Rally protesters call for Zapatero to resign

SPAIN: Tension mounts in Spain as opposition parties accuse the socialist government of giving in to Eta blackmail, writes Jane…

SPAIN:Tension mounts in Spain as opposition parties accuse the socialist government of giving in to Eta blackmail, writes Jane Walkerin Madrid

"Crispacion" is a Spanish word for which there is no accurate translation. It means tension or nervousness; but no word in English can transmit the sense of tense anger that pervades Spanish life today.

This crispacion has been growing in crescendo for the past three years since the conservative Popular Party (PP) lost the general election just two days after Islamic terrorists killed 191 and injured and maimed another 2,000 - one of whom still remains in a coma - when they detonated bombs on four commuter trains in Madrid on March 11th, 2004.

PP claims that a dirty tricks campaign by the socialists in the immediate aftermath of the bombings lost them the election. They have waged a bitter opposition to José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and his government, criticising them at any opportunity and breaking the anti-terrorist pact that all parties respected - not to use terrorism as a political weapon.

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The bitterness reached a climax on Saturday when a crowd of between 350,000 and 2.5 million, according to who was calculating, answered a PP call to take to the streets of Madrid to demonstrate their rejection of a government they accuse of giving in to Eta blackmail.

PP officials organised more than 60 rallies and meetings in cities and towns across Spain all last week to drum up emotions for Saturday's rally. They even staged demonstrations of support outside Spanish embassies in eight foreign capitals. The party chartered some 700 coaches to bring supporters to Madrid and thousands more arrived by car and special trains.

The crowds, many of whom waved the red and yellow Spanish flag, chanted their demands for the resignation of the prime minister and for the return to jail of a hunger-striking Eta prisoner who was granted house arrest on humanitarian grounds. They marched behind two 30m banners bearing the slogans: "Peace for Spain", and "No to Eta" and ended their rally by singing the Spanish national anthem, even though it should be played only at official events.

PP leader Mariano Rajoy was interrupted by cheers and applause as he accused Mr Zapatero of holding secret talks with the illegal Batasuna, Eta's political front. "We are not only talking about terrorism. We are talking about the very future of Spain. They are talking in secret to Batasuna about terrorism . . . This is the first time a government has given in to Eta blackmail. We must defend the Spanish nation," Mr Rajoy said.

Two weeks ago convicted terrorist Iñaki de Juana Chaos was transferred from a hospital in Madrid to one in San Sebastián when doctors said his life was at risk after he had refused food for more than three months.

The government fearing that de Juana's death would give Eta a martyr and spark an escalation of violence agreed that he should serve the remaining 18 months of his sentence under house arrest in the Basque Country.

Although Spanish law permits a prisoner to be released for health reasons, Mr Rajoy, and many other Spaniards, believe this was not the case with de Juana whose condition, they say, was self-inflicted.

Emotions became even more explosive last week with a noisy debate in the senate when Mr Zapatero tried to justify his ruling. However, he found it almost impossible to make himself heard over a continuous barrage of insults and heckling.

The demonstration coincided with the third anniversary of the Madrid train bombing, and to mark the occasion King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia yesterday unveiled a memorial to the 191 victims.

A stunning 11m-high glass tower in the forecourt of Atocha Station, the scene of most of the deaths, forms a cupola over an underground chamber flooded with natural light from the tower above. The names of the victims, alongside some of the thousands of spontaneous messages left by members of the public in the days and weeks after the massacre, have been engraved on the glass walls of this chamber.

It was a simple short ceremony held in almost total silence and attended by more than 1,500 survivors. The king laid a laurel wreath at the base of the tower.

There was a three minute's silence which ended with a lone cellist playing the moving and mournful tones of a Pablo Casal's melody.

It was one moment of peace and tranquillity after weeks of tension which the Basque Socialist leader, Patxi Lopez, described as being similar to those before February 23rd, 1981, when right-wing civil guards staged an abortive coup d'etat.