TruthSeeker
02-12-2007, 04:14 AM
By HAROLD HECKLE, Associated Press Writer
Sun Feb 4, 12:18 AM ET
Source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/spain_basques;_ylt=Av2gnr0KVdfnsPqXKA6RhApatAoB)
Tens of thousands of people marched in Madrid on Saturday to reject any negotiations with the Basque separatist group ETA, whose car bombing in the capital a month ago shattered a nascent peace process.
The protesters waved Spanish flags and carried posters reading "You defeat ETA, not persuade it" as they marched down a central Madrid boulevard.
ETA called a cease-fire last year that gave Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero cause for optimism that negotiations could bring peace. But the peace process collapsed with the Dec. 30 car bombing that killed two people at Madrid's airport.
Conservatives have called Zapatero naive for seeking to negotiate with ETA, but the socialist prime minister has said he would never rule out dialogue with the group.
"I've come to shout out against the government," said car salesman Jose Luis Fernandez, 57.
Top members of the conservative opposition Popular Party, including former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, joined the rally. Similar rallies were held in other Spanish cities, while a peace march took place in the northern Basque port city of Bilbao.
ETA has been fighting for four decades for an independent Basque homeland. The conflict has cost more than 800 lives.
Sun Feb 4, 12:18 AM ET
Source (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/spain_basques;_ylt=Av2gnr0KVdfnsPqXKA6RhApatAoB)
Tens of thousands of people marched in Madrid on Saturday to reject any negotiations with the Basque separatist group ETA, whose car bombing in the capital a month ago shattered a nascent peace process.
The protesters waved Spanish flags and carried posters reading "You defeat ETA, not persuade it" as they marched down a central Madrid boulevard.
ETA called a cease-fire last year that gave Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero cause for optimism that negotiations could bring peace. But the peace process collapsed with the Dec. 30 car bombing that killed two people at Madrid's airport.
Conservatives have called Zapatero naive for seeking to negotiate with ETA, but the socialist prime minister has said he would never rule out dialogue with the group.
"I've come to shout out against the government," said car salesman Jose Luis Fernandez, 57.
Top members of the conservative opposition Popular Party, including former Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, joined the rally. Similar rallies were held in other Spanish cities, while a peace march took place in the northern Basque port city of Bilbao.
ETA has been fighting for four decades for an independent Basque homeland. The conflict has cost more than 800 lives.