Spain: Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards rallied in Madrid on Saturday to protest at planned peace talks between the government and Basque separatists ETA.
Draped in Spanish flags and carrying photos of their dead, families of ETA victims joined opposition politicians to attack prime minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero's plan to end 38 years of guerrilla violence, and demanded the guerrillas lay down their arms.
Survivors of Madrid's 2004 commuter train bombings joined the anti-government protest and called on Zapatero to probe deeper into the attacks that killed 191 people.
"We want to know the truth!" they chanted in the heat of Madrid's Plaza Colon, amid shouts of "Zapatero resign"!
A two-year investigation into the bombings ruled out involvement of the armed Basque group but the opposition Popular Party (PP) and some victim groups say ETA may have played a part.
"The government has the people's support to defeat ETA but it has no support to negotiate for political gains, or allow killers to achieve political gains that have cost so many lives," PP president Mariano Rajoy told reporters.
Above him a banner read: "Negotiation! Not in my name!"
The government declared plans to hold talks with ETA after it announced a permanent ceasefire in March.
ETA is blamed for more than 800 deaths in its struggle for an independent homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.
It broke ceasefires twice in the 1990s and Spaniards from across the political spectrum want proof the group has abandoned violence before talks begin. The opposition says talks with armed guerrillas is giving in to "blackmail".
Some ETA victims' groups shunned Saturday's protest and said the PP was playing politics by linking the Madrid train bombings to ETA when the attacks were carried out by Islamist radicals.
"There are a lot of victims who don't want to enter this political game," said Roberto Manrique, vice president of the Catalan Association of Victims of Terrorist Organisations. Protest organisers said around 1 million attended what was the fourth demonstration against ETA in less than a year and a half. Police put the number closer to 200,000.
Zapatero hopes to reach a political consensus for peace talks and announce the beginning of negotiations this month. The process hit an obstacle this week when the PP broke off co-operation with the government over a planned meeting between socialist officials and Batasuna, a Basque separatist party banned for links to ETA.
But Rajoy on Friday said he would speak to Zapatero if the president asked him to. Speaking on Saturday, Zapatero said he had public backing to push for peace negotiations.
"The great majority of citizens know the suffering we've lived through and the majority know up to what point it's worth persevering with efforts to reach peace," he said.
- (Reuters)