Reactions to the 2004 Madrid train bombings
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.
[1] The protests were peaceful, including members of the leading political parties marching together down Madrid's Paseo de Castellana in solidarity against terrorism.
"[2][3] The following day, three Moroccans and two Indians were arrested, with a number of clues—such as a cassette tape with verses of the Koran in a white Renault Kangoo van in Alcalá de Henares—that pointed to al-Qaeda, or at least an Islamist involvement.
[8] 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.
[14] 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.
[15] 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".
[18] 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".
[19] 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.
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.
[20] 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.
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.
[26] On 17 March 2004, German interior minister Otto Schily called for a special European summit[27] to handle the Madrid bombings.
[30] After al-Qaeda involvement became clear, Germany and Russia voiced their concern over Spain's hasty assurances and suggested adding the word "allegedly" to the statement.
[26] On 15 March, Spain's ambassador to the UN Inocencio Arias submitted an unapologetic letter updating the Security Council on the progress of the investigation, repeating that the Spanish government had the strong conviction that ETA was involved.
Speaking during a television interview on 13 March 2004 in Havana, Castro accused Spain's government of deceiving its citizens over the Madrid train bombings for electoral gain.
He went on to assert that Prime Minister José María Aznar had known an Islamic group was behind the explosions on 11 March, but preferred to blame ETA ahead of the general elections just three days away.
[34] Otto Schily accused Aznar of not acting responsibly by claiming that the perpetrators were ETA – therefore a national problem – rather than al-Qaeda, which ought to have heightened the threat to other countries.
[35] Germany hastily arranged an urgent meeting of European Union security chiefs on 14 March 2004 as possible al-Qaeda involvement in the Madrid bombings set alarm bells ringing across the world.
On the same day, Queen Elizabeth II ordered that the Spanish national anthem be played during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace.
[44] In October 2004, the Spanish pop singer Luz Casal released her album "Sencilla Alegría", which included a song dedicated to the victims of the terrorist attack.
[citation needed] Four years later, the popular music group La Oreja de Van Gogh released their album A las cinco en el Astoria with a song titled "Jueves", that served as a remembrance to this incident.
