Reactions to the 2004 Madrid train bombings are the various responses and actions from the Spanish government, the Spanish population and from international leaders in the wake of the terrorist attacks that occurred on 11 March 2004. The bombings caused massive demonstrations in Spain, with 11.4 million demonstrators expressing solidarity for the victims and demanding answers about the attacks. Initial attribution to ETA by the Spanish government was soon followed by suspicions of al-Qaeda involvement. The bombings had a global impact, with most world leaders condemning the attacks and expressing solidarity and support to Spain. Spain and other European countries subsequently took security measures and raised terror alerts.
Social On 12 March 2004, Spaniards took to the streets protesting against the Madrid train bombings in a government-organized demonstration to condemn ETA, which at the time was being blamed for the attacks. Vigo, which has a population of 300,000 inhabitants, saw 400,000 demonstrators on its streets. The protests were peaceful, including members of the leading political parties marching together down Madrid's Paseo de Castellana in solidarity against terrorism. More than two million people convened on Madrid's streets screaming: "Not everyone is here, 191 are missing, we will never forget you." There were also people wondering "Who did it?" in reference to the "lack of information provided by the government."
DemonstrationsTotal: 11,400,000 demonstrators(28% of Spanish population) Madrid 2,000,000 Barcelona 1,500,000 Valencia 700,000 Sevilla 650,000 Málaga 400,000 Vigo 400,000 Zaragoza 400,000 Murcia 300,000 Oviedo 300,000 Cádiz 300,000 Bilbao 300,000 Granada 250,000 Alicante 250,000 Santa Cruz de Tenerife 250,000 Valladolid 250,000 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 225,000 Córdoba 200,000 A Coruña 200,000 Palma de Mallorca 140,000 Pamplona 125,000 Guadalajara 120,000? Huelva 120,000 Jaén 120,000? Almería 120,000 Salamanca 100,000 Santiago de Compostela 100,000 Castellón 100,000 Albacete 100,000 Logroño 100,000 León 100,000 Burgos 100,000 Vitoria 90,000 Santander 85,000 Badajoz 80,000 Ferrol 80,000 Ourense 80,000 Pontevedra 75,000 Ciudad Real 70,000 Girona 58,000 Cáceres 50,000 Cartagena 50,000 Lugo 50,000 Alcalá de Henares 45,000 Ibiza 42,000 Tarragona 40,000 Lleida 40,000 Segovia 40,000 Zamora 40,000 Ceuta 35,000 Melilla 30,000 Cuenca 30,000 Lorca 25,000 Toledo 25,000 Talavera de la Reina 25,000 Palencia 25,000 Mérida 20,000 Medina del Campo 15,000
The following day, three Moroccans and two Indians were arrested and a videotape from a purported al Qaeda official claiming responsibility was also discovered.
Again the people of Madrid took to the streets, mainly congregating in the Puerta del Sol plaza, where there are a number of government buildings. This time the mood was not so peaceful. The crowd on Puerta del Sol chanted and bashed bottles and dustbin lids in a demonstration of anger towards Aznar. Meanwhile, people gathered in unofficial demonstrations in front of PP (Partido Popular) offices in all the major cities in Spain.
The demonstrations of 13 March were allegedly invoked via spontaneous cell phone messages ending in the phrase "" ("pass it on"). The candidate of the governing conservative party, Mariano Rajoy, complained on television about the demonstrations and demanded that the opposition parties condemn them.E-mail, SMS and the Madrid bombings (DM) On behalf of the Socialist party, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba gave a message saying that "the Spanish people do not deserve a government that lies to them" and that they had neither organized nor supported the demonstrations. According to Spanish electoral law, party-political demonstrations are illegal the day leading up to the election.
On 13th in Pamplona, a woman demanded baker Ángel Berrueta to put a poster on his bakery attributing the attacks to ETA. Minutes after he refused, the woman's husband (a policeman) and their 19-years-old son stabbed and shot Berrueta dead. It was later sentenced as a "murder with ideological motivation" since the baker was a founder of an association helping Basque nationalist rioters. On 14th, a woman died of a heart attack during police charge against a demonstration in Hernani condemning the Pamplona murder.
Rumours circulated afterwards, and were propagated by film director Pedro Almodóvar, that the government had approached King Juan Carlos and asked him to postpone voting, which the King responded would constitute a coup d'état. Days later, the PP threatened to sue Almodóvar for his comments.
Political The attacks came three days before the Sunday elections.
A decree declaring three days of official mourning was issued by the government, and five minutes of silence were observed on Friday.Pain Still Raw as Spain Remembers Victims (Deutsche Welle) Demonstrations were called for Friday evening in cities across the country, under the motto "With the victims, with the constitution and for the defeat of terrorism". The Catalan government led by Pasqual Maragall also declared official mourning in Catalonia. The government's chosen motto was very criticized by all the opposition because the "with the Constitution" inclusion in the motto implied that the bombs were set by the ETA, while many in the opposition believed that it was made by an Islamic group in retaliation for having Spanish troops in Iraq.
The first government official to make an open public statement was Juan José Ibarretxe Markuartu, head of government in the Basque Country, two hours after the attacks. He unequivocally blamed ETA and said, "When ETA attacks, the Basque heart breaks into a thousand pieces".
In another early public appearance, Interior Minister Acebes pointed in unambiguous terms to ETA, although by the end of the day he said that no line of investigation would be ignored.
The head of the Catalan government Maragall said, "We are all Madrileños today", and continued: "if terrorists intended to divide us, they will have achieved the exact opposite, and the best way to reject terror is to vote on Sunday". Josep-Lluís Carod-Rovira of the Catalan nationalist party, the ERC, who had recently come under fire for secretly meeting with ETA and advocating dialogue, said he would not communicate with ETA again but someone else should do so to prevent them from committing any more bloodshed. "We thought we had already seen everything, but unfortunately that was not the case", he lamented.
By the time Aznar and the King had made their public statements in the afternoon, doubts over ETA's involvement were substantial enough that both of them avoided naming a culprit, and they referred just to "terrorists". Aznar insisted on the need to stay the course, echoing his Interior Minister's earlier remarks.
Later that week, Queen Sofía along with her son Felipe de Borbón (at the time Prince of Asturias), and his fiancee, Letizia Ortiz arrived at Gregorio Marañón Hospital in Madrid to visit and comfort both victims and doctors.
Many people suspected that ETA was being blamed in order to hide any al-Qaeda influence, since that could mean the massacre was in response to the Iraq War. According to the Real Instituto Elcano, this could have resulted in the Aznar government losing the Sunday elections.
National Most TV stations reported the attack during their regular morning news programmes, starting around 08:00. The programme on Antena 3 lasted until 14:00. Madrid newspapers issued special midday editions, and TV stations rearranged their regular programming schedules. The public stations TVE (national) and Telemadrid (regional) did not break for commercials during the day. All TV stations replaced their logos with black ribbons overlaid on the Spanish flag at 18:00, visible in the upper-right corner of the television screen. That week, the satirical magazine El Jueves, known for its mordacious, highly provocative front pages, published a black front page for the first time in 25 years.
People across Spain flocked to hospitals and mobile blood donation units in such numbers that the need for blood for transfusions was more than satisfied by 10:30, although continued donations were requested for the coming days. The deceased were moved to IFEMA, the largest convention centre in Madrid, for identification by their relatives.
Riay Tatary Bakry, president of the Union of Muslim Communities in Spain, stated on 1 April 2004 that his organization had no plan to publicly urge mosques to step up their battle against terrorism. He said the union will continue to work privately with government officials.
International
Sympathy poured in from governments worldwide immediately following the bombings, led by Spain's partners in the European Union. France raised its terror alert level, and Athens' security was tightened at train stations and the Spanish Embassy. Similar measures were adopted in Italy.
World leaders were united in their condemnation of the attacks. The United States, United Kingdom, and Russia said the attacks demonstrated the need for a toughened resolve against terrorists. Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of condolence to the Spanish King on behalf of the British people. A PLO/Palestinian National Authority official also condemned the attacks targeting civilians.
U.S. President George W. Bush called Prime Minister Aznar and King Juan Carlos to offer his condolences to the Spanish people and condemn the vicious attack of terrorism. He expressed "Our country's deepest sympathies toward those who lost their life...I told them we weep with the families. We stand strong with the people of Spain" The U.S. Senate observed a moment of silence and unanimously passed a resolution expressing outrage and urging President Bush to provide all possible assistance to Spain in pursuing those responsible for the attacks. President Bush led a memorial service at the Spanish ambassador's residence in Washington and gave an interview with a Spanish television network the following day. The US government created the Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response team (VIPR) programme in response to these attacks.Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Management, Investigations, and Oversight, Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives , United States Government Accountability Office, 23 July 2009
European Commission President Romano Prodi called the attack ferocious and senseless The European Parliament observed a minute of silence; its president Pat Cox expressed the parliament's condolences, and a resolution was introduced proposing 11 March as a European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism. Pope John Paul II condemned the bombings in a message to Catholic leaders in Spain. Many nations extended offers of material support to the Spanish government. By 17 March, governments around Europe had voiced their concerns that the Spanish government had jeopardized their security by feeding them false information about ETA's involvement. On 17 March 2004, German interior minister Otto Schily called for a special European summit to handle the Madrid bombings. The summit was held on 25–26 March 2004.