20 years ago the invasion of Iraq began leading to a conflict that would last eight years. Basque EH Bildu and Galician BNG parties also call for answerability

This week marks 20 years since the start of the illegal and illegitimate invasion of Iraq that would lead to a war lasting over 8 years, with more than 300,000 deaths, inumerable human rights violations and a humanitarian crisis whose consequences are still being felt. The Spanish government, then led by People’s Party PM José María Aznar, was directly involved in a war wreaked upon the premise that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, which would eventually prove to be false.

20 years later, and despite repeated and unsuccessful attempts at obtaining answers as to why Spain took part in the conflict, at what cost, to what effect, to what result, and with what compensations, Esquerra’s Republican Group together with Basque EH Bildu and Galician BNG have jointly submitted a fresh request before the Spanish Congress for a Commission of Inquiry into Spain’s involvement in the Iraq War, as well as a non-legislative motion urging the government to create a commission to evaluate the political, military, official development aid and commercial interests that motivated the participation and its outcome.

After a 20-year cover up, the Spanish parliament has not yet been able to establish in any way what the reasons, consequences and results of the Spanish participation in the Iraq War have been. Thus, coinciding with this sombre anniversary, the double request for inquiry submitted by the three groups was registered last Friday to determine the concurrent political, ethical and economic responsibilities of those who were an active part in causing the war to break out.

In 2006 for example, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Spanish Congress approved, at the behest of Esquerra, that a report be drawn up on Spanish military participation in Iraq, which was also to include the economic breakdown of the functions in terms of cooperation and trade following the war. This came on the heels of the United Kingdom’s much-publicized Chilcot Report in same year, which exposed the lies and manipulations that led the government of then Prime Minister Tony Blair to join the alliance with the United States in leading the war. However, in the case of Spain, which completed the sadly infamous picture of the Azores trio, nothing was ever investigated or reported.

The motions were signed on behalf of the Republican Group by the spokesperson in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, and the spokespersons on the Defence Committee, Gerard Álvarez and Marta Rosique.