Translated material
Hundreds of years in prison for Gaddafi
Not all Spaniards want negotiations with Basque separatists
The fight against terrorism has taken on an unexpected character in Spain. Yesterday, lawyers for those accused of involvement in the March 11, 2004 Madrid train bombings threatened to derail their upcoming trial unless authorities increase their fees. At a press conference in Madrid, they said the Justice Ministry had decided to pay each lawyer just 315 euros, including 30 euros to cover travel to meet clients in prisons across Spain. The capital's bar association assessed the work of lawyers (20 of them) at 60 thousand euros each.The Spanish authorities are faced with more than just these problems. Recently, a demonstration of many thousands took place in Madrid, the participants of which protested against the start of negotiations between the government and the Basque separatist group ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom). The demonstration was organized by several associations of victims of terror, as well as the opposition People's Party. They accused the government of insulting the memory of more than 800 people killed by ETA terrorists. Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy said he would cut off all contacts with the government in protest at negotiations with ETA.
When ETA announced an “indefinite ceasefire” on March 22, Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of the ruling Socialist Workers Party welcomed the decision, saying it was possible to end the war that had been waging in Spain for more than forty years. Later, on May 18, during his first visit to the Basque Country after the truce was declared, Zapatero promised that negotiations would begin at the end of June, but urged the Spaniards not to wait for an immediate result, but to count on three to four years of negotiations.
The authorities are now inclined to the possibility of contacts even with the banned Batasuna party, the political wing of ETA, although this has caused heated controversy. Batasuna leader Arnaldo Otegui, who is in prison, has repeatedly stated that without him the negotiations will lead to nothing. But he also said that the goal of the negotiations should be to hold a referendum on the independence of the Basque Country.
In parallel, the authorities are taking a tough line against those Basque extremists who break the law. On Monday, the trial of Basque terrorist Juan Carlos Iglesias, nicknamed Gaddafi because he looks like the Libyan leader and has a tough disposition, began in Madrid. Basque is accused of causing the deaths of at least 18 people. The prosecutor is demanding 115 years in prison for the terrorist in the case of blowing up a police patrol. Iglesias was previously sentenced to hundreds of years in prison for other crimes, including the murder of a two-year-old child who became an accidental victim in an attack on his gendarme father (he was injured). The government has said the peace process in the Basque Country does not mean pardoning members of terrorist groups who have committed serious crimes.
A poll conducted by Pais, one of Spain's leading newspapers, shows, by the way, that 61.2% of the country's population supports the government and agrees to Batasuna's participation in the negotiations. However, these data raise doubts among opponents of the negotiations, since the Pais newspaper is traditionally close to the leadership of the ruling Socialist Party, and the proposed question was formulated unusually vaguely: “Prime Minister Zapatero intends to appear before parliament soon to announce his intention to begin negotiations with ETA . Do you agree with this or not?