LZN
11-03-2004, 15:00
Scores killed in Spanish railway attacks Thursday 11 March 2004, 16:30 Makka Time, 13:30 GMT The latest attacks come just days before general elections A total of 13 explosions have killed at least 173 rail passengers in Madrid, just three days before Spanish elections. Police said the coordinated bomb attacks appeared to be the work of Basque separatist guerrillas ETA, though the group has not claimed responsibility. Spain's interior minister, Angel Acebes, says no warnings had been issued prior to the attacks. Emilio Benito, a spokesman for ambulance service Samur told state radio that around 400 people were injured in a single blast at Atocha. Charred and bloodied remains of victims were shown on national television as police, rescue workers and passersby all helped move the wounded. Denial But one Basque nationalist said he did not believe ETA was responsible. Speaking on Radio Popular in the Basque country, Arnaldo Otegi, leader of banned radical political party Batasuna, said he did not believe accusations "even as a hypothesis". He said the attacks could have been "an operation by sectors of the Arab resistance". The Spanish government was a staunch supporter of US President George Bush's decision to go to war in Iraq. Euskadi ta Askatasuna Basque separatist group ETA has killed around 850 people since 1968 in its fight for Basque independence and has been a looming presence over the run-up to the Spanish elections. If ETA is responsible, it would be the worst attack ever by the group, exceeding the 21 killed in a supermarket blast in Barcelona in 1987. Nationless, Basques live in the north of Spain and sourther France Last month, the separatist group declared a ceasefire limited to the northeastern region of Catalonia but made clear it would pursue the armed struggle in the rest of the country. Less than two weeks ago police arrested two suspected members who were heading for Madrid with a van containing 500kg of explosives in the run-up to elections. Unfair vote? Thousands of Basques have protested the approaching elections and have called for their banned political party to be put back on the ballot sheet. Last Saturday's march in San Sebastian sought international attention, highlighting the complete lack of representation for Basque concerns in central government. Relations between government and local Basque officials have sunk so low the two sides do not talk to each other anymore. Some are concerned Madrid and Vitoria, the Basque capital, cannot be drawn back together after 14 March general elections - when a new central government will take over. The reasons for the rift are clear - Basque hopes for greater self rule, and disagreement on how to deal with the Basque separatist group ETA. Strained relations Thousands of Basques called for self-determination last Saturday The central government's strained ties with Spain's "autonomous" regions lie at the heart of the election campaign. Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar refuses to meet Basque premier Juan Jose Ibarrexte, in large part because of Ibarretxe's proposal to grant the Basque Country a "status of free association" with Spain. Aznar questions the Basque Nationalist Party's loyalty to Spain and its commitment in the fight against ETA. Basque nation Meanwhile the Basque Nationalist Party, which has governed the region since 1980, sometimes brands Aznar's party as the heirs to former dictator General Francisco Franco, who died in 1975. "If the Basque government wants a friendly relationship with the rest of Spain, it should reconsider its behaviour of recent years," said Carlos Urquijo, Madrid's representative in the Basque region. "If you keep giving a kick in the pants to the person you are trying to talk with, you can't expect them to open the door for you," Urquijo said, referring to the so-called "Ibarretxe Plan"..