A group of retired Spanish military personnel belonging to the Militia and Republic Civil Association (ACMYR), alligned with anti-Francoist and progressive political ideas, have laid a complaint with prosecutors against the proposal announced by some ex-military personnel to take action to dismiss the prime minister and call a new election, according to former military officer Luis Gonzalo Segura, author of several books in which he denounces the presence of the far right in the Spanish military.
In a manifesto that was made public a week ago, retired military personnel from different bodies within Spain's armed forces demanded the dismissal of Pedro Sánchez, following the agreement to pass an amnesty law, and a situation that they described as an "absence of justice, equality and democracy". In the text, they argued for action to be taken based on Article 8.1 of the Spanish Constitution which says that the armed forces have the mission of "defending the constitutional order", which they consider to be in "serious danger due to the lack of judicial independence" .
Criticism of Robles
The complaint presented by ACMYR argues that the former soldiers calling for the rebellion "have publicly proposed to the armed forces the removal of the head of the government, which is listed and punishable in the Penal Code", through the crime of rebellion. "The ACMYR Association and democratic military personnel, even if there are not many, or a majority, of them, are guided by their democratic and republican values and will not remain undeterred nor will they be complicit in the constant threats made by the extreme-right military to society and its representatives," warns Segura in a social media post.
In any case, the former army lieutenant denounces that the minister of defence, Margarita Robles, who has held the post since 2018 and has just been reappointed, has failed to take measures to "democratize the armed forces", and criticizes that her inaction - a result of her "complicity with and protection of the military ultra-right" that she has "practiced for five years in the office" - has forced them to act. "We cannot allow the threats of a military coup to go unpunished, or for these to become normalized, or for Margarita Robles to continue mistreating and expelling democrats while protecting the far-right," he denounces.
La asociación ACMYR, dirigida por el capitán Floren Dimas e integrada por civiles y antiguos militares como Manuel Ruiz, miembro de la UMD; Marco Santos Soto, firmante del manifiesto antifranquista; o Luis Gonzalo Segura, denunciante de corrupción, privilegios, abusos o… pic.twitter.com/2BBKqdSwmY
— Luis Gonzalo Segura (@luisgonzaloseg) November 24, 2023
The manifesto was not the only military initiative in the political sphere registered in recent weeks in armed forces circles. Four days before the manifesto was published, the director general of the Civil Guard, Leonardo Marcos, ordered the provisional suspension for three months, removed from their jobs and with salary suspended, of three officers for having publicly spoken out against the amnesty and the Spanish government. In addition, APROGC, a minority association of Civil Guard members, stated that they were ready to "shed blood" to defend Spain.