Spain slayings spark new protests

A service was held for Uribe in the local police station

MADRID, Spain -- Thousands of Spaniards have taken part in rallies in several cities to protest against two killings over the weekend blamed on the Basque separatist group ETA.

Rallies by political parties, unions and associations were held in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and other major towns across Spain.

The European Union on Monday condemned the latest killings -- of a policeman and a local politician in northern Spain -- blamed on ETA

"These acts of terrorist violence are an attack on the foundations of the democratic system which is at the very base of the Union," said a joint statement from the European Commission and foreign ministers from the 15 EU nations.

"Faced with this aggression, the council and the commission reiterate their firm will to use all legal means at the disposition of the EU to fight terrorism," said the statement issued at an EU foreign ministers meeting.

Thousands of Spanish workers took part in silent protests on Monday - aware that similar demonstrations afetr previous ETA killings have failed to influence the separatists. One demonstrator told Reuters news agency: "We need some way of demonstrating our indignation at the latest deaths and to keep the flame of hope alive. We are going to keep protesting against these assassins.

Civil guards inspect the remains of Mugica's vehicle

"The sad thing is I don't see this problem going away. They've been killing for decades and they're showing no sign of stopping now."

In Pamplona, an estimated 50,000 people marched against ETA and in the nearby Basque town of Tolosa, the protests march was led by Basque President Juan Jose Ibarretxe.

The body of Jose Javier Mugica Astibia, a 58-year-old conservative town councillor, was cremated on Sunday.

He was killed on Saturday when a bomb planted under his van exploded in the northern Spanish region of Navarre as he was about to drive to a wedding.

Meanwhile, mourners held a wake for policeman Mikel Uribe, 44, on Sunday. He had been shot hours after Astibia's death.

On Sunday hundreds of Spaniards gathered outside city and town halls in silent protest at the killings, and rallies were held at noon in the Basque capital Vitoria, the northern city of Zaragoza, and other cities around Spain.

Several hundred people stood in the rain in the central plaza of the Navarre regional capital Pamplona.

The attacks were condemned by the government.

"Basque society must show ETA its condemnation and demand an end to this madness," Basque government spokesman Jon Imaz said.

The attacks were widely seen as a defiant message to Basque President Juan Jose Ibarretxe, a moderate who was sworn in for a new term on Saturday with a pledge to fight ETA, Associated Press reported.

The group rarely commits two attacks in one day. There was no word from ETA -- the group usually takes weeks to claim responsibility and often does so in messages sent to a pro-independence Basque newspaper.

ETA, which wants an independent Basque homeland in land straddling northern Spain and southwest France, has killed about 800 people since its campaign began in 1968.

The killings on Saturday were the 10th and 11th this year. ETA has claimed or been blamed for 34 deaths since it ended a 14-month cease-fire in January 2000.