French ETA trial turns to chaos

PARIS, France (Reuters) -- A French judge has sent alleged Basque ETA terrorists back to their cells after they called magistrates and journalists "dogs" and reduced their trial to chaos.

It was the second successive day that courtroom uproar disrupted the trial of the Basque separatist group's presumed leader Ignacio Gracia Arregui and seven other suspects.

The judge ordered ETA (Basque Homeland and Freedom) sympathisers out of the courtroom after they drowned his voice with radical Basque songs and shouts of "Gora ETA militarra" (Long live the ETA military).

The trial was also suspended on Monday after police were called in to quell courtroom outbursts involving the defendants and supporters of ETA, the outlawed group which is seeking an independent Basque state in northern Spain and southwestern France.

Gracia Arregui -- also known as Inaki de Renteria -- Jose Arizcuren Ruiz, ETA's former military leader, and six others are being tried on charges of belonging to a terrorist organisation.

ETA has been linked to about 800 killings since 1968, when it began its violent campaign during the dictatorship of General Francisco Franco, who brutally repressed Basque culture and attempts at home rule during his 36-year rule.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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France's Ministry of Justice
The Institute of Basque Culture

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