The Minister of Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has urged the director general of the National Police, Francisco Pardo Piqueras, to open “specific investigations” into the police actions recorded during the general strike on November 11, according to sources from the ministerial department itself.
The same sources emphasize that these investigations will be carried out independently of the internal inspection that the National Police applies to all its interventions to verify their compliance with current regulations.
Furthermore, Fernando Grande-Marlaska has given the order that, henceforth, tear gas should not be used in demonstration control operations.
Provisional balance of incidents and arrests
The balance made by the Ministry of Interior places the incidents reported by the National Police and the Civil Guard at 1,144 until 11:00 p.m. last night, on a day when both forces made a total of 47 arrests.
According to this provisional count, the arrests are distributed as follows: 20 in Madrid, 6 in Valencia, 4 in Malaga, 4 in Almeria, 3 in Granada, 3 in Castellon, 2 in Zamora, and one in Navarra, Valladolid, La Rioja, Alicante and La Coruña. These figures do not include data from Catalonia or the Basque Country.
Bolaños rules out Marlaska's dismissal
For his part, the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, has ruled out the dismissal of Fernando Grande-Marlaska in an interview on RNE this Monday, after the police charges that occurred during the general strike on November 11, although he admitted that there were images of police actions that he had not “liked”.
In that intervention, Félix Bolaños pointed out that it will be up to the police commanders to determine “if there has been a disproportionate use of force in any element” during the marches, and he absolved the head of Interior of responsibility despite the fact that various political forces, such as Frente Amplio or Podemos, had demanded his replacement.
The minister insisted that “absolutely not” is Fernando Grande-Marlaska's position at the head of Interior in question, and he defended that he was attentive to “all the work” carried out by the State Security Forces and Corps during the day.
Félix Bolaños also highlighted that the “predominant note” of the general strike was “peaceful and civic demonstrations”, in which “dozens of thousands of people” took to the streets to demand the right to housing and a salary that allows for “more quality of life”.
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