The president of the government, Pedro Sánchez, has announced that next Tuesday the secret files of what happened in the 23-F coup attempt will be declassified. This Monday marks 45 years since the former lieutenant colonel of the Civil Guard, Antonio Tejero, entered Congress armed to the cry of "Everyone sit down", leaving two bullet holes in the parliament's ceiling. According to the Classified Information Bill, approved last year, classified texts that reach their 45th anniversary are automatically declassified.
This bill defines classified information as “all that whose unauthorized disclosure or improper use may pose a threat or harm to national security or defense.” In this way, it proposes four categories of classification, each with a time limit taking into account the risk of unauthorized disclosure or improper use:
- Top secret: 45 years or more. There is the possibility of an extension of 15 more years.
- Secret: 35 years. There is the possibility of 10 more years.
- Confidential: between 7 and 9 years. Non-extendable.
- Restricted: between 4 and 5 years. Non-extendable.
The Council of Ministers, at the proposal of the President of the Government or of the ministers, will have exclusive competence to classify and declassify information of the categories “top secret” and “secret”, while “a limited and reduced number of authorities” will be able to do so for “confidential” and “restricted” documents. The previous reference law regarding classified files is the Official Secrets Act of 1968. A Francoist law still in force, which was modified in 1978 to adapt it to the new constitution. With the draft Classified Information Law, what is intended is to modernize and replace the norm.
The Partido Popular calls the announcement of the president of the government "a smoke screen". The spokesperson of the PP in congress, Ester Muñoz, has stated on the social network "X" that "we are going to a smoke screen per day" and according to her "the steps of total collapse are being fulfilled". On the same social network, Pedro Sánchez has affirmed that "memory cannot be under lock and key" and that in this way "a historical debt with the citizenry is settled".
The declassification will become effective on Wednesday, February 25 with its publication in the Boletín Oficial del Estado. The documents will be on the Moncloa website in an accessible way to all people interested in the events that occurred on that February 23, 1981.
