Silent vigils to police chief killed by ETA

Spaniards fell silent today in protest at the latest killing blamed on Basque terrorists – a police chief who was also a peace activist in a town governed by Eta’s political wing.

Silent vigils were staged at noon outside town halls around Spain, from Madrid in the centre to Valencia in the south-east and up north in Andoain, the Basque town where Joseba Pagazaurtundua, 45, was shot as he sat in a coffee shop on Saturday.

It was the first killing of 2003 that was blamed on Eta.

About 500 people gathered outside Andoain town hall and after observing several minutes of silence, broke into applause – typical Spanish way of honouring a deceased person.

Pagazaurtundua was on medical leave from his post as municipal police chief, citing depression as result of repeated death threats in Andoain, which is governed by the Batasuna party, considered Eta’s political branch.

He was a prominent member of the Basque branch of Spain’s Socialist Party, which also opposes Basque independence, and a member of a peace forum called Basta Ya, or Enough is Enough.

No one has claimed responsibility for Pagazaurtundua’s death but ETA – which stands for Basque Homeland and Freedom, and is blamed for more than 825 killings since 1968 – usually waits several weeks before doing that.

Eta is trying to carve out an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and south-west France.