Demonstration in favour of self determination for the Basque Country

Thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of San Sebastian to show their support for Basque self determination yesterday afternoon. Although Batasuna, the banned Basque separatist party in favour of complete independance, had been prevented from organizing the march many of its leaders were present.

It was unclear whether the demonstration would be allowed to go ahead until the last minute. Howver, it finally started at 6pm following a slight delay due to some minor incidents between demonstrators and the Ertaintza (the Basque Police).

Mariano Rajoy, the president of the PP was strongly opposed to allowing the demonstration to take place because he considered it to to have been organized by Batasuna who he believes has close ties with the terrorist organization ETA.

The march coincided with the first day of San Sebastian's fiestas known as 'Semana Grande', one of the busiest days for tourism in San Sebastian.

Articles related to Basque indpendence:
Debate over Basque indpendence in Spain
2005 Basque elections in Spain
2005 election results in Basque Country
Basque nationalism

Resources related to the Basque country:
Guide to Guipuzcoa
San Sebastian
Bilbao
Best restaurants in San Sebastian