Spanish parties suspend campaigning after car bomb kills opposition leader

February 22, 2000
Web posted at: 11:11 p.m. EST (0411 GMT)

In this story: Basque separatists suspected Incident not expected to affect elections RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

VITORIA, Spain -- Spanish political parties suspended election campaigning early Wednesday following public protests against the Basque separatist group ETA, hours after a bomb killed the leader of the opposition Basque Socialist Party and his bodyguard.

Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's Popular Party on Wednesday also suspended all campaign broadcasts -- less than three weeks before the March 12 election. In a televised speech Tuesday night, Aznar vowed his government would not bow to "terrorist blackmail."

His rival in the election, Joaquin Almunia -- who has in the past criticized Aznar for failing to maintain links with moderate Basque nationalists -- said the killings would only strengthen Spain's determination to fight ETA.

Hundreds of people took part in small demonstrations in Madrid and in the Basque region late Tuesday, hours after the bomb killed Fernando Buesa in the Basque capital, Vitoria. Bigger marches were scheduled for Wednesday.

The car bomb attack Tuesday killed Buesa, head of the Socialist party in Alava province and a former deputy president of the Basque region. His bodyguard was also killed while walking with Buesa near a university campus.

No one claimed responsibility for the explosion, but officials suspect ETA's involvement. ETA -- fighting for an independent state in northeast Spain and southwest France -- has not made a statement as yet.

The Spanish government has also blamed Basque separatists for a blast in Madrid in January that killed an army officer and apparently marked the end of a 14-month truce in the rebels' three-decade fight that has killed about 800 people so far.

Political analysts said Buesa's death might disrupt campaigning over the next few days but probably will not sway the election because both the leading parties are opposed to demands for Basque self-determination.

Spain's King Juan Carlos, on a visit to the United States, was reported to be "mourning and angry." Spain's Catholic Church also joined the chorus of condemnation of Tuesday's bomb blast, which the two bishops of San Sebastian in the Basque region called a "crude blow to democracy."

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Basque History and Historical Documents
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Association for Peace in the Basque Country
Euskal Herria Journal | Basque Political Conflict
CIA -- The World Factbook 1999 -- Spain
Spanish Culture - Northern Ireland and The Basque Country - April 12, 1998

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