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.

Islamic terrorist suspects planned attack on Barcelona metro

Jihads were planning suicide bombings on metro before being arrested

Ten of the twelve Pakistanis arrested last weekend in Barcelona are now in prison on charges of belonging to a jihad group which was planning an imminent attack in the Catalan Capital. Ismael Moreno, the judge in charge of the case said that most of the investigation was based on the testimony of a protected witness.

The information obtained from this person made it possible for the police to break up the Islamist cell that had already chosen three of its members to carry out an attack on Barcelona’s public transport system last weekend. The information given by the protected witness was later verified by answers given by those under arrest.

The testimony provided by the protected witness also helped the police discover that they were dealing with a cell specialising in the manufacture of explosives headed by Hafeez Ahmed. This information was also corroborated by Maroof Ahmed, Qadeer Malik and Sahib Iqbal all of whom are under arrest on terrorist charges. The police also discovered from the protected witness that they were dealing with suicide bombers.

Three of the group, Mohamed Shoaib, Mehmooh Khalib and Imran Cheema, are accused of being potential suicide bombers. It is believed that they arrived in Barcelona between October and the middle of January which Ismael Moreno, the judge in charge of investigations, said followed a familiar pattern used by extremist Islamist organizations before carrying out suicide attacks. It is believed that they were planning to carry out suicide bombings in Barcelona between 18th and 20th January.

Another two of those arrested at the weekend Maroof Ahmed Mirza and Mohammad Ayud Elahi Bibi are accused of leading the cell ideologically and operationally. Ahmed Mirza is believed to have been the religious leader of the group in charge of organizing the potential terrorist attacks.
Two of the twelve arrested have been released unconditionally. The Spanish high court has confirmed that this Islamist cell was extremely close to being fully operational and very near achieving the technical capacity needed for the manufacture of bombs.

Spanish court announces 11-M trial verdict

Court declares the 11-M Madrid terrorist attackers had no links with ETA

Javier Gómez Bermúdez, the magistrate in charge of the 11-M trial declared this morning that there was no evidence to back up the claims of the conspiracy theory put forward by the sensationalist press and Spain’s main opposition party, the PP, that the terrorists who carried out the March 11th terrorist attacks in 2004 had any links with the Basque terrorist organisation ETA. He also gave his backing to the investigation carried out by the judge Juan del Olmo and the Public Prosecutor, Olga Sánchez.

The court found 21 of the defendants guilty of the Madrid train bombings. Seven of the suspects on trial were cleared. Prison sentences of nearly 40,000 years have been imposed on the three lead defendants, Emilio Trashorras, Jamal Zougam and Othman el-Gnaoui.

In his declaration this morning Javier Gómez Bermúdez took apart the conspiracy theory bit by bit. He said that there was no evidence whatsoever to link the 11-M terrorists to ETA. He said that none of the evidence presented to the court during the trial could be linked to ETA.

He said that the Renault Kangoo van which has been in police custody since it was found at Alcalá de Henares (Madrid) train station contained explosive cartridges identical to those found in the flat in Leganés and that the denial that this evidence existed is unfounded.

Regarding the Vallecas rucksack Javier Gómez Bermúdez also pointed out categorically that this piece of evidence had been in police custody since it was discovered. He said that the rucksack which was found in Puente de Vallecas was identical to the others found during the investigation and was therefore a vital piece of evidence.
All or most of the explosives used in the 11-M attacks and those that exploded in the flat in Leganés came from the Conchita mine in Asturias. The explosives were stolen from the mine due to a lack of security. So far one person has been convicted of stealing the explosives.

Javier Gómez Bermúdez also said that there was no doubt over the 7 suicides that occurred in the flat in Leganés. He said that the document belonging to ETA that was found in the rubble belonged to a neighbour who was investigating the terrorist organisation for the police and who had made a statement to the court.

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.

Madrid bombing suspects on hunger strike

Two M-11 prisoners and 9 Islamist Prisoners on Hunger Strike

The protest began last Saturday and is being followed by prisoners in various centres. There are four prisoners on hunger strike in Fontcalent prison in Alicante, five in the prison in Villena and another two, an Algerian and a Moroccan prisoners in Picassent, Valencia.

All those on hunger strike have written to their respective prison governors protesting their innocence saying that they have been falsely accused of involvement in Islamist terrorism.

As well as ‘El Haski’ and ‘El Gnaoui’, who are among the hunger strikers Abdelkrim Bensmail, an Algerian member of an organisation called the ‘Armed Islamic Group’ in prison since 1997 and implicated in a suicide bomb plot against the High Court in Spain is also on hunger strike.

The Spanish Government Delegate in Valencia said yesterday that the prisons where the hunger strikes are taking place have activated their protocols for medical assistance in such protests. The Prison authorities have dismissed the strike as an attempt to attract publicity.

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 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.

Islamic terrorism suspects arrested in Barcelona

16 arrested in operation against Islamist terrorism in Spain

An operation headed by the High Court judge Baltasar Garzón has led to 16 people being detained this week on suspicion of involvement in Islamist terrorism in Spain. Those arrested are accused of looking for recruits to send to terrorist training camps in places such as Afghanistan and Iraq.

13 of the arrests took place in Barcelona, Igualada and Santa Coloma de Gramanet. The rest were in the Madrid neighbourhood of Aranjuez and in Malaga. Information held on computers discovered during the raids is now being analysed.

'Operación Tala' is the result of an investigation into those suspected of involvement in Islamist terrorism in Spain. The investigation, which lasted several months, was carried out by police information squads from Madrid and Barcelona.

During the lengthy investigation evidence was uncovered to suggest that radicalisation of young Muslims took place and the idea of Jihad (holy war) was promoted. Furthermore, those suspected of involvement are accused of having financial links with terrorist camps in North Africa and other countries where there is armed conflict such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

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.

Al Qaeda threatens Spain

The terrorist organisation Al Qaeda has used a video on the internet to threaten Spain. Spain has been threatened because of its military involvement in Afghanistan.
In the video entitled ‘Messages for the governments of Germany and Austria’ a hooded man reads a communication from a page in which threats are made to Spain, Germany and Austria. The authenticity of the video which appeared on a web page created by Al Qaeda in September 2005 has not been verified yet.

In the video some sentences by Al Qaeda’s 2nd in command, the Egyptian Ayman al Zawahiri can be heard. He is reported to have said "If we are secure then you will be secure too, if we are hit and killed you will also be hit and killed". With respect to Austria, he said "although their soldiers are not a threat to the muyahidín in Afghanistan the presence of Austrian soldiers support Bush and his group".

Spain withdrew all its troops from Iraq when PSOE gained power in March 2004. However, Spain sent 600 troops to Afghanistan last year as part of an international effort to support the UK and US maintain order there.

Monument to victims of M11 in Madrid

Yesterday the king and queen of Spain, accompanied by the Prince and Princess of Asturias, attended the ceremony to commemorate the 11th March 2004 bombings in Madrid. They honoured the dead by placing a wreath made of laurel at the foot of a monument dedicated to the victims, located in front of the Atocha station in Madrid.

Both the president, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the PP leader of the opposition party, Mariano Rajoy, both attended the ceremony. According to reports there was a very cold atmosphere between the two. The ceremony took place just one day following a large demonstration in Madrid organised by Rajoy in protest against the government’s decision to allow the ETA prisoner De Juana Chaos to be placed under house arrest. Other officials who attended were the Vice-President, Pedro Solbes, along with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the President of the Comunidad de Madrid and the mayor of Madrid Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón.

The ceremony commemorated the third anniversary of the bombings in which 191 people were killed. There were no speeches but there was a moving performance of 'El Canto de los Pájaros', by Pau Casals played on the cello.

Around 1500 victims injured in the attacks and family members of victims who were killed filed past the monument following the official acts. The atmosphere was very sombre apart from a slight commotion when family members of victims who were killed in the attack unveiled a banner demanding that the former home secretary Ángel Acebes and the president of the government led by the PP when the attacks took place, José María Aznar be criminally charged.

The monument which is said to be the largest glass sculpture in the world is 11 metres high. It was designed by the architect Esaú Acosta. Weighing 160 tonnes, the glass which has been used for the monument is totally transparent. Inside it is sound proofed so that silence and light are the main elements.

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.

Live coverage of the Madrid bombing trial

People interested in seeing live TV coverage of the Madrid bombings trial can do so courtesy of the Madrid Television channel La Otra. Sessions are transmitted live from 10.00 to 14.00 and from 16.00 to 20.00. During breaks in proceedings, the TV channel offers its usual programmes.

11M Madrid bombings trial starts today

Twenty nine 11th March terror suspects go on trial in Madrid

Three years on, 29 suspects go on trial today accused of perpetrating the 11th March 2004 terrorist attack in which 191 people were killed and hundreds more injured. The first defendant called to testify, Rabei Osman, 'Mohamed El Egipcio', is accused of being the intellectual author of the terrorist attack, has refused to answer any of the questions posed to him by the court and by his own lawyer. This may turn out to be a tactic used by other suspects during a trial which is the main news story Spain today.

The judges in the case, Javier Gómez Bermúdez, Fernando García Nicolás and Alfonso Guevara will have to establish the facts and decide whether or not the 29 defendants played a part in the planning of the attack, aswell as the actual bombings, what that part was and what sentences they should receive if found guilty.

Seven of the 29 defendants, who are also accused of drug trafficking crimes as well as 191 murders and 1,824 attempted murders in the terrorist attack, could face up to 38,656 years – this would be the longest prison sentence in Spanish history.

The trial is taking place in this special court room in the High Court in Madrid. The defendants are seated in the separate area with large glass windows and will be called up one by one to testify. 270 police are present at the trial. Sessions will be attended by 150 11th March victims and families of victims and 400 journalists - images of proceedings are being projected in real time in a separate room. No politicians will attend the trial.

On the morning of March 11th 2004 a group of 12 terrorists (3 of the defendants present today are suspected of being members of this group) placed 13 bags containing bombs on commuter trains leaving Alcalá de Henares travelling to Madrid. The explosives used were reinforced with shrapnel which it is believed was obtained from Asturias from an ex-miner.

All investigations carried out by the police and the judiciary have ruled out any connection with the terrorist organisation ETA. This has not stopped the opposition party PP from reiterating claims, without proof, that the attacks were linked in some way to ETA. PP supporters and PP-friendly sections of the Spanish media back these claims.

Spanish police interrogated Guantanamo prisoners

Ex-President Aznar sent police to interrogate Guantanamo 20 detainees

According to official sources José María Aznar’s government sent police, without any prior judicial authorization, to interrogate around 20 detainees in Guantanamo in July 2002.

Apparently this was the second trip that Spanish officials had made to the US military base in Cuba. On the first trip to Guantanamo, officials from the Spanish embassy in Washington went there to identify possible Spanish detainees.

The second trip took place in July 2002 when police travelled to Guantanamo, accompanied by members of the CIA, to interrogate 20 of the detainees, most of which were Moroccan. Amongst those interrogated were Hamed Abderramán from Ceuta and Lahcen Ikassrien, a Morrocan resident in Spain and detained in 2001 in Afganistan who was sent to Guantanamo wearing a wrist band that read "animal number 64".

Ikassrien, in an interview with the Spanish daily newspaper El Pais, said that he told the Spanish police in Guantanamo that he was a Moroccan citizen and that they had no right to interrogate him. He also says that the police offered him money and said that he would become a protected witness if he cooperated with them. Ikassrien, also said that they showed him photographs of radical Moroccans like Amer el Azizi and Jamal Zougam, a presumed member of the group responsible for the March 11th bombings in Madrid, and of another person who was later detained and imprisoned following the bomb in Casablanca.

Ikassrien, who now lives freely in Madrid, was extradited to Spain where the High Court absolved him of all charges. None of the testimonies obtained in Guantanamo were accepted as evidence.

A third journey was made to Guantanamo in January 2003 when officials from the Spanish embassy in Washington visited the Spanish citizen Hamed Abderrahaman Ahmed in order to negotiate his handover to the Spanish authorities.

The Spanish High Court has stated that the police interrogations in Guantanamo took place without the proper legal safeguards and without any respect for the rights of those being interrogated. It has also said that the detention of hundreds of prisoners who have not been charged and who do not have any guarantees for their rights in a place where there is no control over what happens to them is a situation that is impossible to justify or explain from the point of view of the judiciary.

The Spanish police interrogations in Guantanamo have been revealed just before the trial of people suspected of participating in the Madrid bombings is due to start this week.

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.

Secret CIA flights in Spain

Spanish government to declassify documents on secret CIA flights in Spain

The Vice-president María Teresa Fernández de la Vega has announced that all documents concerning illegal secret CIA flights in Spain held by the National Intelligence Centre will be declassified.

This announcement came following the request by the Spanish High Court. De la Vega said that it was essential for the executive to collaborate with the High Court even when if it meant revealing ‘official secrets’.

The illegal CIA flights refer to those flights which transported terrorist suspects to other countries for interrogation where respect for human rights is questionable.

The High Court judge who requested the information, Ismael Moreno, is investigating whether any of these flights made stops in Spanish airports. According to some sources the CIA flights made stops in Tenerife, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Málaga airports.

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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Basque peace process
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Basque peace progress

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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Real IRA suspects arrested in Spain

Spanish police in Malaga have arrested two Irish men suspected of belonging to the illegal Real IRA dissident paramilitary group. The men were arrested yesterday and taken to Madrid where they are being questioned by specialised police.

Police told reporters yesterday that the two men were arrested shortly after a big shipment of cigarettes had arrived at a nearby port. Police searched a warehouse where they found a large quantity of documents and seized two lorries.

The Interior Ministry said that the arrests were the result of an investigation into bands smuggling cigarettes into Spain. The Ministry confirmed that the two men arrested are suspected of sending to Ulster money obtained from cigarette smuggling operations.

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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ETA explosives in Madrid cause traffic chaos

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".

Alleged Al-Qaeda leader in Spain assaulted in Spanish jail

Immad Yarkas, Al-Qaeda's alleged leader in Spain, is in hospital after being attacked on Friday by fellow inmates in the prison where he was awaiting the outcome of the trial held against him and two other suspects accused of planning the Madrid train bombings last year. Mr. Yarkas, alias "Abu Dahdah" is accused of 2,500 murders, belonging to a terrorist group and possessing counterfeit money.

According to reports in El Mundo, Immad Yarkas was attacked by a group of other prisoners at breakfast and was taken to hospital where he remains under observation with several facial fractures. Mr Yarkas was moved to Castellon when Europe's largest trial of suspected al-Qaeda members concluded in Madrid at the beginning of this month.

Despite the fact that he was under a judicial order to be kept isolated from other prisoners, Castellon’s prison lacks solitary confinement facilities for high-risk inmates which is why fellow prisioners were able to get close enough to first insult and then physically assault Mr Yarkas. According to the prison’s management, the prisoners who took part in the aggression have still not been identified and prison directors have opened an investigation.

Meanwhile, Immad Yarkas’s lawyer told reporters yesterday that he is considering suing the director of Castellon prison for failing to provide his client with the protection necessary for his physical well-being.

The Popular Party has asked Spain’s Interior Minister, Jose Antonio Alonso, for the resignation of the current Director of Prisons, Mercedes Gallizo. According to the shadow Interior minister, Gallizo made a serious mistake by allowing the main suspect in the trial against Al Qaeda in Spain to be sent to a prison with no solitary confinement modules.

If found guilty, the alleged leader of the Spanish cell of Al Qaeda could face a prison sentence adding up to 74,337 years. During the trial when he was given the right to make a statement, Immad Yarka denied any relation to Al Qaeda and the Madrid bombings, and he called the 10-week trial a “farce”.

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".

Related:
ETA bomb in Madrid (May)
Basque terrorist group ETA cell in Madrid

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.

Arrests in Spain linked to Al Qaeda

Spanish police have arrested 16 suspects in the latest anti-terrorist raids. Three of the detainees have been arrested in relation with the 11-M train bombs in Madrid, and with their relationship with the leader of Al Qaeda in Irak, Al Zarqaui.

Spanish police have revealed that one of the people who escaped from the Leganes suicide bomb could have taken part in suicide attacks in Iraq which has led detectives to suspect that some of the suspects belongint to Ansar el Islam group, led by Abu Musab al Zarqaui, could have also participated in the March attacks in Madrid.

According to reports today, three out of the five suspects arrested by Spanish police could be members of a network whose aim is to capture and sign up muyaidines whose final mission is to act in Iraq.

According to police hypotheses, the three detainees helped two of the terrorists involved in the Madrid bombings to escape from the Leganes flat to Barcelona. According to Spanish police, one of these Iraqies could have been involved in a suicide bombing in Iraq last month.

The sixteen detainees are mainly accused of collecting funds and followers in order to carry out acts related to the international Yihad. Today the Spanish Interior Minister has said that this operation is the most important as yet carried out in Spain against international terrorism related to Al-Qaeda.

President of Spain responds to victims of terrorism march in Madrid

Last Saturday hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched in Madrid in protest against the Spanish government's proposal to begin talks with Eta. The march was led by members of the Association of Victims of Terrorism (AVT) and leaders of the Popular Party.

The past month has been a difficult one for the Spanish government as far as its anti-terrorism policies are concerned, and things don't look like they're going to get any easier either.

Since the Spanish President sought the approval of Congress to start talks with ETA last month:

• The Popular Party has withdrawn its participation in the Anti-Terrorism Pact (in which both major political parties "agreed not to disagree" in Spain's fight against terrorism)
• The leader of the outlawed political wing of Eta has accused the government of lacking the "maturity" necessary to negotiate with Eta.
• The Association of Victims of Terrorism has promised to organize future protests and demostrations unles the Socialist Government promises not to talk to ETA and to return to the anti-terrorism policies implemented by the previous government
• Even the Washington Post has published an article in which it criticising Rodriguez Zapatero's policies against terrorism and claiming that the march this weekend marks the end of the Spanish president's "honeymoon" with the Spanish electorate.

One of the characteristics of Spain is that absolutely everything in this country somehow ends up becoming politicised: football, education, culture, wine.... and victims of terrorism. Instead of there being just one large association, there are several associations, organizations and foundations for victims of terrorism and their families in Spain. And each one has an, albeit undeclared, political allegiance.

Saturday's march was organised by the AVT, tradicionally more at home with the policies of Aznar's Popular Party government. Because of this the leaders of the Popular Party turned out in force. Even ex-PM Aznar participated in the march organized to protest at the proposed talks with ETA (a little ironic given the fact that when he was leader of Spain, Aznar authorised talks with Eta without even consulting Congress). Meanwhile, members of other victim associations (including victims of the Madrid train bombings) and political parties stayed away.

Yesterday President Rodriguez Zapatero offered to meet the leaders of all groups representing victims of terrorism and so far his offer has been welcomed by all involved. The talks will take place on June 21st and will consist of individual meetings between Spain's president, the Commissioner for Victims of Terrorism and the leaders of each association, followed by a general meeting with all groups and political leaders.

Zapatero said this morning that he did not intend to change his policies according to the demands of the AVT, but that he was prepared to listen first-hand to the concerns expressed during Saturday's mass demonstration. He also said that, unlike Spain's previous government, he was willing to acknowledge counter-opinions, explain his position, and seek consensus.

Although Aznar will probably use this as another example of "Zapatero the appeaser", if Rodriguez Zapatero succeeds in reconciling some of the differences which divide the different associations of victims it will be a step in the right direction along the very difficult road ahead.

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.

Spain commemorates the victims of the 11-M terrorist attacks

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of the Madrid train bombings and Spain prepares for various events organised amidst the usual tension and disagreement which have become characteristic of political debate in Spain regarding Europe's biggest ever terrorist attack.

One of the tragedies of the Madrid attacks and the aftermath has been the deterioration of reason, respect and relations in Spanish politics. Far from the united front presented by political forces in the aftermath of the 11-s terrorist attacks in the USA, the Madrid train bombings have divided Spanish parties seemingly to the point of no return.

One year on, the Popular Party is still unwilling to admit that its first hypothesis (i.e. that terrorist group ETA was to blame for the attacks) had little basis in the first instance, and lost more and more ground as investigations progressed. Members of the former PP government continue to blame their electoral defeat on the terrorist attacks rather than examine their own errors in the aftermath of the bombs (incidentally, a report in the Spanish press this morning says that Spanish police now suspect that the Islamic terrorists set the date of the train bombings in October 2003 according to new evidence found, long before the Spanish general election date was set. If confirmed this will overturn the thesis that the attacks were intended to influence the election result).

This week the Popular Party refused to sign the outcome of the parliamentary commission set up to investigate events leading up to, during and after the terrorist attacks. The commission's aim was to make proposals on how to avoid a similar attack in the future and how to learn lessons from this one.

The Popular Party alleges that since (in the opinion of its members) the identity of the person who personally led the attacks in Madrid has still not been discovered, then the commission should not have concluded its investigation. All the other political parties allege that the commission's role was not to lead a legal investigation which is being carried out by Spanish judiciary and police, but to draw from the evidence gathered during the commission and to offer proposals accordingly. The Commission was given a time limit which had already been extended, it was being used as a political platform from which to air grievances and throw accusations at political opponents, and it concluded its investigations after the appearance of ex-president Jose Maria Aznar, the appearance of Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero before the 11-M Investigation Commission and the lesson taught to us all by Pilar Manjon, president of the Associations of 11-M Victims' Families.

Today the Spanish Congress will pass a motion to condemn the terrorist attacks and remember the victims. The original plan was to hold a special session of congress tomorrow and pay homage to the victims, but the victims' families asked for a much more low-key commemoration. The President of the European Parliament, Josep Borrell, will also read out a text in today's European parliamentary session.

Tomorrow all of the bells of Madrid's 650 churches will ring at the exact time at which the train bombs exploded, ruining hundreds of lives last year. The Association of Victims' Families has protested at the initiative, saying they would much rather live the moment in the privacy of their homes in silence, and that their suffering will be made worse by the ringing of the bells.

Related links:
Spain's worst day in years
Spain the day after
ETA denies involvement in Madrid bombing
Aznar accused of manipulated Spanish public opinion
Spain accused of "easing up" on the War against Terror

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.

Related news:
Spanish Basque terrorist group ETA leaders arrested in France
ETA explosives in Madrid cause traffic chaos
ETA terrorism

Key suspects behind the 11M attacks in Madrid die in Lagenes explosion

Spanish police are still trying to clarify how many people died in the explosions in a flat in Madrid the day before yesterday. The acting Interior Minster, Angel Acebes, confirmed that at least three key suspects in the Madrid train bombings case - a Tunisian, Sarhane Ben Abdelmajid Fakhet, Jamal Ahmidan, and Abdennabi Kounjaa, a Moroccan - were among those killed in Saturday's suicide blast.

This afternoon police investigating the events of Saturday have found evidence that a fifth person died in the explosion, but they still do not know if he or she formed part of the group of terrorists believed to be behind last months attacks.

In a cupboard which survived the huge explosion, bags containing 10kg (22lb) of dynamite connected to detonators suggest that the bombing campaign against Madrid had not been, and still may not be, over. Two hundred detonators were also found. And according to reports in the Spanish newspaper ABC today, just hours before the terrorists killed themselves in Leganes on Saturday, the newspaper received a fax signed by "Abu Dujana al-Afgani, Ansar Group, al-Qaida in Europe", warning of more strikes unless Spain withdrew its troops from Iraq and Afghanistan within 24 hours.

Explosion in Madrid

According to the Spanish interior minister, the Tunisian identified by the Spanish government as the ringleader of the March 11 bombings in Madrid was among four suspects killed yesterday in the explosion in Laganes, on the outskirts of Madrid.
The suspects, chanting in Arabic, set off the blast while police were pursuing them Saturday night at a four-story apartment building, Angel Acebes said.

One Spanish police officer was also killed and 11 were wounded, Acebes said. Three are still in hospital.

Explosion in Madrid suburb

As police engaged in a standoff with three suspected North African terrorists this evening, an explosion shook the neighborhood. According to latest reports, 12 people have been injured and at least 3 have died (one policeman and two un-named arabs). The explosion occurred about 9 p.m. Antena 3 has reported that the suspects had threatened to blow up the four-story building in the southern Madrid suburb of Leganes, about 10 miles south of the capital. Angel Acebes, the Interior Minister, is expected to appear in a press conference any minute now.

Bomb found on Spanish railway

Spanish police have found a bomb on the rail line linking Madrid and Sevilla today. Alerted by a railway employee, who found a bag placed under the railway lines, bomb disposal experts found10-12kg (22-24lb) of dynamite in a carrier bag about 40 miles south of Madrid. According to Acebes, the acting Interior Minister, the explosives are the same as those used in the terrorist attacks in Madrid last month. The terrorists were possibly interrupted while they were activating the bomb according to the first reports, because they hadn't completed preparation.

Mass in Madrid

Today a state funeral was held in Madrid to honour the vicitims of the 11 M terrorist attack. Representatives of the victims' families, world leaders, Spanish political leaders and the Spanish royal family joined together to mourn the dead. A massive white sheet bearing a black ribbon (the sign of mourning which is still desplayed in shop, flat and car windows throughout Madrid) hung behind the altar, and the archbishop of Madrid led the mass. Giant television screens were erected in several popular locations in the city to carry the ceremony live and the Mass brought much of Madrid to a standstill.

Jose Luis Zapatero had meetings today with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President, Jacques Chirac, Polish President Leszek Miller, US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, German President Gerhard Schroeder. According to Cadena Ser, the Socialist leader used these meetings to explain his policy regarding the removal of Spanish troops from Iraq. He stressed that withdrawel will only go ahead if the United Nations is not in charge of the transition in Iraq by 30th June, and that this decision should not be interpreted as taking a soft line on terrorism. Zapatero told world leaders that the fight against terrorism remains top priority for the Socialist Party.

Miguel Angel Moratinos, thought by many to be the probable Foreign Affairs Minister in the Socialist Government, appeared before the press after Zapatero's meeting with Colin Powell and told reporters that the US Secretary of State had offered to negotiate with Zapatero the future role of the UN in Iraq. Meanwhile, according to Moratinos, Zapatero urged Tony Blair to use Britain's role in the UN Security Council to try to negotiate within the next three months handing over control of the situation in Iraq to the United Nations.

The investigations into the Madrid bombings continue

Yesterday the Popular Party released confidential documents which they say prove that declarations made by the party spokesman, the Interior Minister and President Aznar immediately after the terrorist attacks in Madrid last week were based on documents pointing to ETA, and were not an attempt to manipulate public opinion. Whether or not the documents do prove this, depends on which paper you read. El Pais suggests that the documents released yesterday have been carefully selected and this morning Cadena Ser said that whole paragraphs are crossed out in places. El Mundo (whose owner and Editor is a great friend of Aznar and usually supports the Popular Party) limits its leading article to a simple reproduction of the press conference and the contents of the documents, although inverted commas here and there, when referring to "transparancy" and "honor", suggest it may be adopting a politely sceptical stance. Papers like ABC and La Razon remain fiercely supportive of the Popular Party of course, and take the documents as firm evidence that party leaders were misjudged last weekend by Spain's electorate as well as international public opinion.

Spanish police arrested five more suspects in the Madrid train attack yesterday, and this morning police have said that material evidence linked to the attacks has been found in the Lavapies area of Madrid.

Meanwhile, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero continues to form the government which will lead Spain for the next four years. So far he seems to be creating a mixed team of new faces ( Maria Jesus Sansegundo, a University professor, Minister of Education y Carmen Calvo, Minister of Culture...) and of PSOE heavyweights who have been very successful at a regional level (for example the future Defence Minister, Jose Bono, has been the President of Castilla la Mancha, one of Spain's largest regions, for the past 20 years and continued to be re-elected even during the PSOE's slump years, and Manuel Marin, future Leader of the House, was one of the key negotiaters of Spain's entry into the European Union).

Interestingly, according to El Mundo, Aznar's last visit abroad as acting President of Spain will be to Britain where he will be received by his friend Tony Blair next week. Apparantly they will have a meeting to discuss the attacks in Madrid, followed by dinner with their wives. He will also visit Brussels. These will be his only official visits before he hands the presidency over to Zapatero.

It is Saint Josephs day today (Father's Day) which is a fiesta and bank holiday in almost all of Spain. So congratulations and thank you to fathers everywhere, especially if you are called Joseph or Bryan. Anyone who is in Spain and near Valencia should try to check out Las Fallas.

Spain accused of easing up on the "War on Terror"

Several national and international newspapers this morning continue to interpret the decision of the new Spanish President to pull out of Iraq on June 30th (if the UN is not in charge by then) as a sign that Spain is weakening its stance on terrorism. Yesterday when asked about the possibility of Spain withdrawing from the alliance, President Bush used the term "cowardice" in his answer - although he didn't directly accuse Spain of this - and said he would continue to fight terror with friends. Quite a few papers in the USA are appalled at the result of the Spanish elections and are worried that it is a sign of Spain giving in to terrorism.

It is important to get the message across that Spaniards were still being led to believe, until the night before elections, that ETA was the main suspect, and although increasingly people were starting to question this fact, it certainly did not cross most voters minds that Al Qaeda had planted the bomb to coincide with elections and force a vote against the Popular Party. There is no reason for Al qaeda to feel that the PSOE party will take a weak stance on terrorism - the Socialists have supported all of the Popular Party's initiatives against terrorism throughout this legislature, and Zapatero has already promised to take a hard line on national and international terrorism.

For most Spaniards pulling out of Iraq is not a sign that the government is easing up on terrorism. The fact is that most Spaniards have never linked the "War against Iraq" to the "War on Terror" in the way that many North Americans and British people did. Spaniards believed that war was declared on Iraq for the wrong reasons, and that the allies were not being totally sincere about their reasons. They didn't believe that weapons of mass destruction existed, they were worried by the fact that this was an attack which neither NATO or the United Nations supported, and there was a feeling among Spanish people that their Government was leading them into a conflict which violated international law. President Aznar never argued his case to the extent that Blair and Bush did to Parliament and to public opinion. And he has never been prepared to explain his view of the fact that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq after all.

Most Spaniards have a feeling of international responsability, they shared in the World's shock and grief when the USA were attacked on 11th September 2001, and identify with the fight against terrorism and their participation in this fight. But Spaniards lived in a dictatorship for 40 years, and their country was isolated from most international forums. There was great rejoicing in this country when Spain joined the European Union in the early 1980s, and the population voted to stay in NATO in a national referendum held in 1986. Spaniards enjoy participating in international bodies and international initiatives which are protected and approved by international law and the United Nations. They participated in the Gulf War, the Bosnian crisis, and Spanish troops are still working hard with their colleagues from other countries in Afghanistan. The fact that the war on Iraq was never approved by an international body will always be a sign for many Spaniards that the war should have been avoided at that stage, until there was more consensus or until other measures were taken.

All this means that in pulling out of Iraq, Spain is not necessarily giving in to terrorism. Zapatero announced in an interview on Onda Cero Radio this morning that he will take steps to improve national security, and he said two days ago that he would seek national and international consensus in the fight on terrorism. Spain wants to participate in the fight against terror, but in a global fight, not a fight carried out according to the rules and principles of one or two World leaders. And many Spaniards have never made the connection between the war against Iraq and the interntional war on terror.

Finally the Guardian publishes this article by a very popular Spanish writer, Almudena Grandes.

The investigation into the terrorist attacks in Madrid

According to El Pais, police in Spain have identified 6 Morrocans who could be linked to last week's terrorist attacks in Madrid. One of them, Jamal Zougam, is under arrest and being interrogated by police. Two witnesses travelling on one of the trains bombed claim that they saw him travelling on the same train before the bombs exploded. The names of the other five suspects have not been released. Spanish police warn that these 6 people may be part of a larger cell of one of the radical islamic groups related, directly or indirectly, to Al Qaeda and more nationalities could well be involved. Initial investigations point to a possible link between the attacks here last week and the attacks in Casablanca last year, and Morroccan detectives investigating that disaster are already in Spain working with their Spanish colleagues to pursue all possible links. Meanwhile, the Spanish government has announced that they will hold a summit meeting in Madrid to discuss the questions raised by the latest terrorist acts with all the anti-terrorist departments of members of the the European Union.

This evening at 8 O'clock, a mass is to be held in Madrid's cathedral, La Almudena, to remember the victims of last week's brutal attack.

Aznar accused of manipulating public opinion

Spain's most popular radio station, Cadena Ser, has published a scathing attack on the Spanish government's attempts to make sure the Spanish media supported the thesis put forward by the popular parte that last week's terrorist attack was carried out by the basque terrorist group ETA.

Cadena Ser has published an unprecedented editorial on its website in which it denounces the government's tactics, explains how all the major television channels received clear instructions about how to cover events, and accuses Aznar and his government of manipulating the truth to suit their electoral ambitions. Foreign news correspondants say they received phone calls directly from the President's office claiming that the terrorist acts had been carried out by ETA. According to Cadena Ser, "Aznar's government has used all the state media, and all the private-sector newspapers, television and radio stations that are ideologically close to the goverment, in an attempt to keep alive their thesis that ETA was responsable for the brutal terrorist attacks last Thursday in Madrid. Aznar and his government have got involved personally by making telephone calls to the directors of national newspapers and to foreign correspondants in Spain" (El gobierno de Aznar ha utilizado todos los medios de comunicacion publicos y todos los medios privados cercanos ideologicamente al gobierno para tratar de mantener durante tres dias como unica tesis la autoria de ETA en los brutales atentados del jueves en Madrid. Aznar y el gobierno se han implicado personalmente llamando a los directores de los medios escritos nacionales y a los corresponsales extranjeros).

If it turns out to be true, this is a very serious accusation indeed. Not least because if this terrorist act turns out to be the first serious terrorist act carried out by Al Qaeda in Western Europe, the investigations have wasted 4 precious days which could have been used to explore evidence about members of the extremist Islamic group and to involve other EU countries in the process. You can read more about events of the last 24 hours in this article from Deutsche Welle in English or in German.

11th March Madrid terrorist attack: Funerals of the victims
This is the third day of official mourning, and the first funerals for the vicitims of Thurdays bombing in Madrid are being held today. I think it is time to withdraw a bit from all the suffering of the families, and to let them express their grief and anger in private with eachother. The camaras have covered every single detail of the past 50 hours in minute detail, and all of us in Spain have become a bit addicted to the television and radio reports. I suggest that after the massive protest marches held yesterday all over Spain (where we were all given the chance to publically express our outrage at the terrorist attacks and to show how our sympathy and solidarity lay with the direct victims), it is now time to look ahead rather than behind us, to insist that the authorities start to inform the population about the investigations being undertaken to discover who actually planted the bombs, and to allow the families of the victims to mourn in peace and privacy. I'm not going to include any more items about the aftermath of March 11th attacks, unless new information is discovered and offered, about who is behind them.

Anti-terrorism marches in Madrid - news the day after.
In the end over 11 million people in Spain protested on the streets yesterday against terrorism - not 8 million as I wrote last night while the protests were still happening. One of the chants most heard throughout the evening in all the demostrations was "Quien ha sido, quien ha sido?" (Who did it? Who did it?). This is the question which should have been answered already, but with elections looming tomorrow, it seems increasingly unlikely that the government is willing or able to offer a credible explanation. Government sources continue to point at ETA as the prime suspects.

Protest marches in Spain: We want Peace
According to the latest figures, over 8 million people have taken to the streets this evening to express their outrage at the terrorist attacks, their solidarity with the victims and their overwhelming desire for Peace. Millions of Spaniards in Madrid (2 million, according to the latest reports) but also in villages, towns and cities all over Spain have marched through the streets shouting "en estos trenes, ibamos todos" ("we were all travelling in those trains").

Spain the day after suffering the worst act of terrorism ever committed here.

Most people in Spain got up this morning still feeling shaken after yesterdays events. Many schools and universities have closed for the day, most bodies have been identified, over 500 people remain in hospital, all pre-election activity has been cancelled and protest marches have been organised all over Spain this afternoon. The marches are expected to be as numerous as Spains last massive national mobilisation last year, when millions of Spaniards took part in demostrations to protest against the Governments decision to support the USA and UK in the war against Iraq. Ironically, as all major news agencies have already mentioned, latest evidence emerging from the first investigations into this mindless act of terrorism seems to point at a possible Al qaeda link.

One of the unique features of Spain is its Arab history. Arabs lived in parts of Spain for nearly 800 years and their contribution to Spanish culture, language, food and agriculture is still evident today. Until very recently, Spain was trusted by many Arab nations as a friendly State, and even though new democratic Spain did not have a major role in many international organisations in the 1980s, Spanish politicians and diplomats were deeply involved in all the major international peace initiatives undertaken in the Middle East during that time. Southern Spain is the first stop on the long journey of thousands of north African and Moslem people searching to escape from poverty and find a new opportunity in Europe. One of the challenges of modern Spain is how to address its changing demographics and how to integrate a growing community of immigrants into the Spanish social structure.

If this terrorist act turns out to have been perpetrated by Arab extremists, it reflects just how much Spains position has changed over the past few years. In a world where increasingly violence is used to determine events, Dialogue, Cooperation and Respect are more necessary than ever. And only values such as these will succeed in wiping out terrorism.

All major television and radio channels and news web sites continue to devote all their time to the aftermath of yesterday's events. El Pais can still be accessed for free today, and was one of the first Spanish sources to quote the possible Al Qaeda link. Cadena Ser and El Mundo are other good sources of latest information. People can access a list of names people injured in the attack here. The list of victims is not yet available, and is expected to be released some time today.

Spains worst day for years
This has been a terrible terrible day. The scenes on TV showing people and bodies being dragged away from the wreckage left by the bombs have been harrowing. Hundreds of people still don't know where their families are. The government all blamed the acts on ETA this morning, but since when has ETA had the capacity and resources to launch such a massive attack on Spanish civilians? Latest reports hint at a possible Al Quaeda link (see El Pais - normally you have to pay a subscription to read news in El Pais, but today all news is free). Events like today make us all feel sick, vulnerable and very very sad. I regularly go to Madrid from Alicante, and I get off the train, or catch it, at Atocha station. At 8.00 a.m., when the bombs went off today, the station is packed with ordinary people. No politicians, no rich people (the rich people in Madrid go to work by car, because they have an underground garage supplied by their company where they can park their car), no famous people, no army corps. At this time of day, the station is jam packed with working and middle class citizens going to work, school, univeristy etc. They and their families have never done anything to deserve this. Whoever is responsible for these acts has mistaken its enemy. If it is Al Quaeda, the members of this terrorist organisation should bear in mind that over 90 percent of Spaniards were against the invasion into Irak, and remained so throughout the "war". Ordinary Spanish people (like the ones killed today) demonstrated tirelessly against the war, and argued fiercely against their government's decision to back the "allies" policy. The world is sick.

The number of casualities continues to rise.
According to the BBC, latest figures are that 131 people have been killed by the bombs, but Spanish emergency services warn that the figure could rise further. At least 500 people have been injured and Madrid's hospitals, swamped with casualties, have made an urgent appeal for blood donations. Spanish speakers can read latest developments on main news websites, for example Cadena Ser and El Mundo. All web sites, radio stations and television channels are dedicating full-time coverage to today's tragedy. And although the whole theme of ETA has dominated the election campaign over the past month, nobody expected a massive tragedy on this scale. All political parties have cancelled their scheduled meetings. The images on the television are horrific. What a mad, barbaric act.

Terrorist attacks in Madrid.
2 hours ago varios bombs in Madrid have killed at least 70 people. The whole of Spain is in a state of shock and news coming from the scene is still rather confusing. For latest reports, see Cadena Ser

Possible errors in identifying soldiers bodies

The main debates in the radio and tv news programmes this morning center around a news item which was published by Spain's leading paper, El Pais, yesterday.

This paper and leading radio station, Cadena Ser, claim they have evidence which shows that Spanish Defence Ministry doctors may not have identified correctly all the bodies of the soldiers killed in a plane crash last year when they were returning from Afghanistan. Families of the soldiers want to return to Turkey to check and compare ADN tests carried out by the Turkish authorities. See the Cadena Ser report here: http://www.cadenaser.com/articulo.html?d_date=&xref=20040302csrcsrnac_3&type=Tes&anchor=csrcsrpor

The army general and medic who oversaw the identifying procedures was interviewed last night on Cadena Ser and denied all accusations of possible negligence. He implied that the media group to which the Cadena Ser and El Pais belong were guilty of misleading the public and of adding to the families' grief.