Parliament approves investigation into August 2017 terror attacks

The Catalan parliament has approved a committee to investigate the terror attacks that took place in Barcelona and Cambrils on August 17 last summer. During Thursday’s debate in parliament, the pro-independence JxCat, ERC and CUP parties that put forward the proposal called for more “light” to be shed on the events that led up to the attacks so as to bring closure to the public’s “cycle of pain”.

Yet, the Ciutadans (Cs) party, which abstained, criticized the groups behind the initiative for previously rejecting a request by the unionist party in the Spanish parliament to form a committee to investigate the same attacks.

Meanwhile, the Catalan branch of Spain’s ruling PP party, which also abstained, questioned the need for the committee, and called on parties to focus on issues that “genuinely concern” the public, such as hospital waiting lists.

While the PSC party supported the initiative, the Catalan socialists also pointed to the limitations of such an investigative committee, arguing that it cannot stand in for the judicial inquiry into the August 17 attacks.  

Finally, the CatECP party, which also supported the proposal, asked that the committee not be hijacked for party purposes: “We don’t want it to be linked to the [independence] process, we are talking about a different thing,” said a spokesman.