The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has asked the Director General of the National Police, Francisco Pardo Piqueras, to launch “specific investigations” into the police actions carried out during the general strike of November 11, according to sources from his department.
“These investigations will be carried out independently of the internal review to which the National Police subjects all its actions to assess their compliance with the current regulations,” the same sources point out, emphasizing that this extraordinary procedure is added to the usual checks.
At the same time, the head of the Interior Department has given instructions so that, from now on, the use of tear gas in demonstration control devices is prohibited, thereby modifying the operating protocols in this type of operation.
According to the provisional tally from the Ministry of the Interior, up to 23:00 last night the National Police and the Civil Guard had reported 1,144 incidents linked to the general strike day, within the framework of which both forces carried out a total of 47 arrests.
The list of arrests is as follows: 20 detainees in Madrid; 6 in Valencia; 4 in Málaga; 4 in Almería; 3 in Granada; 2 in Zamora; 3 in Castellón; and 1 detainee in each of the following territories: Navarra, Valladolid, La Rioja, Alicante and La Coruña. The Interior Department emphasizes that these figures are still provisional and do not include information relating to Catalonia or the Basque Country.
Bolaños denies the removal of Marlaska
The Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes, Félix Bolaños, has ruled out the replacement of Fernando Grande-Marlaska at the head of the Interior Department, despite criticism over the police charges during the general strike of November 11. He did so in an interview this morning on “RNE,” in which he acknowledged that there were images of police interventions that he “did not like.”
Along these lines, Bolaños has stressed that it will be the police command who are the “responsible” parties to determine “whether there has been an disproportionate use of force in some element” of the devices deployed during the general strike marches, thereby exempting Marlaska from direct political responsibility after formations such as Frente Amplio or Podemos demanded his dismissal.
In the interview on "RNE", collected by Europa Press, the minister has assured that "under no circumstances" is the continuity of Grande-Marlaska in charge of the Interior Ministry in question, arguing that he was attentive to "all the work" carried out by the State Security Forces and Corps during the protest day.
The official in charge of the Presidency has also insisted that the "prevailing" note of the general strike was "peaceful, and civic demonstrations", with "dozens of thousands of people" who took to the streets to demand the right to housing and a salary that allows one to enjoy "more quality of life".