The Hindu : Aznar comes under fire on Iraq policy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Dec 03, 2003

International

International

Aznar comes under fire on Iraq policy

By Vaiju Naravane

Paris Dec. 2. The Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar, was engaged in a furious row with the Opposition which accused him of wishing to exploit the upsurge of emotion caused by the slaying of seven intelligence officers in Iraq last week.

The country was in mourning as a funeral service was held at the headquarters of the intelligence agency in Madrid today. King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and Crown Prince Felipe attended the ceremony.

Mr. Aznar was scheduled to appear in Parliament later on Tuesday to reaffirm commitment to stand by the U.S. in Iraq, having insisted after the attack that Spain would "fulfil its commitments with serenity and loyalty".

Despite his unyielding support for the U.S.-led intervention in Iraq, the Opposition parties have slammed Mr. Aznar's policy and their calls for the Spanish contingent to be brought home have been growing increasingly louder.

Mr. Aznar's decision to address Parliament on the same day as the funeral sparked furious reactions from the Opposition, which has accused him of seeking to exploit the emotion caused by the deaths of the agents in order to bolster his controversial policies.

A royal decree said the official day of mourning "bears witness to the pain of the Spanish nation in the face of the killings of seven Spaniards deployed in Iraq".

The incident brought the number of Spanish dead in Iraq to 10 since Spain deployed 1,250 troops in August in the teeth of huge popular and political opposition.

The decision to allow no direct media coverage of the event sparked the ire of newspapers, with the ABC daily saying it violated freedom of information as laid down in the Constitution, a document whose 25th anniversary has been much celebrated over the past month.

"There will be no press coverage of the state funeral," said the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

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