Spanish super judge Baltasar Garzon has called for an investigation into people who disappeared during Spain’s civil war. Famous for pursuing Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet, Garzon has asked Madrid to draw up a list of victims killed during the 1936-39 war. While only a first step, campaigners working to trace Spain’s ‘‘disappeared’‘ have hailed the decision as long overdue. However many, including Spain’s opposition leader Mariano Rayoy, have claimed the war’s traumas should remain in the past:

“The best thing about the 1978 constitution was that the Spanish people were able to agree and look to constructing a better future for everyone,” he said. “I am not in favour of opening past wounds whatever the reason.’‘

Hundreds of thousands of civilians are feared to have been killed by both Republican and Nationalist forces in the Civil War. If granted, a formal investigation could lead to compensation for war victims’ families.

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