SPAIN: The coup attempt in Spain 25 years ago remains a cautionary experience, writes Jane Walker, in Madrid
Twenty five years ago today I was in my office near the Spanish parliament listening to the radio as the deputies cast their ballots to vote in a new prime minister. The result seemed a foregone conclusion. No one doubted that the centrist Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo would succeed Adolfo Suarez - the man who had stepped down after piloting Spain's transition from dictatorship to democracy - in his official residence in the Moncloa Palace.
The transition began in 1975 after 40 years of dictatorship which followed the bitter 1936 to 1939 civil war. Many feared it would be a troubled, even bitter, road to democracy, with nostalgic Francoists hanging on to the privileges they had enjoyed for so long. The situation was particularly sensitive with the armed forces, especially the paramilitary Civil Guard, who had held immense power during the Franco regime.
At first it seemed as if the pessimists were mistaken and the transition would be comparatively peaceful. But it was not to be. On that cold February 23rd, 1981, peace was threatened by a group of those disillusioned Francoists who saw their powers slipping away.
The parliamentary vote was rudely interrupted as the deputies were answering "si" or "no" as each name was called out in alphabetical order.
Suddenly shouting could be heard over the radio, the sound of gunfire and a harsh voice ordering: "Todos al suelo!" (everyone on the floor). We switched on the television and saw Civil Guard Lieut Col Antonio Tejero, bushy moustache bristling and patent leather tricorn hat glistening, waving his pistol around the chamber.
Only half a dozen deputies were visible on the leather benches - the rest were cowering on the floor under their seats. One of the cameras continued to film for almost an hour until the rebels realised their uprising was being broadcast to the nation, and later around the world.
I glanced out of the window to see what was happening in the street and found our building was surrounded by machine-gun-toting guards who ordered us back inside. It was a surreal experience and we were kept prisoners in our own offices for more than four hours, hardly able to phone out as the telephone lines were blocked.
The coup that had been feared since the dictator Gen Franco died was suddenly a reality. We later learned that many socialists, communists and union leaders had gone into hiding. Others prepared for civil unrest and drove north into France.
Carmen Lopez, a Madrid doctor, remembers that night: "My husband was a member of the Socialist Party and thought he would be arrested. He prepared to go into hiding but sent me to the supermarket to stock up first. When I got there others had had the same thought. I filled my trolley with staples like milk, rice, lentils and baby food and realised everyone else was doing the same."
However, support for the uprising was patchy. Gen Alfonso Armada, former military aide to King Juan Carlos, assured his comrades that the king was behind the coup attempt. RTVE, the state-run radio and television company, was briefly taken over by the military. In Valencia the regional general, Jaime Milans del Bosch, declared martial law and ordered the tanks out into the street. Other military leaders, however, sat on the fence waiting to see how events developed.
But the king, who many had feared was a Francoist puppet who would enjoy only a brief reign, proved himself a staunch supporter of democracy and constitutional monarchy, and stepped in to halt the uprising. "When I phoned the military regions to assure them that the rebels did not have my backing it was surprising how many of the generals were 'on the golf course' and unable to come to the phone," he said later.
His role that night was crucial, although it took several hours before he could contact each general, and the coup d'état collapsed. Shortly before dawn the next morning, King Juan Carlos, in full military uniform, appeared on the television screens and ordered the rebels to surrender.
It was a frightening experience that night and one which no Spaniard would like to see repeated. Twenty five years is a long time, and democracy is firmly established. There are still right-wing extremists around but today they are hardly prepared to storm the parliament building.