The name of the retired general Fulgencio Coll It is linked to some of the most significant episodes in the recent history of the Armed Forces. Not in vain did he serve as Chief of the General Staff of the Army and, before that, he led the creation of the Military Emergency Unit (UME), being its first chief and designing both its internal structure and its procedures, key in interventions such as those that are taking place these days in Valencia in the face of the consequences of DANA.
After a life dressed in uniform, in December 2018 he gave the leap into politics with Vox at the City Hall Palma de Mallorca. Based on his military career, he assesses They got up the coordinated response between Moncloa and the Valencian Community to the consequences of the floods, which have already claimed the lives of 217 people according to the latest official figures.
General Coll directly targets the Ministry of the Interior, led by Fernando Grande-Marlaskaalready Pedro SanchezPresident of the Government, for “denial of aid.” He also regrets that Carlos Mazón, regional president, did not ask from the first moment that it be escalated to level 3 of emergency, which would allow centralized coordination in the face of the tragedy in the hands of the UME, instead of transferring capabilities to the autonomy.
Ask. You were the first head of the EMU.
Answer. I was appointed in January 2006. I began the process of analysis and studying what unit model we needed, what we could do, and I surrounded myself with an extraordinary team, an extraordinary Chief of Staff and 13 military specialists from different areas. . And in the Ministry of Defense we remained under the wing of the Secretary of State, and with a minister of great political weight such as José Bono, and the Secretary of State of Defense, who was Francisco Pardo Piqueras (current director general of the Police National).
P. Was that development complicated?
R. Perhaps it is one of the few cases in the History of Spain where a national project is developed with the necessary initial budget and with total and absolute support for the person who was going to develop the project. They let me freely choose a team. In 2007 we were already operational putting out fires in Valencia. From there, in 2008, I left the command of the UME, a unit of excellence and sacrifice that is working to this day. It is a model unit, of sacrifice and availability, with a magnificent chief general (Lieutenant General Javier Marcos).
Q. We must understand the context, with natural tragedies that led to the birth of the UME.
R. It was decisive. We must recognize the success of the President of the Government, Rodríguez Zapatero, after the snowfall in Burgos (2004) and the tragedy of the Guadalajara fire (2005). The State did not have a truly specialized instrument, there was a civil protection command post that was minimal and ridiculous. It could have been another Ministry that had promoted it, but it was Bono, who had a lot of political weight. We worked and everything worked out. Neither General Motors nor Coca-Cola could have done something like that in the time we did it. Foreign models were analyzed, such as the French one – which is very good – or the Swiss one, among other countries, and the organization, operation and equipment of the unit was designed.
Q. A Unit that is the spearhead of the Armed Forces in deployments like the one in Valencia.
R. There is the UME, but let us remember that under the direction of the Ministry of the Interior and the UME, resources are provided and delivered to the Director of Emergencies of the Autonomous Community, who is the one in charge of managing the emergency. If you allow me, I will tell you that there is the key point, from my point of view, of not having done things well. On the afternoon of October 29 we have the omen of this cold drop. The alert, the pre-emergency and the meteorological emergency, and also the channels and channels of responsibility, failed. He was not alerted in time. They could have been warned earlier.
Q. President Mazón declared level 2 of emergency.
R. When level 2 was declared, which was declared by the president of the Autonomous Community (in reference to Carlos Mazón), he would have recommended, given the magnitude of the catastrophe, that a level 3 national emergency be declared. He has not been able to with the means that has to manage the emergency in the best possible way. I admit all those who have intervened, especially the citizens, but things would have gone much better if Mazón had said that it was the State, through its legislation and regulations, who would manage it.
Q. Do you think that at some point you considered it?
R. I don’t know if Mazón did it or not. But regardless of asking for it, the responsibility falls on the Minister (of the Interior, Fernando Grande) Marlaska and the President of the Government. They knew the magnitude of the catastrophe. They know that an Autonomous Community is incapable with its means. And a Community that is also in shock. Marlaska, 24 hours after the tragedy, should have said: “This is taken care of by the State because that is what the legislation states.”
Q. Would anything have changed?
R. When the Ministry of the Interior took over the management of the catastrophe under the order of the Presidency of the Government, it would have placed under it the operational command of the crisis in the most capable and powerful organization, which is the UME, at level 3 and with a position of high capacity command, to integrate into this management process all the means of the Armed Forces, as well as all the means of the necessary public administrations and the means of other administrations, such as the Autonomous Communities. The EMU is trained to do this. And not having done this has left the management not going as it could have gone from the first moment.
Q. Why do you think it was not done?
R. Where were Mr. Marlaska and Sánchez at this time? They knew the magnitude of the tragedy, but they were fleeing, distant and turning their backs. Lives would have been saved if things had been done differently, if support had been given from military units through the Interior and Defense. Hence the indignation of many soldiers and citizens. There are things that rule at a political level, but by not declaring level 3, Mr. Marlaska and Mr. Sánchez are responsible for denying help, for not doing their duties. It is not an ethical problem, it is much bigger, it is about saving lives. And they have not given the help that Valencia and other Communities such as Andalusia or Catalonia would have needed at this time.
Q. At this point, can level 3 still be declared?
R. They have time to do it, but they are not going to do it. Do you remember the story of covid? If this had been the case, with a command post in Torrejón de Ardoz, lives would have been saved by avoiding lack of coordination. But Sánchez is terrified of applying state law in the Autonomous Community because he is their prisoner. We would have saved many lives, we would have acted better, integrating Health, Development, Economy, Treasury… There is the capacity to do it. And we would have saved ourselves problems such as purchasing masks from corrupt intermediaries who filled their pockets.
Q. What would be the point now of declaring level 3?
R. It must still declare level 3 for reconstruction, so that the State is involved in directing the reconstruction of the Autonomous Community. It is nauseating that it has not been done due to incompetence, confusion, or because the concern they unfortunately have at the political level is to cover up other problems. Now we have to face normalization, recover roads, highways, logistics, food; The State should be directing this. It is not about a Council of Ministers promising 10,000 million that will never appear, nor about Mazón asking for 32,000 million. It is the Government that has to roll up its sleeves and go to Valencia.
Q. How long do you think the Armed Forces should stay in Valencia?
R. Whatever is needed. Whatever is needed and more.
Q. Currently there are about 7,800 soldiers. Do you think these capabilities are sufficient?
R. “Enough” is never enough in a tragedy like this. An enormous task of normalization will have to come after this tragedy. The State should be there, not leaving the ballot to Mazón. This is what I accuse Marlaska and the President of the Government of.
Q. The UME represents nearly 2,000 of those 7,800 troops.
R. Lieutenant General Marcos is now being criticized in a cruel and unfair manner. General Marcos has carried out orders from the Minister of Defense (Margarita Robles). Perhaps he would have liked to say that what has failed is that level 3 has not been applied, but he cannot say it because it is getting into political territory, and he cannot. But I, who am a politician, have the obligation to accuse the Minister of the Interior and the president of negligence and incompetence, for prioritizing political sectarianism over saving lives.
Source: www.vozpopuli.com
