Basques accuse Spain of 'declaring war'

A senior member of the Basque separatist movement said the arrest of 23 of his fellow party members amounted to a “declaration of war” by the Spanish government.

“This police operation uncovers the decision of the Spanish government, which is to issue a total declaration of war against Basque independence,” said Pernando Barrena, a leader of the outlawed Batasuna party, at a news conference in the northern Basque city of San Sebastian yesterday.

He described the detentions of the members of Batasuna as “kidnappings”.

Almost the entire suspected leadership of Batasuna was detained in a Thursday night raid in the town of Segura while its executive committee was holding a secret meeting, police and court officials said.

Barrena, the only Batasuna leader who had not been detained, said the raid was revenge for the pro-independence movement’s hardline position in the peace talks.

The raid was ordered by top anti-terror judge Baltasar Garzon, who led moves to outlaw the party four years ago on the basis that it was the political wing of the armed Basque separatist group ETA.

Garzon is expected to question the 23 Batasuna members today. All of the detainees were transferred to a Madrid prison yesterday.

Meanwhile, in several cities in the Basque region, thousands of supporters of Batasuna marched to protest at the arrests and call for Basque independence.

Basque police declined to give a figure on how many people attended. Television and other news reports said rallies in the cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian each drew 3,000 people.

In the city of Pamplona, another march of 300 people ended in clashes between truncheon-wielding police and masked youths. Several people were injured, police said.

ETA called a ceasefire March 2006, but ensuing peace talks went nowhere and ETA ended the truce with a thunderous blast that killed two people in December.

The raid in the town of Segura is said to have targeted a Batasuna meeting where the party’s old guard was transferring control to new leaders.

ETA has killed more than 800 people since the late 1960s in a campaign of shootings and bombings. The group seeks an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwest France.

Although Batasuna was banned in 2003, its leaders have often been allowed to hold news conferences and stage street rallies.

Coveting the grand political prize of ending the decades-old Basque conflict, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has seen Batasuna as a potential bridge to ETA gunmen and bombers who hold the key to peace.