“The threat of war is absolute and society is not fully aware.” This is how La Vanguardia titled an interview given by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, on March 17. Today, the Spanish population, along with the Portuguese, is the one in Europe that feels furthest away – geographically and mentally – from the war in Ukraine, as shown by various opinion polls carried out by public and private organizations.
In fact, despite being a concern for a large majority of those surveyed in the latest barometers prepared by the Center for Sociological Research (CIS), the Gaza conflict has surpassed that of Ukraine since last November, 78.5% declared themselves concerned or very concerned about the crisis unleashed after the incursion of the Israeli Army into the Strip compared to 71.8% who continued to be concerned about the war between Moscow and Kyiv.
Without sociological data for now to show what support would have the proposal launched by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, of the possibility of sending troops from the European Union to Ukraine, a demographic study carried out by the CIS itself in 1993 demonstrated the broad support of the Spanish to the international mission that the Armed Forces carried out in Bosnia since the summer of 1992.
That first major military intervention outside the Spanish borders of democracy was followed by others in also hot spots such as Kosovo, Afghanistan or Iran. However, ten years after the siege of Mostar and the rise of the Spanish mission in the bloody war in the Balkans, the Azores Summit and the tragic accident of the Yak-42, in which 62 Spanish soldiers who were returning to Spain died After completing his mission in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan, the tables turned.
In May 1993, just six months after Spain sent the first contingent to Bosnia, which was integrated into the United Nations Protection Force to monitor compliance with the peace agreements signed up to that point and protect humanitarian aid convoys. , 79.8% of those surveyed considered that Spanish soldiers were carrying out the tasks assigned to them in the former Yugoslavia “well or very well.”
On a universe of 1,210 people of different genders and social status residing in between 350 and 400 municipalities throughout Spain, the survey confirmed that Spanish society was in favor of sending troops to a war zone, although always as humanitarian aid forces. . Furthermore, they showed their pride in the intervention, since 67.8% believed that this action would contribute “a lot or a lot” to improving the image and international prestige of Spain.
Of course, although a clear majority (77.9%) supported the humanitarian work of the Armed Forces, whether their role could be that of an intervention force was disputed: 41.8% were in favor of it and 42. 5% were against. Likewise, 68.3% considered that Spanish troops should be limited only to carrying out humanitarian or interposition missions. In fact, many (65.6%) believed in a diplomatic agreement.
And although 68.1% evaluated the performance of the Government, then led by Felipe González, in the conflict, positively or very positively, the majority insisted that if their decision was to actively collaborate in military actions they would disapprove (54.5% ). In any case, a clear 60.7% considered that the soldiers who should be part of the mission should be exclusively professionals. 24.5% expanded the deployment to volunteers, whether they were volunteer soldiers or replacements when military service was still mandatory in Spain
The majority of those surveyed (67.8%) were also critical of what they considered the delay of the UN in intervening militarily in the face of the excesses, mainly, of Serbian troops and militias. In the mission, 22 Spanish soldiers and a civil guard ended up losing their lives, as is recognized today in the Plaza de España in Mostar, although none in war action.
