| Submit your comments on this article | |
| Europe | |
| ETA Denies Hand | |
| 2004-03-12 | |
| Interior Minister Angel Acebes said the armed Basque separatist group ETA remained the prime suspect, although suspicion has also fallen on Al-Qaeda. But ETA yesterday denied responsibility for the attacks, a Basque newspaper said. The pro-Basque independence daily Gara, which ETA often uses to issue statements, told The Associated Press a caller claiming to represent the group phoned its newsroom to deny government allegations that ETA was behind the attacks. As evening fell, hundreds of thousands of Spaniards gathered in Madrid and other cities for marches to protest the bombings. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, European Union President Romano Prodi and German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer attended a massive rally. An estimated two million took part in the rally in Madrid. Hospital officials said a 7-month-old baby girl died yesterday, raising the death toll to 199. The babyâs mother is apparently hospitalized and her father is missing. Earlier, a militant Basque politician denied ETA was involved and accused the government of lying to seek political advantage in tomorrowâs national elections. âThe Spanish government is lying deliberately,â Arnaldo Otegi, leader of the banned Batasuna party, told reporters in the northern city of Bilbao. If ETA is deemed responsible for Thursdayâs attacks, that could boost support for Mariano Rajoy, Aznarâs hand-picked candidate to become Spainâs next leader. Both have supported a hard-line crackdown on the violent separatist group, which is fighting for an independent state in northern Spain, ruling out talks. However, if Thursdayâs bombing is seen by voters as the work of Al-Qaeda, that could draw votersâ attention to Aznarâs vastly unpopular decision to endorse the US-led invasion of Iraq and the deployment of Spanish troops.
| |
| Posted by:Fred |