A journalist from Mallorca tried to convince Tejero to abandon the coup attempt of February 23rd.

PalmA Mallorcan journalist tried to convince Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero to abandon his plans on the night of February 23, 1981. This is according to documents declassified this Wednesday, which include the transcript of journalist Joan Pla's testimony as a witness in the April 19, 1982 session of Oral Hearing 2.

According to the transcript, Pla had known Tejero since he was director ofThe ImpartialHe spearheaded a campaign to gather support and signatures to keep the Civil Guard a military force. The document also refers to an incident in the chamber, resolved with a reprimand from the president, when a possible financial interest of the Mallorcan in this matter was suggested.

In his statement, Pla explained that he telephoned Tejero hoping he would change his attitude. When this failed, he contacted the Civil Guard officer's wife to ask her to accompany him to Congress. He also spoke with his son, who refused to go. The journalist also spoke with the former Attorney General, Juan García Carrés, who criticized his actions and told him he "didn't have much to lose" because "all the Captains General were being called." The transcript indicates that the statements were delivered harshly, with the journalist "on the defensive" and using "bitter irony," to the point that the presiding judge had to admonish him several times. Complete normality in the Balearic Islands

On the other hand, several reports from the General Directorate of the Police on the situation in different regions after the failed coup attempt indicate that the hours following the coup were experienced in the Balearic Islands with "absolute normality." A report dated February 24, 1981, stated that "throughout the police region the situation" had been "absolutely normal since the beginning of the incidents that occurred in the Congress of Deputies." It also indicated that no protest actions had been planned and that public services and civic life were proceeding as normal. The following day, a second report noted "no change," and a third document on planned protests made no mention of any actions in the Islands. A "worrying picture"

The declassified documents also mention the name of Carlos de Meer, who was the civil governor of the Balearic Islands between 1974 and 1976. An April 1981 note from the Higher Center for Defense Information (CESID), entitled Relations between some military personnel and armed civiliansThis puts him in contact with a violent group of gunmen under the command of Colonel Garchitorena, who may be planning a new action after the failed coup in February.