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Franco: Spain seeks to transform monument into civilian cemetery
The government intends to transform a monument to the fascist dictator into a civilian cemetery.
International
The Spanish government plans to turn a monument to fascist dictator General Francisco Franco into a cemetery for people who died on both sides of the Spanish Civil War.
The removal of the monument is part of proposals aimed at redressing the wrongs of the late dictator.
The left-wing coalition government wants victims - now buried in unmarked graves - to be identified.
Franco ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975.
He was buried in a vast mausoleum called the Valley of the Fallen, just outside Madrid. His remains were moved to a low-key grave last year, 44 years after his elaborate funeral.
"The more than 30,000 victims of both sides will have peace and respect from all there," Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo said.