ETA leader arrested in France

Spain expected to issue extradition order today.

According to the Spanish news channel, Cadenaser, the most wanted member of ETA, Francisco Javier López Peña, known by the name of 'Thierry' was detained in Bordeaux by the Spanish Civil Guard yesterday. Three other suspected members of the Basque terrorist organization were also arrested.

The arrests were the result of a joint operation between the French police and the Spanish Civil Guard. Peña had been on the run from police since 1983 and since 1993 he was considered to be one of the leading members of ETA.

This significant blow to the Basque terrorist organization comes after the explosion of a bomb containing 60 kilos of explosives in Getxo, Bilbao yesterday.

'Thierry' was responsible for ETA hideouts and the ETA member, Garikoitz Aspiazu, was under his command. He participated in two key meetings between the Spanish government and the terrorist group and it is believed that he was responsible for putting an end to the most recent ETA ceasefire.

The other three members of ETA arrested yesterday were Ainhoa Zaeta Mendiondo, who read out the communication ending the ceasefire on 22nd March 2006, Igor Suberbiola and Jon Salaberría, the ex Batasuna member of parliament for Andoain in Guipuzcoa who had been on the run from police since 2005 after not turning up to court accused of being a member of ETA.

So far this year 75 people have been arrested on suspicion of either being a member of ETA or having connections with it.

Those arrested in yesterday’s operation were armed with handguns and were driving cars with false number plates. The Spanish high court has requested that they be placed in Spanish custody immediately.

Basque socialist assassinated

Suspected ETA terrorists shoot ex-counsellor on the last day of Spain's election campaign

Isaías Carrasco was killed ealy this afternoon when he was leaving his home in Arrasate accompanied by his wife and one of his daughters. Carrasco was shot various times by two gunmen who then escaped. He was taken to the local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Carrasco was a member of the Basque Socialist Party and used to be a councillor, but he no longer had an active role in the local administration, and worked collecting tolls on a motorway near Arrasate. Party colleagues have said that he was an "easy target" for ETA hitmen because since he didn't have any official post he did not qualify for a bodyguard or any other kind of protection. Carrasco was father of three young children and one of his daughers witnessed his murder. Neighbours were alerted by her cries of "Papa, Papa".

All Spanish political parties have suspended their closing electoral acts planned for today, and the Government spokesman has summoned all parties to attend an extraordinary session in the Spanish parliament this evening in order to release a collective condemnation of this latest terrorist act. The Defence Minister, José Alonso has declared that "Now we cannot talk about party politicas or anything like that. Now we have to talk about democracy".

This is the second consecutive election campaign in Spain to be interrupted by a terrorist attack.

ETA planned bomb attack in Madrid

Explosives discovered in 2 ETA hideouts

According to the Spanish Home Office, 125 kilos of explosive material hidden in a secret ETA hideout in the province of Huesca were found by the Civil Guard on Monday following the arrest of two suspected members of ETA at the weekend. Yesterday another hideout was discovered in Navarra and police recovered more explosives. According to police heading the investigation, ETA was planning to plant a bomb in Madrid's financial center before the elections due to be held in March.

The first hideout contained explosives together with a dozen detonators and timers and was located in Sabiñánigo. Its location was discovered thanks to some documents obtained during the arrest of the two presumed members of ETA in Arrasate in Guipúzcoa last Sunday.

During the arrests both suspects, Igor Portu and Martín Sarasola, sustained injuries and Portu was admitted to the Intensive Care unit in San Sebastian hospital. The Basque nationalist party has questioned the length of time which passed between the men's arrest and their admission to hospital. The Home Office said that the injuries to both men were due to the force used by the Civil Guard as both resisted the arrest. Last month two Civil Guards were shot by two ETA suspects when they prepared to arrest them in France. Both died as a result of their injuries. According to Rubalcaba the Minister for the Home Office, Portu and Sarasola not only resisted arrest, but were also carrying hand guns. He emphasised that the Civil Guard acted within the law at all times. An investigation has however been opened to examine the incident.

According to reports in the Spanish media today, both suspects have admitted their involvement in the terrorist attack in Barajas Airport last year which signalled the end of the "permanent ceasefire" announced by ETA in 2006.

ETA bomb in Bilbao injures bodyguard

Yesterday an ETA car bomb exploded in Bilbao seriously injuring the bodyguard who was driving the vehicle. This is the first time that ETA has used this type of bomb since May 2003 when it killed 2 policemen in Navarra which was the last mortal attack before the last ceasefire was declared.

A Government spokesperson said it believed that the objective of bomb attack yesterday was to kill. The bomb exploded after the bodyguard, Gabriel Ginés, had driven just a few metres down the road. Ginés was admitted to hospital in a serious, condition suffering from second and third degree burns to 4% of his body. The MP for Galdakao, Juan Carlos Domingo, who Ginés was protecting was not in the vehicle at the time of the explosion and was not injured in the attack.

The Secretary of State for Security said that the ETA bomb yesterday was a significant development and showed their true intentions following the end of the last ceasefire on 5th June this year. The Basque Interior Minister, Javier Balza, agreed with him saying that ETA had reappeared with clear intentions of carrying out further attacks of this kind. It is the third bomb attack carried out by ETA since the end of the ceasefire.

Furthermore, yesterday’s bomb attack occurred after many leading members of Batasuna were arrested last weekend and just days before a national bank holiday in Spain which celebrates the Spanish Constitution.

Yesterday members of the PP (the official opposition party in Spain) and PSOE attended separate demonstrations in Madrid against the attack.

ETA car bomb explodes near Bilbao

Two Civil Guards were slightly injured with cuts caused by flying glass in the early hours of this morning as a consequence of the ETA bomb which exploded next to their barracks in the locality of Durango in Vizcaya. The explosion took place at around 3.30 am. The two men suffered slight injuries and were later discharged.

According to the latest reports a Citroen van was parked behind the Spanish Civil Guard barracks next to 4 Nissan armoured patrol vehicles which received the full force of the blast. It is believed that the van contained between 80 and 100 kilos of explosives and was planted by Basque terrorists.

Investigators think that the van used in the bomb explosion was stolen yesterday or the day before from somewhere within the Basque Country. The explosion not only caused damages to the 4 patrol vehicles and the barracks but also to several flats located near the place where the blast took place.

The terrorists fled in a Seat Ibiza with a false Portuguese registration number. It was later found burnt out in Amorebieta, a locality in Vizcaya just eleven kilometres from Durango. According to police it was set alight at around 4.30 am, an hour after the explosion happened. Investigators are now look at the possibility that ETA may have a cell based in Portugal.

The Town Council in Durango called an emergency meeting this morning in which all councillors except for those belonging to ANV (Nationalist Basque Action), supported a strong condemnation of the bomb attack. Earlier yesterday the Spanish Interior Minister, Alfredo Rubalcaba, told the Spanish media that police had thwarted several ETA attacks in the past few weeks, and that the Government had no doubt that the terrorist group was preparing another attack.

Plymouth-Santander Ferry on list of possible ETA targets

The ETA terrorist arrested in Santander was waiting for a car bomb and had information on the ferry to plymouth and the law courts

Aritz Arginzoniz Zubiaurre, a suspected ETA terrorist, was arrested on Tuesday in Santander. Information on 3 possible targets – the Santander to Plymouth ferry, the Law Courts and a popular pedestrianised square in the centre of Santander – was found amongst his belongings along with a Smith&Wesson pistol and a timer, the kind often used by ETA.

The Spanish National Police believe that Aritz Arginzoniz Zubiaurre could have been waiting for a car bomb in order to start taking action, although another type of attack has still not been ruled out of the investigation. All 3 of the possible targets are in the centre of Santander with easy access to the main ring road which provides an quick way of leaving the city.

It is thought that Arginzoniz was part of an ETA cell which has recently been created Cantabria together with his girlfriend, Saioa Sánchez Iturregi. Both of them had been in the ETA cell in Vizcaya which was disbanded by the Basque police, the Ertzaintza, at the end of December last year, but they escaped capture and went into hiding when the Ertzaintza discovered 230 kilos of explosives in Amorebieta and Atxondo and subsequently an ETA hideout shortly following this. Police are still looking for Saioa Sánchez Iturregi and believe that the couple have been in Cantabria since 1st July.

The arrest of Arginzoniz on Tuesday took place at Santander bus station. According to police sources it was his nervous attitude that raised suspicion and, according to reports, when questioned Arginzoniz claimed to be a member of ETA and did not at any moment try to escape. He was taken to the police station where it was discovered that as well as false documentation his rucksack also contained a timer, information on possible targets and a handgun. Immediately following this discovery at police evacuated the bus station.

Related: Guide to Santander ## Ferries from Spain to England

ETA suspects with explosives arrested in France

Three Members of ETA with more than 150 kilos of Explosives Arrested in the South of France

French police, using information given by the Spanish Civil Guard, have arrested three suspected members of ETA who were travelling in a van with more than 150 kilos of explosives. They were arrested near Saint Jean Pied de Port, in the French part of the Basque Country according to information from the Civil Guard.

One of those arrested is José Antonio Aranibar Almandoz who according to anti- terrorist police occupies an important position in ETA’s military structure and has played a part in planning some of its most significant attacks. The second person who was detained is Ekaitz Aguirre Goñi who fled at the end of March this year when the Civil Guard disbanded the ETA cell ‘Comando Donosti’.

Two of the three arrested are youths but the other is believed to be a veteran ETA member according to French police. The three were travelling towards the Spanish border near Navarra when they were intercepted.

The vehicle which they had been travelling in was a Citroen Berlingo with false French number plates. It was found to be loaded with 150 kilos of explosive material consisting of 140 kilos of potassium chlorate, 16 kilos of sulphur, two detonators, a roll of detonating cord, G-3 assault rifles, two gas cylinders and three pistols.

ETA car with explosives found in Huelva

ETA Car Found in Huelva contained 115 Kilos of Explosives

The Civil Guard suspects that ETA has formed an infrastructure in the Algarve, Portugal following the discovery of an abandoned car containing 115 kilos of explosives yesterday.

The car was discovered when workers carrying out road repairs near the A-49 noticed how a man got out of a grey Ford Focus Ranchera which had been travelling in the direction of Portugal before stopping at the side of the road and crossed a bridge to go in the opposite direction. Later a second car picked him up and travelled back towards Spain.

The Civil Guard believe this was a shuttle car which acted to avoid both Spanish National Police and the Portuguese border controls which they realised were on high alert. The Civil Guard believe that ETA may have a base in Andalucia as well as the Algarve because this is where the second car appeared to be come from.

Originally the workers near the A-49 believed that the car had just broken down and that somebody had come to pick up the driver. However, 2 hours later around 11.30am a BMW motorbike arrived and stopped at the abandoned car. One of the riders got off the bike and without removing their helmet, looked inside the car, opened it, removed 2 bags and drove off.

Investigators believe that the bike riders took away just what they could carry which were bags containing documents and pistols, leaving the explosives which they were unable to transport.

Joan Mesquida, Director of the Civil Guard said no hypothesis was being ruled out and that this could be an ETA cell or just a handover of explosives. However, he ruled out that it was a car bomb.

On closer inspection the Civil Guard discovered that the car had been carrying 115 kilos of explosives, 10 timers, 8 detonators and a device to activate bombs from a distance. They had also discovered a manual on how to make bombs written in Euskera, the Basque language. However, none of the material had been prepared and this is why the Civil Guard believe the car was merely transporting the goods.

The grey Ford Focus Ranchera is believed to have been hired in Portugal. It was removed by crane at around 4pm yesterday afternoon and taken away for investigation by the Civil Guard

UN Secretary General calls on ETA to reinstate ceasefire

During his official visit to Spain yesterday, the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, called on ETA to reinstate the ceasefire which it called off just 2 days ago. He also expressed his firm support for the Spanish government and Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.

During a press conference with the Spanish president Ban Ki-moon said that he denounced violence and was sure that the international community would stand by Spain. He also added that there was no justification for terrorism. He urged ETA to make an effort to return to the ceasefire and said that all conflicts of opinion should be resolved peacefully and that there could not be dialogue if there was violence.

This statement was made on his own initiative. Yesterday the European parliament also gave its support to the Spanish government when the European Commissioner for Justice, Freedom and Security, Franco Frattini, denied a representative from Batasuna the right to hold official talks.

Ban also praised the ‘Alliance of Civilisations’ which has been promoted by Zapatero whereas Zapatero spoke about Spain’s support for multilateralism and said that Spain identified itself with the objectives and methods followed by the UN – peace, human rights and world stability. Spain has 2,800 troop in different parts of the world such as Lebanon, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Bosnia, helping UN peacekeeping efforts.

Meanwhile, Spanish government officials who met with Ban spoke of the need for more Spanish representation in the UN organization and according to official sources Ban asked for a list of names in order to correct this situation.

Political reaction to ETA's ceasefires

A Spanish blog published an interesting comparison of reactions of the then main opposition party (PSOE) to the news that ETA had decided to break the 1999 ceasefire after holding talks with Aznar's PP government, with reactions of the PP, now opposition, to the announcement that ETA was breaking its 2006 ceasefire made public two days ago.

President Zapatero has repeatedly asked the PP opposition to join all other political parties in their support for Government policy towards Basque terrorism and to give their support to the peace process. The following comparisons offer an interesting contrast in reactions of the respective oppositions to the 1999 and 2006 ceasefire break announcements.

Comparison of Opposition Reactions to the end of the ETA Ceasefire both in 1999 and 2007 according to Spanish blog A la Sombra del Tomate

PSOE Socialist Party - then opposition - reactions to ETA's announcement in 1999:

JOAQUÍN ALMUNIA - Then leader of the PSOE party, then opposition to the PP
29th November in to EFE
"It is clear that the only group responsible for the end of the ceasefire is ETA. We are facing a moment of unity and consensus where those responsible for this are Aznar, Ibarretxe and possibly myself. If the president of the government wants to speak to me I’ll answer his call. All democrats need to put aside our differences and look for what we have in common which is basically the defence of peace and our commitment to work together to achieve peace, democracy and freedom".

MANUEL CHAVES - Socialist President of the Andalucian Regional Government and Secretary General of the PSOE party, 30th November
Insisted that his party would never be guilty of electioneering when it comes to the terrorist problem and that it would back all (PP) Government initiatives in order to redirect the situation and guarantee the ceasefire

CRISTINA CARBONA - then a prominent member of the PSOE party and today Minister of the Environment, 29th November
The attitude of the terrorist organisation can’t be blamed in any circumstances on errors committed by the government or how the government has acted during the peace process in the Basque Country. It is not a moment to appear disunited but to promote the position that all democrats take against this u turn and to trust that ETA will regret its mistake and not return to violence once again.

RAMÓN JAÚREGUI, General Secretary of the Basque Socialist Party, 29th November
Pleaded to political parties to "make it as difficult as possible for ETA to go back to killing", by fostering dialogue between all political groups and insitutions fundamentally between the President of the Government, the Lehendakari (the leader of the Basque Parliament) and the General Secretary of PSOE.

PP - today's main opposition party - reaction to ETA's announcement in 2007

MARIANO RAJOY (Leader of the PP), 5th June
“To give in to a terrorist organization is a mistake that would only serve to strengthen that organization. I ask the Spanish Government to rectify its position. I ask for clarity, certainty, security and under no circumstances that it act ambiguously. The president’s declaration this morning was not clear in any way. I ask that there will be no cession or negotiation with ETA and that he puts into use all the mechanisms of a democratic state and the law. And I ask for facts and proof that all Spaniards require that the government will not give in’’

ESPERANZA AGUIRRE (PP President of Madrid), 5th June
"The President of the government had a mandate to verify that ETA had given up its arms. However, that mandate was never carried out. ETA "has always used ceasefires to rearm itself and that the end of this ceasefire came just two days after it achieved control of some townhalls and 250 million euros towards extorsion and killing".

IGNACIO ASTARLOA, PP Justice and Security Spokesman, 5th June
"The PP told PSOE that this peace process was ridiculous and would only lead to total concessions to the terrorists and their return but this time stronger. I regret that all this has happened in a scenario of total cession on the part of the government".

LEOPOLDO BARREDA, PP Spokesman in the Basque Country, 5th June
“…Over the last 14 months ther was nothing real or certain about this ceasefire. It gives the impression that everything has been deliberate given that the ceasefire was broken only after the local elections because it was important for them to get back into local government. "

ETA announces end to cease-fire

At 2.00 am this morning, ETA sent a press release to the Basque paper Berria declaring an end to the "permanent ceasefire" which the Basque terrorists originally announced in March last year (see ETA ceasefire).

Recent events suggested that a formal announcement of this nature by ETA was imminent - although the terrorists did of course in effect end the ceasefire in in December when they planted a bomb in Madrid's main airport killing two civilians. After the bomb, the terrorist group claimed that it had not intended to kill civilians, that the bomb had been intended as a warning and that the truce was still in place. However the the Spanish government called off peace talks with the group and demanded an end to violence.

A break-through in the peace process has since looked increasingly unlikely given and the following events all tended to point to an eventual end to this latest ETA truce:

• Several thefts of explosives in France suggested that the terrorists were re-arming and arrests were made in France of armed ETA suspects
• The Spanish authorities continued to pursue and capture ETA suspects, and refused to postpone any trials pending negotiations
• Mobilisation by the PP of victims and supporters has led to several anti-negotiation with ETA rallies being held all over Spain. The opposition party has been ruthless in its criticism of the Government, and for the first time in Spanish history the opposition used terrorism as an anti-government weapon in the recent election campaigns
• Last week an unusually large number of Basque businesses received letters demanding a payment of 150,000 euros to the ETA cause so that the Basque terrorists could "carry on fighting for the cause" at what the letters said was a "key moment in the fight for freedom"
• A video obtained by Spanish television channel Tele Cinco last week showed ETA paramilitaries instructing how to make bombs and how to shoot to kill
• Refusal of the political wing of ETA to condemn violence throughout the peace process

In its announcement made this morning, ETA says it will consider the ceasefire to be officially over as from midnight tomorrow, 6th June. The terrorists claim that "the minimum conditions required in order to continue negotiations no longer exist" and that "Zapatero's Government has responded to the cease in armed actions with arrests, tortures and persecutions". ETA accuses Zapatero of going back on his original predisposition in favour of "facism which leaves citizens and parties with no rights".

President Rodríguez Zapatero is expected to address Spain this morning and the opposition party will make a statement after the President's address. Zapatero is expected to appeal for calm, to reassure Spaniards that the government will remain firm in its fight to end terrorism and to ask for the support of all political parties in the fight against ETA.

More news stories about ETA.

Military capacity of ETA

ETA still has capacity to hit major targets

The latest report on Terrorism in the European Union carried out by Europol (the European Police Agency) has confirmed that ETA has reorganised its cells and renewed its capacity to attack major targets since the ceasefire began in March 2006.

The report highlights the fact that during the ceasefire ETA has carried out two attacks, one of which was the bombing of Barajas - Spain’s busiest airport in Madrid which on 30th december 2006 claimed the lives of two people and caused damages estimated at 30 million euros.

According to the report, since then ETA has ‘not only maintained but reorganised its capacity to carry out major attacks against high profile targets’. It also states that before the ceasefire announced in March 2006, ETA used ‘kale borroka’ to maintain pressure on the government and to demonstrate to those who support the organisation its determination to fight for its objectives. The report holds groups made up of young people who sympathise with ETA responsible for ‘kale borroka’ which can be literally translated as street warfare and consists of acts of vandalism. It states that they follow the orders of ETA to attack targets such as cash points, banks or PSOE (the Spanish socialist party) headquarters using urban guerrilla tactics.

According to the report ‘kale borroka’ only stopped for two months following the declaration of the ceasefire. In June 2006 ten attacks were recorded covering 37 cities, towns and villages in Spain. A total of 144 attacks by Basque separatists were recorded for the whole of 2006 in both France and Spain.

Political wing of ETA almost condemns violence

Otegi - "armed struggle an error"

In an interview with a Catalan radio station Arnaldo Otegi, the spokesperson for the illegal Basque political party Batasuna, said that it would be an error to build an independent Basque state using armed struggle because it would be socially and politically impossible to sustain.

However, Otegi avoided direct criticism of ETA, the Basque terrorist organisation, although he repeated that an independent state would not be possible unless it was achieved through democratic means.

Otegi also said that he was sure that ETA was not trying to impose an independent state through its armed struggle but that it used violence because democratic means to achieve independence did not exist.

Otegi affirmed that the objective now was to create a process in which a definitive solution to the conflict could be achieved. He criticised those sectors that insisted that Batasuna condemn ETA’s armed struggle when the opportunity to find a solution to the conflict is there for the taking.

He is reported to have said that ‘at present there are sufficient conditions for creating a situation through honest and sincere dialogue in which a definitive end to the Basque conflict could be achieved’.

The Batasuna spokesperson stated that his organization was going in this direction, although he also warned that such a situation could not be achieved unilaterally by the nationalist left (la izquierda abertzale).

Otegi suggested Batasuna should be legalized immediately because 20 accusations that linked it to ETA and were the reason for it being declared illegal have been discredited. He said that all cases that have reached court have been acquitted.
The director of the nationalist left also denounced powerful interests that try to prevent Batasuna participating in local elections because, according to Otegi, they would achieve very good results. He also said that if Batasuna was not allowed to field candidates in the local elections due to be held on 27th May 2007, that the Basque Country would be the only area in Western Europe where institutions did not represent the votes of its citizens.

A weekend of protests in Spain begins today

Demonstrations organised by PP to take place all over Spain today

Spain’s main opposition party, the PP, has organized demonstrations to take place all over Spain today in order to show solidarity with the victims of terrorism. The PP has called on all citizens to participate. These smaller demonstrations planned for today will serve as a warm up for tomorrow’s demonstration in Madrid which they hope will attract thousands of demonstrators. The demonstrations are protesting against the government, following the ETA prisoner De Juana Chaos being released from prison and being placed under house arrest.

This decision effectively saved De Juana’s life as it meant that he gave up his hunger strike which had lasted over 100 days. His health was deteriorating rapidly and his vital organs could have stopped working at any moment. He is now recovering in hospital in San Sebastian before returning home where will remain under house arrest for the remaining part of his sentence for threats (he has already served 18 years in prison for his part in over 20 political assassinations).

Some believe the government’s decision has also saved the delicate ‘peace process’ that has been taking place between the government and ETA. If De Juana de Chaos had died the consequence would have been very serious and it is almost certain that street violence ‘calle borroka’ as it is called in the Basque Country would have escalated. The Government has repeatedly called on the PP to stop using terrorism and the victims of terrorist violence as an electoral weapon (local and regional elections are due to be held next month), and has pointed out that several terrorists were given shorter sentences under the PP governments.

However the PP will inevitably try to capitalise on the unpopularity of the Government's decision (according to a survey carried out this week by Cadena Ser, 60 percent of voters disagree with it) and their leaders talk of little else. They have hired 500 buses to transport people to Saturday's protest march in Madrid, Aznar and the current PP leader, Mariano Rajoy, have both taken flowers to a memorial set up to remember the 25 people killed by De Juana, and yesterday the leaders started driving around Madrid in a bus in a bid to publicise their view that the government has given in to blackmail by De Juana Chaos, and to get support for the marches.

The demonstrations today under the banner ‘Freedom in Spain’, will take place today in the three main cities in the Basque Country - Bilbao, San Sebastián and Vitoria - as well as all major towns in Andalucia, Aragon, Asturias, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla la Mancha and Castilla y Leon, Catalunya, the Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, the Baleares, the Rioja and Murcia. In all 65 protests have been organised.

De Juana gives up hunger strike

The Basque prisoner, Iñaki de Juana Chaos, who had been on hunger strike for 114 days was transferred from Madrid to a hospital in San Sebastian yesterday afternoon. The ambulance in which he was travelling arrived in San Sebastian at around 4 pm. On arrival at the hospital in San Sebastian the ambulance was greeted by crowd of Basque nationalists waving flags and holding banners in support of the prisoner. According to official sources De Juana entered the hospital on foot because there were too many people for him to be carried in on a stretcher. Armed police surrounded the hospital

Rubalcaba, a minister for the PSOE government, took the decision to transfer De Juana from Madrid to San Sebastian and reduce his prison to second grade following medical reports that his condition was critical and that his vital organs were on the verge of collapsing. He also stated that when De Juana had recovered sufficiently he would be able to return home where he would remain under house arrest for the rest of his prison sentence. Rubalcaba, also pointed out that De Juana had served 18 years of his original sentence and that he was now serving time for the 2 threatening newspaper articles which were published in ‘Gara’.

He defended this decision saying that the difference between the state and the terrorists is that the state valued human life very highly. He also said that he had considered what the consequences of De Juana’s death would have been and he taken had the decision very carefully. He said the state had to be firm but also intelligent. Rubalcaba said that it was a question of humanity because the ETA prisoner would almost certainly have died had this course of action not been taken.

All political parties except for the PP have supported Rubalcaba’s decision. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spain’s president and leader of PSOE, who was in Barcelona on official business yesterday, has not yet spoken publicly regarding this matter.

Basque hunger strike prisoner to be force fed

Doctors force feeding De Juana despite his resistance

Doctors responsible for the health of the Basque prisoner José Ignacio de Juana Chaos have started force feeding him again via a tube from his nose to his stomach. However, to be able to do this they had to immobilize De Juana because of his violent resistance. Since last Friday when he managed to pull out the tubes himself, his decision not to accept any alimentation had been respected.

The decision to restart the force feeding has been taken by doctors at the Doce de Octubre hospital in Madrid because of De Juana’s deteriorating health. Although this treatment could produce serious side effects the prison authorities believe it is necessary in order to keep him alive.

The ETA prisoner’s health had worsened during the last few hours up to the point where doctor’s feared that he might suffer a heart attack due to his fierce resistance to being fed. Previously De Juana had not resisted being shackled to his bed in order to be force fed.

De Juana, who has spent 18 years in prison for 25 terrorist assassinations is now serving a 3 year prison sentence for threats made in 2 newspaper articles written by him and published in the Basque newspaper Gara. He has less than 1 year before he is due to be released. De Juana has been on hunger strike for 112 days and insists that he won’t give up unless he is granted an unconditional release.

Doctors are under instructions from the High Court to keep De Juana alive, given that he is a prisoner and still in state custody.

Hunger strike ETA terrorist's sentence is reduced

The Supreme Court reduces De Juana’s sentence from 12 to 3 years

The Supreme Court has reduced José Ignacio de Juana’s sentence for terrorist threats from 12 years to 3 years in prison. The Association for the Victims of Terrorism had asked for a sentence of 96 years.

De Juana, a member of the Basque terrorist group ETA, who has already spent 18 years in prison for his part in 25 political assassinations was due to be released last year. However, after the Basque nationalist newspaper, Gara, published a couple of articles written by De Juana, said to have contained veiled terrorist threats, he was condemned to a further 12 years in prison by the High Court in November 2004.

The two articles contained the names and work places of six people, including a member of the High Court and five prison directors, and were therefore regarded as a credible terrorist threat. The defence of ‘freedom of expression’ was not accepted given that he was a member of a terrorist organisation and had already committed a number of assassinations in the past for which he has never expressed remorse.

De Juana has been on hunger strike for over 3 months in protest against the new sentence. However, the reduction from 12 to 3 years could mean he is released soon as he has already spent more than 2 years of the sentence in prison. The reduction of his sentence came yesterday following a meeting of 13 magistrates at the Supreme Court.

PSOE have said that the Supreme Court’s decision is sensible and deserves the utmost respect. However, the main opposition party, the PP, while respecting the judicial decision have insisted that De Juana should serve the whole sentence in prison and not receive any prison privileges whatsoever.

Government calls for consensus in fight against ETA

The Vice President calls on the PP to support government policy against ETA

In a speech given in Marbella yesterday the Vice President, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, appealed to the PP (Spain’s main opposition party) to support government policy against ETA on Monday when president is due to appear before Congress.

This appeal comes just a day after thousands marched against ETA in Madrid and Bilbao, demonstrations which were not endorsed by the PP. All other political parties in Spain participated in the demonstrations.

De la Vega stated that the President’s appearance before congress would not include anything extreme that could not be supported by those who wanted to see an end to violence. She also stated that all democratic governments had tried to achieve a peaceful solution and not to do so would be irresponsible.

De la Vega spoke of the intolerable accusations that the PP had made against the government and asked how they could steep so low. She said that it was an insult to suggest that the government did not want to end terrorism against the state and that at no time had the Security or Justice departments lowered their guard.

She said that since May when Zapatero announced the government would be prepared to enter into dialogue with the terrorists the government had worked ceaselessly, responsibly and loyally in order to try and achieve peace. She also said that they had tried to gain the support of the PP because a united front against terrorism is much stronger. She said the government would continue trying to get the support of the PP in spite of the PP’s claims that the government was betraying the victims of terrorism and giving up Navarra.

De la Vega said that she was confident that the PP would support the government in parliament today and that it was a great occasion for all political parties to come together to show their opposition to ETA. She asked for the PP to stop creating divisions in this respect.

At the end of her speech De la Vega said that the Government felt proud of the solidarity shown in the demonstrations against terrorism on Saturday in Bilbao and Madrid. She concluded that if everybody united then peace could be achieved.

Anti-terrorism Demonstration in Madrid

The demonstration organised for this Saturday in Madrid to protest against ETA terrorism will keep its slogan ‘For peace and against terrorism’.

The Trade Unions UGT and CC OO (two of the largest in the country) along with the Federation of Equatorians in Spain (the two people killed by the terrorist bomb in Madrid Airport were immigrants from Ecuador) have decided not to include the word ‘Freedom’ in the banner which will be carried at the head of the march, as had been requested by the Ermua Forum. However, by way of a compromise, the main organisers of the march have agreed to include the slogan ‘for life and for freedom’ in the final speech which will be given at the end of the demonstration.

The Spanish governing socialist party PSOE, the left wing IU political party, the United Police Syndicate together with the Association for the 11th March Victims have all given their support to the organisers of Saturday’s march, whereas Mariano Rajoy, leader of the PP, prefered yesterday to outline three conditions which he said must be fulfilled in order for his party to support the demonstration – for it to call for the "defence of freedom", the defeat of ETA and for there to be no negotiations with terrorists.

The pro-PP Association for the Victims of Terrorism has confirmed that it will not be supporting or participating in this Saturday’s demonstration which they claim to be politically biased and in favour of negotiating with terrorists. Instead the leader of this Association has called for people to demonstrate against the bomb explosion in Madrid airport tomorrow.

There is also divided opinion over the demonstration due to take place this Saturday in Bilbao organised by the Basque Government in favour of "peace and dialogue". The Basque Socialists will only support the demonstration if Batasuna is not participating in the march. Patxi López, the General Secretary, explained that they would not participate alongside Batasuna who have still not condemned the bomb planted by ETA in Madrid two weeks ago.

Basque separatists appeal to ETA to maintain ceasefire

The leader of Batasuna, the political wing of ETA, Arnaldo Otegi, has requested that ETA respect and maintain the contents and objectives given in their statement on 22nd March 2006 which announced a permanent ceasefire.

In a press conference given in San Sebastián yesterday Arnaldo Otegi along with Rufi Etxeberria and Arantza Santesteban, other members of Batasuna involved in negotiations, asked that political dialogue be allowed to go ahead in the absence of violence.

Furthermore, Otegi assured his commitment to a just and long lasting peace between the Basque Country and the Spanish state.

Batasuna called for all political parties in Spain to participate in the negotiations without preconditions and with no further delays in order to form a solid multilateral base for political dialogue.

In addition Otegi urged both sides involved in the dialogue, ETA and the Spanish government, to publicly show their commitment to the peace process. He asked for central government to guarantee the conditions under which the peace process can proceed in order to find political solutions for the Basque Country.

He also urged ETA to maintain their commitment to the ceasefire announced on 22nd March 2006.

Otegi said he hoped that these requests would receive positive responses from all those involved allowing for the political process to continue in order to reach its final objective a peaceful political solution.

Police find more explosives in Vizcaya

A metal drum containing 70 kilos of explosives has been discovered next to a parked vehicle in Atxondo, near Durango in Vizcaya. The Ertaintza (the Basque police) believe that the terrorists who used a hideout in Amorebieta which was found on 23rd December might have used the vehicle. A member of the Basque Government believes that the explosives were destined for immediate use. Furthermore, the news agency ‘La SER’ has found out that the mobile phone used to give the bomb warning in Madrid was activated on the 23rd December.

The information on the mobile telephone reinforces the theory that the car found in Atxondo was abandoned following the discovery of the terrorist's hidout in Amorebieta. It is believed that this also forced the ETA cell to change their plans and to detain a mountaineer from Oñate whose van, a Renault Traffic, was then used for the bomb in Barajas airport.

The metal drum containing explosives found next to a parked car in Atxondo was discovered by the Ertaintza when an abandoned vehicle was being investigated and traces of chemicals used to make explosive material were found following the detailed analysis of various simples taken from the vehicle. False number plates were also discovered in the boot of the car.

Shortly following the investigation into the abandoned vehicle the metal drum containing explosive material was discovered nearby. After being inspected by experts the explosives were found to be ready for immediate use.

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Less optimism among Basques about the peace process in the Basque country

According to the results of a study carried out by the University of the Basque Country and made public to the media in Spain today, 64 percent of Basque people fear that ETA may kill again and 33 percent no longer believe that the ceasefire called by the terrorist group in March is the first step towards ETA eventually disappearing altogether.

An increase in violent acts being carried out by groups of youngsters in several Basque towns and declarations by members of the political wing of ETA blaming the Spanish government for the lack of progress being made in the peace process are behind the most pessimist study to have been carried out since ETA announced the permanent ceasefire last Spring.

The Basque University measures public opinion with this study - called - twice a year. The results made public today contrast with the results just six months ago, when 86 percent of people said they viewed the peace process with optimism (compared to 62 percent this time), and 61 percent expressed their outright rejection of ETA then, compared to just 50 percent this time.

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Update: On Saturday 30th December ETA planted a bomb in one of the carparks in Madrid Airport. Police managed to evacuate 2000 people before the bomb exploded, but two people are missing and feared dead. The bomb was one of the biggest ever used by the Basque terrorist group and signals the end of the ceasefire and, presumably, the peace process.

Basque peace process backed by European Commission

The EU member states give their backing to the Basque peace process in Spain

Spain's Socialist government received the support of the European Parliament today as the majority voted to support Rodriguez Zapatero's peace talks with ETA and voted against a resolution put forward by Spanish opposition PP party rejecting talks between government and ETA.

It was a narrow victory - 321 in favour, 311 against and 24 abstentions, but nevertheless a very important one for the Spanish government facing unprecedented opposition from the Popular Party over the whole issue of the peace process. Last week one PP senator accused the PSOE party of surrending to terrorism and initiating conversations with ETA when the terrorists were planning the assessination of an ex-member of the organisation, and government spokesmen called the accusations "vile" while the public prosecutor insinuated that some groups in Spain did not actually want the peace process to succeed.

Both parties have been at loggerheads ever since Zapatero sought the backing of congress to initiate talks with ETA, some months after the terrorists called a ceasefire. Zapatero's appeals to the Popular Party to join all other Spanish parties in supporting the peace talks have fallen on dead ears, and relations have reached yet another low.

The fact that French police believe ETA is responsible for the theft of over 300 military arms this week will add further strength to the argument that the terrorists are getting tired at the lack of progress being made in the peace talks, although some analysts compare it to difficulties in the Northern Ireland peace process when factions of the IRA opposed peace talks.

The debate in the European Parliament was a heated one, but the prevailing view was that the Spanish Government should be allowed to try to achieve peace by negotiation. The European Commission also supported the motion. The EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini participated in the debate urging European MPs to back the motion and arguing that Spain's "tenacity and conviction in combating terrorism from the respect of democracy and the rule of law has paid off".


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Bus burnt on the streets of San Sebastian

A number of youths wearing balaclavas set a public bus alight last night at around 9.30pm. The incident took place in the San Sebastian neighbourhood of Ategorrieta.

Although nobody was injured in the attack a nearby restaurant had to be evacuated due to the amount of smoke produced by the fire. Last night was one of the busiest during the city's week long fiestas.

This incident is both suprising and worrying and harks back to a few years ago when city buses were set alight almost every week by youths supporting the cause for Basque independence. One explanation for this incident could be the crisis in the negotiations between the government and ETA over the way forward for the Basque peace process.

Spain's main political parties clash over Basque peace process

After endless quibbling about how the Basque peace process should be managed, relations between Spain's governing Socialist Party and the main opposition Popular Party hit yet another low yesterday, when the PP Secretary General, Angel Acebes, accused President Rodriguez Zapatero of sharing the same project as ETA and of giving the terrorists what they wanted. And in a radio interview, Mariano Rajoy claimed that the Government was "in the hands of ETA".

The spokesman of the Socialists responded to the accusations by underlining his party's desire for all political parties to participate in the peace process and insinuated that the declarations reflected internal divisions in the PP, and frustration within party ranks at their leader's performance during the Nation Debate held in parliament last week.

Ever since Zapatero announced his intention to begin talks with the Basque terrorist Group last month, 2 months after ETA called the permanent ceasefire, leaders of the Popular Party have expressed their reticence to any negotiations starting before the terrorist group is dissolved and its members renounce all violence and apologise to the victims of their terrorist acts. Their leader, Mariano Rajoy, said his party would support the process as long as ETA fulfilled these conditions.

Last week during a radio interview Patxi Lopez, leader of the Basque wing of the Socialist Party, said that members of the Basque Socialist Party would hold local preliminary talks with members of the illegal political wing of ETA before Zapatero's programmed appearance in Congress to formally announce the start of peace talks.

The Popular Party immediately withdrew all its support from the peace process and announced its intention to put forward a motion in Congress today to prevent the government from going ahead with negotiations. The text of the PP motion argues that negotation with an illegal terrorist organization is not possible and that the disappearance of ETA should be a necessary condition before any talks are held. No other political party in Congress is expected to support the motion and polls show that the majority of Spaniards support negotiations.

Meanwhile, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has begun a three-day visit to Spain today in a bid to support the Basque peace process. He will visit Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao. Many political commentators in Spain suspect that Adams has had a key role in persuading ETA to call a permanent cease-fire.

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Negotations between Spanish Government and Eta

This weekend President José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announced that in June he intends to inform Parliament of the beginning of talks with Basque terrorist group ETA.

Speaking in a Socialist party rally in the Basque country, Zapatero reminded those present that when ETA announced the ceasefire in Spain a few weeks ago, he said then that the government needed to verify the ceasefire before they could properly initate any peace process. Since then the reports commissioned by the government as well as messages sent out from Basque separatists seem to have persuaded the Spanish President that the ceasefire is real and it is time to start talks with ETA. He will seek the approval of Congress to start negotiating in June.

The announcement was received positively by all Spanish political parties yesterday except for the Popular Party whose vice-president, Angel Acebes, criticised the government for sitting down to negotiate with ETA before the group had been completely disarmed and dissolved. The Association of Victims of Terrorism also criticised the news and announced a protest march in Madrid in June. However representatives of all the other political parties expressed their satisfaction at what they hoped was the first step on the way to a lasting peace in the Basque country.

Presumably in an attempt to appease the more critical factions of the Association of Victims of Terrorism, after announcing the start of talks yesterday, Zapatero said he planned to propose a the insertion of a clause honouring the memory of the victims of terrorism in the the introduction of the Spanish Constitution.

Zapatero also underlined his will to include all political parties in the talks. "Peace and tolerance have to be the fruit of a joint effort. Nobody should try to get ahead of anyone else" .

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Spanish PM and leader of the opposition discuss ETA ceasefire

Spain's president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero met this morning with Mariano Rajoy, leader of the Popular Party, in what most sections of the Spanish media are hailing as a possible end to the bitter relations which have existed between Spain's two main parties ever since the Socialists won the 2004 elections following the Madrid train bombings two years ago, a result which many members of the Popular Party still deeply resent today.

Since ETA's permanent ceasefire announcement last week, the narrow gap dividing the two main parties in opinion polls has widened in favour of the PSOE, and as support for Zapatero has grown notably among the Spanish electorate, the Popular Party has started to moderate the aggressive tones its leaders generally use when commenting government policy on just about every possible topic on the political agenda.

Even though the first official reaction of the PP following ETA's announcement was typically scathing, when the leader of the Basque PP Party claimed the ceasefire was the result of the constant concessions made by Zapatero to separatists, since then all except the most radical members of the PP have taken care not to be too critical. Zapatero's gesture last week, when he refused to make any comment to the media about the ceasefire until he had personally informed Congress the same afternoon, and used the occasion to offer full participation in the peace process to all political parties and particularly to the Popular Party, was received in a positive manner by the vast majority of political commentators on all sides of the ideological spectrum. Apparantly King Juan Carlos rang Mariano Rajoy last week to ask him to support any peace process which could result from ETA's initiative. And yesterday for the first time since losing the elections, a press conference called by the PP to comment on the party stance after a session called by the leader to prepare his meeting with the Spanish president today, was chaired by a party moderate, rather than by hardline Acebes.

If today does mark the beginning of a thaw in the difficult relationship between Spain's main parties, then a large section of the electorate and the Spanish media will welcome the news. Both party leaders seemed to acknowledge that fact today when they spoke to the press after their two and a half hour-long meeting. Zapatero told reporters that today represented "a good first step forward after nearly two years of notable differences". Rajoy was more cautious, saying that the only priority right now was that the Government has what it believes is ETA's firm decision to cease all criminal activity. He pledged his party's support "without party or ideological lables" to Zapatero, providing that there would be no concessions to ETA, no violation of current laws, no contact with terrorist or illegal organisations and no violation of Spanish state law.

ETA ceasefire

Today at 12.30 ETA announced a permanent ceasefire which will come into effect at midnight on 24th March. See video of ETA announcing ceasefire.

The announcement comes just a day after the Constitutional Courts approved a final text for the new Catalan statute which will be put to the Spanish parliament in the next few weeks.

In a message sent to the Basque newspaper GARA and published in full on the paper's website (see full text of the ETA ceasefire announcement), the Basque terrorist group claims that its leaders have taken this step "to give impulse to a democratic process in Euskal Herria (the Basque Country) to build a new framework within which the rights corresponding to the Basque people are recognised and to ensure a capacity to develop all political options in the future " (the political wing of the Basque terrorist group is currently banned from participating in the political system). "At the end of this process, Basque citizens must have the final word and the right to decide their future".

ETA goes on to say that its members expect the Franch and Spanish states to respect the decisions made by Basque citizens concerning their future and calls for both countries to respond in a positive way to "this new situation" and put repression to one side. The terrorists also call on Basque citizens to get involved in the process and to fight for the rights corresponding to them.

ETA expresses its desire and will for this process to finalise in the creation of a truly democratic situation for the Basque Country, the end of the conflict which has been going on for years, and the construction of a peace based on justice.

"We affirm our commitment to go on taking steps forward in the future in accordance with this will. To overcome the conflict is possible here and now. Such is the desire and the will of ETA".

The Moncloa (Spanish government headquarters) has expressed Zapatero's satisfaction at the announcement, but according to the Cadena Ser, the Spanish prime minister has asked his ministers to be cautious for the moment and to abstain from making declarations. The Spanish Vice-president, Fernandez de la Vega, has also urged caution, although she said she hoped the announcement represented the beginning of the end of violence. Only a couple of weeks ago, Rodriguez Zapatero announced that the end to ETA's violence was near. Other key Spanish politicians have made declarations. The leader of the Basque Popular Party, Maria San Gil, said that the announcement was the result of "continual concessions of Zapatero's Government", while the leader of the Catalan separatists, Artur Mas, told the media he was very happy to hear ETA's promise of a "permanent" ceasefire.

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ETA claims responsability for small explosions in Madrid

ETA has claimed responsability for the explosion of five small bombs which exploded today in the main roads surrounding Madrid. Nobody was injured.

Just before the bombs were due to explode, the Vizcayan DYA authorities received a warning from ETA with details of the location and timing of the explosives. All five bombs exploded at the edge of the motorways without causing much damage.

Despite the fact that the explosives were small, ETA still achieved its main objective which was obviously to cause chaos in the roads surrounding Madrid on Constitution Day. Traffic police cut off the traffic on all five motorways just prior to the explosions. The roads were reopened about an hour ago at 16.30.

Spain's constitution, signed on 6th December 27 years ago, contains a clause which explicitly prohibits the creation of an independent Basque state, which is ETA's main aim.

Last year the Basque terrorists also planted a series of bombs which exploded at strategic points and caused chaos on the roads as thousands of families left the capital city to spend the long weekend in holiday homes on the coast and in the mountains.

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Spain government and ETA negotiate possible cease-fire

According to this morning's edition of El Mundo, the Spanish government and members of Basque terrorist group ETA have been maintaining "indirect" talks since the Summer and ETA has agreed to announce a cease-fire sometime in the next three months.

Spain's president, José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has repeatedly said that the predisposition of his government to sit at a negotiation table with Basque separatists and consider increased powers for the Basque government depend on ETA first laying down its arms. If the Basque terrorists do announce a cease-fire, Zapatero will probably ask the Spanish congress to give its approval for the government to hold talks with all Basque separatist groups, including ETA, and seek agreement which would establish peace in the Region and the eventual disarmament of the group.

According to the El Mundo headline story, the official line is that "both sides are at the stage of negotiating a possible truce", but that infact ETA has already agreed to do so, and now the negotiations center around the wording of the announcement and when, within the next three months, it should be made. El Mundo claims that talks started moving in the right direction last August, when ETA started to be more positive about making a move which could speed up a possible peace process.

Last week the Spanish president had a meeting with José Ibarretxe in Madrid and both leaders refused to go into any detail about what they discussed. The next day, when asked repeatedly about the contents of the meeting, Ibarretxe replied that he had promised total discretion and meant to keep his word. He asked journalists to understand that for negotiations to have a positive outcome, discretion was necessary. He also said "we are doing something very important".

ETA car bomb in Madrid

Yesterday evening, just a day after the new Basque government was formed, terrorist group Eta exploded a car bomb in the carpark of a sports stadium in Madrid. The fact that the terrorists chose a sports venue to carry out this most recent attack could be seen as an attempt to damage Madrid's chances of hosting the 2012 olympic games.

The bomb exploded in "la Peineta" stadium carpark at seven o'clock yesterday evening. ETA made two telephone calls informing of the location of the bomb and what time it was set to explode. Police had time to evacuate the area, and nobody was injured.

Spain's Interior Minister condemned the attack and underlined the government's commitment to fight the terrorist group ETA with "total determination". He said the terrorist attack was yet another example of pointless violence which only had one feasible end - the "disappearance of those who only understand the language of weapons".

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ETA says solution to Basque problem is possible

ETA has sent a letter to the Basque newspaper Gara. It contains many of the contradictions and criticisms characteristic of previous Eta statements, but this one contains a message which the Spanish government may find encouraging.

The terrorist group claims that it is "possible" to find a solution to the "Basque conflict" and says offers its "total disposition" to get involved in a "democratic process, without limits and involving everyone".

In its note, the Basque terrorists urge "Basque agents" to open up new opportunities, and they say that in order to achieve the end of the conflict "it is necessary to build a peace based on justice" achieved by "dialogue and negotiation". The note calls for a democratic process without limits and including all involved parties to be initiated. It underlines the fact that any solution must include the self-determination of the Basque people.

A considerable part of the communication is dedicated to criticising Spain's Socialist Government and also the Anti-terrorism pact (from which the Popular Party withdrew last month) and the PNV party which it critices for putting party interests before the interests of the Basque country.

Finally, ETA accuses the Government of "taking steps remimiscent of the darkest times under Gonzalez" (in reference to ex-President Felipe Gonzalez). The Basques also accuse the Government of applying the usual strategies based on police operations, strategies which, according to the terrorists, makes the possibility of a lasting peace more distant.

Spain's vice-president, Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega was asked to comment on the ETA communication during a press conference today. She said repeatedly that the Government would only be prepared to make a comment on an ETA communication if it announced the commitment of the terrorist group to put an end to violence and to disappear.

ETA bomb in Madrid

Basque terrorist group Eta exploded a bomb in Madrid at 9.30 Spanish time this morning. Forty people were treated by medical staff, most of them with light injuries. Three people are still being treated in hospital. The bomb contained between 18 to 20 kilos of explosives according to the Spanish Interior Minister, Jose Antonio Alonso.

Since Spanish President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero sought the approval of the Spanish Congress to begin talks with ETA last week, three key Basque terrorist suspects have been arrested in France, and two members of the political wing of Eta have been summoned by Spanish courts.

Yesterday, referring to the latest operations against the terrorist group, the leader of Batasuna, the illegal political wing of ETA, said rather sinisterly that the Spanish government "was not going in the right direction" and seemed "not to understand the word 'tregua' " (Spanish for "truce").

The Basque newspaper Gara received a telephone call this morning informing of the existence, location and timing of the bomb which had been left in a rucksack inside a van.

When condemning this latest attack before the Spanish press later this morning, Zapatero underlined the commitment of his government to "fight and end terrorism" and said that the only option open to Eta terrorists was to abandon their weapons and dissolve the group.

Government in Spain proposes talks with ETA

After what has possibly been the bitterest week so far in Spanish politics with the split between Spain's two major political parties becoming wider and wider everytime a member from either party opens his or her mouth, Spanish members of parliament are expected to vote today in favor of the Socialist government's proposal to start talks with ETA if the Basque terrorist group agrees to drop all violent activity.

Last week was Spain's yearly Debate of the Nation, during which the President of Spain explains his government's policies and answers questions put to him by all parties for two days. After a series of bitter exchanges on the first day of the debate, during which the leader of the opposition party, Mariano Rajoy, accused the Socialist party of betraying the victims of ETA, the Popular Party formally withdrew its support from the anti-terrorism pact which has existed between Spain's two major parties for the past few years. The style of Rajoy during the debate was so reminiscent of that of ex-President Aznar that at one moment during one of his answers, President Rodriguez Zapatero referred to the PP leader as "Señor Aznar" by mistake.

According to a poll published yesterday by Cadena Ser, and despite frequent blunders made by this inexperienced government, Spaniards continue to prefer the moderation and messages of respect for political opponents and consensus of Zapatero to the often ruthlessly agressive style of the leaders of the opposition, and the the Spanish President's popularity has risen higher as a result of last weeks debate.

This is going to be a very complicated year for the Spanish government which needs the support of the Popular Party in order to fulfill one of its most controversial electoral promises: modification of the Spanish Constitution. Rodriguez Zapatero has pledged to inform all parties of any meetings with Basque separatists and if, as expected, the Spanish congress approves the government's motion to offer dialogue to ETA if the terrorists drop their weapons, the rift between the parties will probably become even wider (members of the Popular Party are the only representatives expected to vote against the motion).

For the results of any future negotiations between the Spanish government and Basque separatists to have any real meaning, Spain's main political parties will need to show a united front. However, relations between the two parties are at an all-time low, and it is difficult to see just how (or if) they will get out of the present rut.

ETA suspects arrested in San Sebastian, Spain

Spanish police have arrested three ETA suspects this morning in a flat in San Sebastian in the latest of a series of arrests which have taken place over the past few days. The three suspects were armed and according to sources quoted by Cadena Ser, preparing to launch a terrorist attack in the Basque Country.

Yesterday police arrested two Basques who tried to escape from one of the police road controls set up in the Basque region over the Easter period. They had dozens of ETA "zutabes" (bulletins printed by the terrorist group to instruct collaborators) in their car and are suspected of collaborating with ETA.

And on Tuesday Jose Segurola Querejeta, suspected of being one of the new leaders of the terrorist group, was arrested in France together with Miren Itxaso Saldúa. According to the Spanish Interior Minister José Antonio Alonso, at the time of their arrest the Basques were found with guns, false documents and car number plates and materials to make explosives similar to the bombs used by ETA in its latest terrorist attacks.

Security has been increased during holy week in Spain in an attempt to avoid any repetition of ETA attacks on tourist destinations during the holiday period. Spanish police have set up road checkpoints on all major roads to and from the Basque country and on access roads to Spain's major tourist resorts.

G5 Interior Ministers anti-terrorism summit in Granada

The interior ministers of Spain, France, Britain, Germany and Italy meet in Granada today for a two day summit to discuss how to collaborate more in their response to terrorism. The ministers are expected to sign a joint declaration tomorrow against terrorism in which they will draw a clear line between fundamentalist terrorism and Islam.

This is the sixth time the G5 ministers have met to discuss ways of strengthening security by exchanging information on suspects, simplifying extradition procedures and allowing access to each other's data bases on terrorism and organised crime.

According to Spanish sources, one of the lessons learned from the investigations into the 11-S and 11-M terrorist attacks was the need to coordinate the monitoring of movements of suspected terrorists who up until then had been able to move with relative ease around Europe as they planned the attacks. The interior ministers will explore ways of preventing this from happening again and disuss how to give Europol more power so that it can play a more effective role in monitoring terrorism and crime in Europe.

ETA planned terrorist attack in Valencia before European referendum

Police say evidence suggests that the two suspected terrorists arrested yesterday in Valencia, Spain, were about to commit a terrorist act probably against a member of the Spanish armed forces, a police station or a tourist information office.

On their arrest the two members of Eta had in their possession a bomb ready to be used, two guns, dinamite and detonators aswell as material to prepare another bomb. Police think they were preparing to plant several bombs before the referendum to be held this Sunday in Spain on the European constitution. The police also found a list with some 500 names on it, presumably possible targets for these or future terrorist acts.

Spanish police and security forces have been on alert over the past few days, ever since they discovered a letter written by one of the leaders of ETA expressing his order to see "dead people on the table immediately". Police say the presence of the two terrorists who had arrived in Valencia just the day before is directly linked to the arrest of two other suspected ETA terrorists a few days ago in El Campello (a village just 160 km south of Valencia) and Basauri, Vizcaya. Following the arrests, Mikel Orbegozo Etxarri and Sara Majarenas Ibarreta travelled straight to Valencia from France.

According to witnesses yesterday, the Basque couple were in their hotel room with the explosives when they realised that police were searching the building. They tried to walk out of the main entrance without anyone noticing them, but were recognised and approached by police. Majarenas offered no resistence. Orbegozo ran away with a gun in his hand, but was soon captured by police. Both Majarenas and Orbegozo were carrying false police identification badges and several false ID cards.

The authorities have warned the Spanish public to be careful this weekend. In declarations on Spanish radio, Spain's State Prosecutor said yesterday that the latest arrests and evidence suggested that the terrorist organization ETA was like a wounded animal on its last legs, but prepared to commit desperate attacks and that precisely because of this, people should be on guard.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams interviewed during his visit to Spain

Gerry Adams is in Spain today to promote his book. He has just been interviewed on Spain's most popular morning radio news programme, Hoy por Hoy on Cadena Ser. Here are some extracts of the interview.

Allegations were published in the Spanish press this weekend about a possible meeting between Father Alec Reid, and leaders of Basque terrorist group ETA. Father Reid played a key role in the Irish peace process, is one of Gerry Adam's friends and advisors and it recently came to light that he also advises Juan Jose Ibarretxe, President of the Basque regional government and leader of the separatist PNV.

When asked about the role of Father Reid in the Basque situation in Spain this morning, Adams was very careful with the wording of his answer. He said that since he had arrived in Spain he had been told about the rumours published in the Spanish press about Father Reid's possible role in "helping efforts to initiate a peace process" in Spain. Adams stressed his own wish to be careful in his response to these rumours, because he was just visiting Spain, whereas he was conscious that many Spaniards who live here had suffered and been victims of the Basque problem. But he did confirm that he had had a telephone conversation earlier this morning with Father Reid, and he could confirm that there are efforts underway to initiate a peace process in Spain.

When asked about the similarities between the fight for independence of the Basque Region and Northern Ireland, Adams acknowledged that there was always a temptation to compare peace processes and freedom fights. He said the main similarity between both situations was that you must have dialogue to begin any attempt to resolve conflict (possibly an allusion to Father Reid's alleged meeting with ETA leaders). Adams said there could be no progress without debate, that people needed to inform and listen. That in any peace process, you have to create a space for your enemy, just as Sinn Fein and the Irish Unionists did, and that some people and political groups may find this frightening, but that progress would be impossible without more dialogue. Adams said is was also important for political parties and groups to make commitments and to comply with them. He said that unlike ordinary politics and business, where some degree of misleading your opponent could be considered to be "legitimate", for a peace process to be successful, deceit is unconceivable.

Gerry Adams is to have meetings with Basque president Ibarretxe, leader of ETA's political wing Ortegi, and leader of the Catalan republican party, Carod Rovira during his stay in Spain. When asked why he had not got any meetings planned with leaders of Spain's main political parties, Adams said that the main objective of his visit was to promote his book, and that if it had been a visit with political motives, his agenda would have been very different. He said that while he shared a mutual interest to meet with Ibarretxte, Ortegi and Carod Rovira, the initial proposal came from them rather than him

When asked if the peace process in Northern Ireland has come so far now that it has become irreversible, or whether recent difficulties endangered progress made until now, Gerry admitted that there was a possibility that some groups could return to violence, but that there was much to be lost if this occured. He said he rejected what he called " an armed peace".

Gerry Adams will be promoting his book in Spain for the next three days. His visit is expected to generate much interest among the Spanish press and public because of the inevitable comparisons between the respective Basque and Irish causes and also because of the speculations about the recent role of Father Reid in conversations with Basque terrorists and politicians.

Alleged meeting between Irish priest and ETA leaders

Irish priest Alec Reid, an advisor to both Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Fein, and Ibarretxe, leader of the Basque nationalist party PNV, met with ETA leaders last year according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

The paper alleges that Reid, who played a key role in the peace talks between the British and Irish governments and Sinn Fein in the nineties, went to France last Autumn following the arrest of ETA leader Mikel Albizu in October 2004. According to El Mundo, Father Reid stayed at Belloch Monastry, the same place visited by French police last week to question the monk Marcel Etxandi in relation to his possible ties with ETA. Father Reid is alleged to have held conversations there with the newly appointed leaders of the Basque terrorist group.

A spokesman of the Vizcaya diocesis has confirmed that Father Reid stayed in the monastry in Autumn, that Reid often visits the Basque Region and that when he does, the Catholic Church put an official, chauffeur-driven car at his disposal to facilitate his movements. Father Reid is one of Basque President Ibarretxe's key advisors, something which is said to displease some leaders of the political wing of Eta who claim that Father Reid is more inclined to be sympathetic to the opinions and policies of Ibarretxe, rather than more radical nationalist demands and means.

Father Reid is also one of Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adam's key advisors, and has prepared a visit by Adams to Spain which will take place in the next few days. During his visit, Adams will meet with Ibarretxe and also with Arnaldo Otego, spokesman for Batasuna, the political wing of ETA which was banned from taking part in elections by the Spanish government two years ago.

Spanish benedictine monk arrested by Spanish police investigating ETA

Spain: Two benedictine monks have been arrested today in connection to the latest police investigations into activities of the Basque terrorist group ETA. One monk, aged 75, was arrested by Spanish police and taken from the Lazkao monastry, where he lives, to a police station for questioning.

Another benedictine monk has been arrested in France. According to the Spanish media, both monks are accused of having collaborated with Mikel Albizu, considered to be the leader of ETA. Abizu was arrested in France in October last year.

This is not the first time that Catholic priests or monks have been accused of collaborating with the Basque terrorist organization. In 1992 the Bishop of Irun was accused of sheltering members of the ETA in property next to his church. And just 3 years ago an ex-priest was jailed for supplying ETA terrorists with information they needed to carry out a terrorist attack against the Spanish civil guard in 1981 in which 3 guards were killed.

Basque terrorist group ETA in Madrid

Police investigating the car bomb which exploded in Madrid yesterday suspect that two members of the terrorist group ETA may be living permanently in Madrid. They base their hypothesis on the fact that the telephone used by the terrorists to ring the Basque newspaper Gara and give their usual bomb warning yesterday was bought in Madrid last November, just before ETA put small bombs in five petrol stations surrounding the Spanish capital city.

Yesterday's bomb was bigger than the bombs planted by ETA recently, and 36 people were slightly injured. The terrorists used the same kind of explosives as the one they used in the car bomb which exploded in Getxo three weeks ago.

Yesterday's incident was a mediatic victory for ETA. The bomb exploded just hours before the King Juan Carlos and Mexican president Fox were due to arrive for the opening of the yearly contemporary art exhibition ARCO in a nearby building. And the news story received instant attention from the worldwide media. However the Spanish Interior Minister, José Antonio Alonso claimed that recent arrests of ETA members have seriously weakened the structure of the terrorist group and that police operations over the next few days would continue to do so.

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