[ti:Spanish Court Approves Request to Move Francisco Franco’s Remains] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Spain's highest court has ruled the government can remove the remains [00:06.48]of Francisco Franco from their current resting place. [00:12.76]The Supreme Court rejected an appea by Franco's relatives who sought to block the removal. [00:22.16]The ruling could end years of debate over the burial place of the man [00:27.94]who still divides Spanish public opinion nearly 44 years after he died. [00:36.80]Francisco Franco ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. [00:46.52]His body lies inside a huge mausoleum at the Valley of the Fallen, [00:52.71]on a mountainside about 50 kilometers outside Madrid. [01:00.12]Franco took power at the end of the Spanish civil war. [01:05.56]He led rebel military forces against supporters of the conservative-backed government. [01:13.68]An estimated 500,000 people were killed in the fighting. [01:20.72]Left-wing parties and families of those killed by Franco's forces [01:26.10]want his remains removed from the huge mausoleum. [01:31.96]They want the remains moved to a cemetery near Madrid, [01:36.59]where Franco's wife and other family members are buried. [01:43.00]The mausoleum is a popular stop for visitors to the Spanish capital. [01:49.60]About 34,000 people from both sides in the civil war [01:54.92]– most of them unidentified - are also buried there. [02:01.16]Opponents of moving Franco's remains have argued [02:05.61]it could reopen old wounds from the war. [02:10.56]Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, a Socialist, [02:14.88]praised the court ruling as "a great victory for Spanish democracy." H [02:22.00]e added that his government would seek to move the remains as soon as possible. [02:29.32]Family and supporters of the former dictator criticized the court ruling. [02:36.56]They promised to keep fighting to have the decision overturned. [02:43.08]Experts estimate that the bodies of more than 100,000 Franco opponents [02:49.76]who were killed in the civil war are buried in 2,500 mass graves nationwide. [02:59.24]They say another 740 mass graves [03:03.04]and 9,000 bodies were removed from across Spain since 2000. [03:11.00]Some Spaniards have said the Valley of the Fallen was created as a huge memorial to Franco. [03:19.80]It was built in part by the forced labor of about 20,000 political prisoners during his rule. [03:29.76]Spain will face its fourth election in four years in November. [03:36.08]The removal of Franco's remains had long been a Socialist Party promise. [03:43.40]The party's critics have accused the government of seeking to move Franco for political purposes. [03:52.32]I'm Bryan Lynn. [03:54.14]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM