Thursday 11 March 2004, 19:37 Makka Time, 16:37 GMT
Al Jazeera
More than 186 people have been killed and some 1000 injured in a series of
blasts which ripped through railway stations in the Spanish capital Madrid.
World leaders condemned the blasts as an attack on democracy as Interior
Minister Angel Acebes said 13 bombs had been placed around Madrid, 10 of which
had gone off in and near stations and trains. Security forces detonated three in
controlled explosions.
"Three went off at Atocha station" in central Madrid, "four near to" the same
station, as well as "one at Santa Eugenia and two at Pozo stations," in nearby
suburbs, said Acebes.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar called crisis talks to discuss the
attacks which the government swiftly blamed on the separatist Basque group ETA,
although the banned Batasuna political party denied the charge.
The blasts occurred just three days before Sunday's general elections and went
off within minutes of each other starting from 7:30am (0630 GMT) as the three
Madrid stations were packed with morning commuters.
Acebes said there was "no doubt" the attacks had been carried out by ETA which
has led a 36-year campaign for a separatist Basque homeland in which more than
800 people have already died, although the charge was quickly denied by the
banned Basque Batasuna party.
Charred and bloodied remains of victims were shown on national television as
police, rescue workers and passersby all helped move the wounded.
Denial
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.
Last month, the separatist group declared a ceasefire limited to the
north-eastern 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 the 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".
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