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| Europe |
| ETA bombings put Batasuna in a tight spot |
| 2004-12-04 |
| The armed Basque separatist group ETA showed it was not a spent force with Friday's coordinated attacks at five Madrid petrol stations, but it also further isolated the guerrillas' closest political allies, Batasuna. The attacks ended months of relative inactivity by ETA and were the first to hit Madrid in two years, signaling the group could still kill despite a fierce police crackdown. The bombs also dashed hopes for a Christmas truce or a distancing between ETA and Batasuna, the party accused of being ETA's political wing and banned for not condemning ETA violence. Batasuna also declined to condemn the latest bombs and said on Saturday it was sticking by its proposal for peace talks unveiled last month. Mainstream parties said that refusal was a lost opportunity. "These attacks have once again shown up Batasuna," the Basque regional government, led by the moderate Basque Nationalist Party, said after the bombs. "(Batasuna) should react politically 
if they don't want their public pronouncement (on peace talks) to have been a waste of paper," the Basque government said. Friday's attacks slightly wounded two police officers and snarled traffic for hours as Madrid people left the capital for a long holiday weekend. ETA forewarned of the blasts with a telephone call, allowing police to evacuate the five bomb sites. The political class in Madrid has no time for Batasuna. But non-violent Basque nationalists, though frustrated by the party, view it as needed if Madrid should ever decide to negotiate with a group it brands as terrorist. Batasuna's last grasp on power is due to run out in May, when its seven representatives in the 75-member Basque parliament will lose their seats unless the party can become legal again and present candidates. Batasuna on Nov. 14 called for peace talks to resolve Spain's Basque conflict, possibly with an eye toward the May elections. Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegi declined to condemn the attacks on Saturday and told a news conference the party still held hope for a negotiated solution. "The message from these actions (the bombs) means that the conflict persists and our position (calling for talks) is more valid today than it was on Nov. 14," Otegi said. Otegi would need to clearly condemn ETA violence if the party were to have hopes of becoming legal again. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |