities of the country; 3) the nationalization of monopolies and the confiscation of the property of oligarchs; 4) agrarian reform and confiscation of large latifundia; 5) rejection of imperialist politics and the liberation of the remaining colonies; 6) the transformation of the Spanish army into a true defender of popular interests. At the national conference held on November 24 1973, Julio Alvarez del Vaio y Olóki (1891-1975) was elected chairman of FRAP. Although the organization was youth in composition, Julio del Vaio was already a deeply elderly 82-year-old.
From early youth, he participated in the activities of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, became widely known as a journalist in Spain and the United Kingdom, and reviewed the events of the First World War. In 1930, Mr. del Vayo participated in the preparation of an anti-monarchist uprising in Spain, and after proclaiming a republic for two years, he served as the Spanish ambassador to Mexico - very important, given the developed relations of the two countries. 1933 to 1934 represented Spain in the League of Nations, participated in resolving the political contradictions between Bolivia and Paraguay in 1933, when the Chak war began between the two states. In 1933, Mr. Del Vayo later became the Spanish ambassador to the Soviet Union, joining the revolutionary wing of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, which was led by Largo Caballero. During the Spanish Civil War, del Vayo held important positions in the republican government, including two times foreign minister. After the conquest of Catalonia, del Vayo participated in the last battles with the Franco, and only then fled the country. In 1940's - 1950's. del Vayo was in exile in Mexico, the United States and Switzerland. During this time, his political views have undergone significant changes. Del Vayo was expelled from the Spanish Socialist Workers Party and created the Spanish Socialist Union, which is close in its program to the Communist Party of Spain. In 1963, after the Communist Party finally abandoned the idea of armed struggle against the Franco regime, del Vayo did not agree with this overly moderate line and called for the continuation of the armed struggle against the Franco regime. He founded the Spanish National Liberation Front (FELN), which, however, was never able to turn into a large and active organization. Therefore, when the FRAP was created on the initiative of the Communist Party of Spain (Marxist-Leninist), Alvarez del Vaio included his organization in its composition and was elected acting president of the Revolutionary anti-fascist and patriotic front. However, due to his old age, he was already unable to take an active part in the activities of the organization, and on May 3, 1975 died as a result of an attack of heart failure. FRAP became one of the first Spanish terrorist organizations of the last period of the existence of the Franco dictatorship. The front approvingly applied violent methods of political struggle and fully approved the assassination of Spanish Prime Minister Admiral Carrero Blanco, who was killed in an explosion organized by the Basque terrorist organization ETA. FRPA stated that the murder of Carrero Blanco was an act of "restoring justice." In the spring - summer of 1975, the activities of the FRAP combat groups intensified. So, on July 14 a military police officer was killed, a police officer was injured a little later, in August a lieutenant of a civil guard was killed. In addition to attacks on policemen, the FRAP was engaged in a violent resolution of labor conflicts armed with robberies and thefts, positioning this activity as the “revolutionary violence of the working class”. In response to the growing political violence of the FRAP, the Spanish security forces began repressions against the militant structures of the organization. Since the activities of the intelligence services in Spain during the reign of Franco were put on a high level, they soon managed to detain three FRP fighters José Umberto Baena Alonso, José Luis Sánchez and Ramon Bravo García Sanz. September 27 1975, along with two Basques from ETA, detainees of FRAP activists were shot. The execution of FRAP members caused a negative reaction not only to the Spanish, but also to the world community. It so happened that these executions were the last during the life of the dictator.
20 November, 1975, Generalissimo Francisco Franco passed away. After his death, political life in the country began to change rapidly. 22 November 1975, in accordance with the will of Franco, the power in the country was returned to the monarchs of the Bourbon dynasty and Juan Carlos de Bourbon became the new king of Spain. By this time, Spain was one of the most economically developed countries in Europe, the living standard of the population was rapidly increasing, but Franco’s political authoritarianism until his death was a serious obstacle to the further development of the Spanish state and the strengthening of its positions in the world economy and politics. The King appointed Conservative K. as Prime Minister. Arias Navarro, who included in the government representatives of the moderate trend in Spanish francism. The new prime minister spoke in favor of an evolutionary way of bringing Spain closer to other democratic countries of the West, without a radical and rapid breakdown of the order that had developed during Franco's rule. At the same time, knowing full well that further preservation of the repressive regime is fraught with the intensification of the armed struggle of opposition groups, the cabinet of Arias Navarro announced a partial amnesty. There was an expansion of civil rights and freedoms, the development of parliamentarism. It was assumed that democracy in Spain would still be “controlled” in nature and would be controlled by the king and the government. Repression against the communists and anarchists continued under the government of Navarro, but they were already much smaller. The gradual decrease in the intensity of political confrontation contributed to a decrease in the activity of radical groups, including FRAP. In 1978, finally convinced of the democratization of political life in Spain, the FRAP leaders dismissed the organization. By this time, a new constitution was adopted in Spain, proclaiming the country a democratic state and transforming Spain into a “state of autonomy”. The government made certain concessions to the Basque, Catalan and Galician national-liberation movements, because it understood that otherwise the lack of real rights and freedoms of national minorities would lead to an endless confrontation of national suburbs with the central government of Spain. From the central government, a specific set of powers was transferred to the regional autonomous communities, aimed at expanding local self-government. At the same time, the level of real autonomy of national regions remained extremely inadequate, especially since the nationalist-oriented representatives of local left-wing organizations did not intend to accept the level of freedoms that Madrid provided to the regions and focused on the continuation of the armed struggle against the regime until it reached “genuine” autonomy or even the political independence of their regions. It is the national regions of Spain, first of all the Basque Country, Galicia and Catalonia, that became the centers of the new armed resistance of the already post-Franco government of the country. On the other hand, there was a danger of a “right reaction” and a return to the methods of governing the Franco regime, as revanchist sentiments prevailed among the officers of the army, police, special services, and the convinced Francoists were convinced that democratization would not bring Spain to the good, blamed the socialists and communists in an effort to destroy the Spanish statehood and created their own armed groups who fought the Basque separatism and the radical left movement.
Group October 1st
However, FRAP, despite the high activity that it showed in 1973-1975, can hardly be called the most powerful Spanish radical left-wing organization in the second half of the twentieth century. Much more domestic, and Western, the reader is known GRAPO - Groups of patriotic anti-fascist resistance on the first of October.
This organization got its name in memory of October 1 1975. It was on this day that an armed retaliation was carried out for the execution of September 13 by three FRAP activists and two ETA activists, after which the Spanish radical left as a sign of retaliation against the regime of Franco for like-minded people, they launched an attack on military police officers. The GRAPO was formed as an armed unit of the Communist Party of Spain (revived), which also spoke from left-wing radical positions. The 27 in Paris created the Marxist-Leninist organization of Spain, which was formed by a group of activists of the Spanish Communist Party, dissatisfied with the pro-Soviet stance of the latter and accusing it, and at the same time both the Soviet Union and the communist parties of the pro-Soviet orientation in "revisionism". In 1968, on the basis of the Marxist-Leninist organization of Spain, the Communist Party of Spain (revived) and its armed wing, the Groups of Patriotic Anti-Fascist Resistance, appeared on October 1. The GRAPO’s strongest positions were in the north-western regions of Spain — Galicia, Leon and Murcia, where the Marxist-Leninist Organization of Galicia operated, whose activists formed the core of the GRAPO. The economic backwardness of the north-western regions of Spain contributed to a certain support of the radical communist movements from the population of these territories, who felt himself socially discriminated and robbed by the central government of the country and wanted radical social and political transformations in the life of the Spanish state. National feelings were added to social discontent - Galicia is inhabited by Galicians, who are ethnolinguistically closer to the Portuguese than to the Spaniards. The Maoists proclaimed the struggle for the national self-determination of the Galician people, which earned the sympathy of the local population and provided themselves with personnel reserves from among the radical-minded representatives of the Galician youth. History GRAPO as an armed organization began on 2 on August 1975, although at that time it did not yet have its official name and simply was an armed section of the Communist Party of Spain (reborn). On this day in Madrid, Calisto Enrique Cerda, Abelardo Collazo Araujo and José Luis González Zazo, nicknamed “Caballo”, attacked two soldiers of the Civil Guard. A few days later, gunmen killed policeman Diego Martin. After the FRAP and ETA militants were executed, on October 1 1975, four military police officers were killed by the militants of the future GRAP in one of the streets of Madrid. This action was widely publicized by the left-wing radical press - as revenge for the execution in the Franco Prison of the Basque militants and members of the FRAP. After the formal political democratization began in Spain, the GRAPO, the Communist Party of Spain (reborn) and a number of other radical left organizations signed the “Five Point Program”, which outlined the main tactical demands of the Spanish ultra-leftists in the direction of real democratization of political life in the country. The five points included: a full and universal amnesty for all categories of political prisoners and political exiles, with the repeal of anti-terrorism laws against radical opposition; total cleansing of the authorities, justice and police from former fascists; the abolition of all restrictions of political and trade union freedoms in the country; the refusal of Spain to join the aggressive NATO bloc and the liberation of the country from the US military bases; immediate dissolution of the parliament and holding free elections with equal access to all political parties in the country. It goes without saying that the royal regime of Spain, which had replaced Franco, would never have gone to the realization of these points, especially in the direction of interrupting cooperation with NATO, since this was fraught with a deterioration in relations with the United States of America and the appearance of numerous economic and diplomatic problems in Spain. It is unlikely that the Spanish authorities would have agreed to the dismissal of high-ranking officials from the law enforcement and judicial system, who began serving under Franco, since they were the backbone of the Spanish judges, prosecutors, senior officers of the police, civil guard and armed forces. Moreover, the majority of Spanish high-ranking officials belonged to aristocratic and noble families, who had great connections in government circles and influence. Finally, the Spanish government feared that in the event of complete democratization of political life in the country, representatives of the irreconcilable communist opposition could get into the parliament, and the expansion of the influence of communists and anarchists on political life in post-Franco Spain did not enter into the plans of the king and his conservative environment, or pro-Western liberal and social democratic political parties in Spain.
Decades of Bloody Terror
Despite the fact that Generalissimo Franco died in 1975 and the political situation in Spain began to change towards democratization of domestic policy and refusal of repression against the radical left opposition, GRAP continued its terrorist activities. This was due to the fact that the Spanish government did not go for the implementation of the “Five Point Program”, which, in the opinion of the GRAPO and other ultra-leftists, was evidence of the fact that the Spanish government actually refused to genuinely democratize political life in the country. In addition, dissatisfaction of the GRAP was caused by the expansion of Spanish cooperation with the US and NATO, since the GRAPA acted in conjunction with other European left-wing armed organizations - the Italian Red Brigades and the French Direct Action, which carried out actions against NATO and the US. But the target of the GRAP, most often, were the representatives of the Spanish government and security forces. The GRAPO carried out a number of attacks on police officers and military personnel of the Spanish army and civil guard, and also engaged in robberies and extortion from businessmen for "the needs of the revolutionary movement." One of the most audacious and famous actions of the GRAP was the abduction of the President of the State Council of Spain, Antonio Maria de Ariol Urhiko. A senior official was abducted in December 1976, and at the beginning of 1977. Emilio Vilaeskus Quillis, President of the Supreme Council for Military Justice, was abducted. However, 11 February 1977 Urhiko was released by the police, who left on the trail of GRAPO militants. Nevertheless, the series of armed attacks of militants continued. So, February 24 1978 a group of militants attacked two policemen in Vigo, and on August 26 robbed one of the banks. January 8, 1979 Miguel Cruz Cuenca, President of the Supreme Court of Spain, was assassinated. In 1978 was Jesús Haddad, director general of prisons in Spain, was killed, and a year later, his successor, Carlos Garcia Valdés. Thus, in 1976-1979. A number of high-ranking officials of the Spanish law enforcement system and justice became the victims of the attacks of the GRAPO militants. With these actions, Grap avenged Spanish judges, policemen and military leaders who had begun their careers under Franco and, despite the formal democratization of political life in the country, who retained their posts in government and the judiciary. A whole series of attacks on policemen and civilian guard personnel was carried out in alliance with FRAP fighters. 26 May 1979 city a bloody act of terrorism was committed in Madrid. On this day in the cafe "California", located on Goya Street, a bomb was detonated. The explosion thundered in 18.55, when the cafe was crowded. His victims were 9 people, 61 people were injured. The cafe building inside was completely destroyed. This has become one of the most brutal and unexplained terrorist acts not only of the GRAPO, but of all European left-wing terrorists.
A series of terrorist acts in Spanish cities in 1979 forced the country's police to intensify their efforts to combat terrorism. In 1981, the leaders of the GRAP José Maria Sanchez and Alfonso Rodriguez García Casas were convicted by the National Court of Spain to 270 years of imprisonment (the death penalty in the country after the death of Generalissimo Franco was abolished). In 1982, the GRAPO proposed that Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez should conclude an armistice and after negotiations held in 1983 with the leadership of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, most of the GRAP militants put down weapon. However, many militants did not want to surrender to the authorities, and police operations against the remaining active activists of the GRAPO continued in various cities in Spain. 18 January 1985 18 people suspected of involvement with the GRAP armed uprisings were arrested in a number of cities in the country. However, such prominent militants as Manuel Perez Martinez ("Camérade Arenas" - in the photo) and Milagros Caballero Carbonell managed to avoid arrest, leaving Spain. In 1987, despite the fact that Spain had long ago become a democratic country, the GRAP was reorganized to continue the armed actions against the Spanish government. In 1988 by GRAPO militants, Galician businessman Claudio San-Martin was killed, and in 1995, businessman Publio Cordon Zaragoza was abducted. He was never released, and only after the arrest of the GRAPO militants many years later, it became known that the entrepreneur died two weeks after being stolen. In 1999, GRAPO militants attacked a bank in Valladolid and bombed the headquarters of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party in Madrid. In the 2000 year in Vigo, GRAPO militants attacked an armored van of collectors for robbery and killed two guards in a shootout, seriously wounding a third. In the same 2000 in Paris, the police managed to arrest the seven leading activists of the organization, but on November 17, the GRAPO militants shot dead a policeman who was patrolling the Madrid district of Carabanchel. In addition, several enterprises and government agencies were mined in the same year. In 2000, the police again succeeded in causing serious damage to the organization, arresting 2002 activists - 14 people were arrested in France and 8 people in Spain. After these arrests, the group was very weakened, but it did not cease its operations and in 6, it attacked a bank branch in Alcorcon. The same year, 2003 members of the organization were arrested. Spanish justice has paid close attention to the political activities of the Communist Party of Spain (revived), rightly seeing in it a "roof" for the armed struggle carried out by the GRAPO.
In 2003 was Judge Baltazar Garzón decided to suspend the activities of the Spanish Communist Party (revived) on charges of collaborating with the terrorist organization GRAPO. However, already 6 February 2006 GRAPO militants attacked businessman Francisco Colet, who owned an employment agency. The businessman was injured, and his wife died as a result of the attack. In the same year, an exchange of fire took place on the street of Antena, and on February 26 2006. The police arrested Israel Torralba, who was responsible for most of the killings committed by the group in recent years. However, 4 July 2006 two GRAPO militants robbed a branch of the Bank of Galicia in Santiago de Comostella. As a result of the attack, the militants managed to kidnap 20 thousand euros. The policemen identified the attackers - it turned out that they were the militants of the GRAP Israel Clemente and Jorge Garcia Vidal. According to the police, it was precisely these people who attacked the entrepreneur Kolya, as a result of which his wife Anna Isabel Herrero was killed. According to the Spanish police, at least the 87 man was killed by the GRAPO militants by the time in question — most of them were victims of attacks on banks and collector cars, since the militants had never been particularly scrupulous in choosing targets and openly firing to defeat, even if peaceful citizens turned out to be in the line of fire. In June, the 2007 The conspiratorial apartments of GRAPO were found in Barcelona, and in 2009 French gendarmerie was discovered a cache near Paris, in which the militants GRAPO kept their weapons. 10 March 2011 city a small bomb was blown up in the house where the mayor of Santiago de Compostela, José Antonio Sanchez, the representative of the Spanish Socialist Workers Party, had lived. On suspicion of involvement in the blast, a former member of the GRAPO Telmo Fernandez Varela was arrested, during a search in whose apartment they found materials used in the manufacture of incendiary bottles. However, some experts are inclined to associate the recent terrorist attacks in Santiago de Compostela with the activities of the Galician resistance group - the separatists who are in favor of secession of Galicia from Spain. Apparently, up to the present, the Spanish police and special services have not been able to completely eliminate the GRAPO cells, thereby destroying the terrorist threat posed by the radical Galician militants. Therefore, it is possible that in the foreseeable future, Spain may encounter regular armed forays of militants.
It should be noted that in recent decades, Spain has created all the conditions for political activity through peaceful means. The country no longer has the fascist regime of Franco, democratic elections are held, and the government acts by harsh methods only when it comes to confrontation with the radical opposition. Nevertheless, militants from armed leftist radical and nationalist organizations do not even think about stopping armed resistance. This indicates that they have long been interested in the path of violence and expropriation more than the real solution of the social problems of Spanish society. After all, no social problem can be solved by means of terrorist attacks, as evidenced by the whole century-old history of modern terrorism - of the left, the right, and the national liberation. At the same time, it is impossible not to note the fact that the very possibility of mass armed violence with the support of a certain part of the population indicates that not everything is calm in the Spanish kingdom. There is a mass of socio-economic and national problems that, due to certain circumstances, official Madrid cannot or does not want. These include, among other things, the problem of self-determination of the regions of Spain inhabited by national minorities - Basques, Catalans, Galicians. It remains only to hope that the Spanish political organizations, including those of a radical nature, will find more peaceful arguments to convey their position to the Spanish authorities and stop the terrorist attacks, of which people who simply perform their duties as soldiers and policemen are victims. not at all related to politics civilians of the country.
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