Spain will exhume, relocate Franco's remainsOctober 21, 2019 - 18:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - It is an issue that has divided Spanish opinion for decades, but the remains of the country's fascist dictator General Francisco Franco will be exhumed and relocated on October 24, Spain's government said Monday, October 21, CNN reports. Franco was buried in a grand mausoleum called the Valley of the Fallen, northwest of Madrid, soon after his death in 1975. The monument, which was partially built by political prisoners of his regime and is the site of a mass grave of Spanish Civil War victims, has since become a draw for tourists and far-right sympathizers who rally at it on the anniversary of Franco's death on November 20. In September, Spain's Supreme Court ruled that the dictator could be exhumed from the mausoleum. His remains will now be relocated to the Mingorrubio state cemetery in El Pardo, 12 miles north of Madrid, where the dictator's wife is buried. The exhumation was one of acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's key policy pledges when he came into power last year and was made a royal decree in August 2018 by the incumbent Socialist Party. Franco's family and his far-right supporters have opposed the plan and the family appealed the decision in the courts. The Supreme Court also rejected the family's request for the body of the dictator be buried in the Cathedral of La Almundena in central Madrid. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. CSTO: Armenia has not participated in secretariat’s work recently Recently Armenia has not participated in the work of the secretariat of the CSTO, Imangali Tasmagambetov said. Meeting with U.S., EU not against third parties, says Armenia The meeting scheduled for April 5 is dedicated to strengthening of the Armenia-EU-US cooperation, Yerevan added. Ucom launches network modernization efforts in few regions of Armenia In particular, on March 28, the legacy Mobile Switching Subsystem will be replaced with a new one. |