Spanish safety

“So much for selecting a leftist Government to reduce domestic terrorism.

Remember it was the Spanish voter who allowed terrorist bombing to change the election.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=4&u=/ap/20041203/ap_on_re_eu/spain_explosion

Five Explosions Hit Madrid; ETA Suspected
35 minutes ago Top Stories - AP

MADRID, Spain - Five small explosive devices detonated Friday at Madrid gas stations along busy highways after a telephone warning from the armed Basque separatist group ETA, officials said.

There were no injuries and only minor damage at the stations, which were evacuated before the blasts, an Interior Ministry official said.

Earlier, the Basque newspaper Gara said it had received a call from a person claiming to speak on behalf of ETA who said five explosive devices had been placed at gas stations along major highways leading out of Madrid. Gara often serves as a mouthpiece for ETA statements.

Friday night marked the start of a long holiday weekend in Spain and the highways where those gas stations are located had been bumper-to-bumper with traffic.

ETA has been blamed for more than 800 deaths since the late 1960s. It staged a string of small explosions in resort towns in northern Spain over the summer, causing slight damage and only a few minor injuries.

Its last fatal attack was in May 2003 — a car bombing that killed two policemen in the northern town of Sanguesa.

Last month, a banned party seen as ETA's political wing proposed a new formula for peace talks with the government, raising hopes that ETA might be prepared to end its armed struggle.

But days later, ETA issued a statement pledging to continue attacks against Spanish security forces.”

“The terrorists broke their word? No way! Get out!

I feel so betrayed...”

“History of Basque separatist group ETA

1959: Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA), or Basque Homeland and Freedom, founded by opponents of conservative leadership of Basque Nationalist Party during dictatorship of Francisco Franco. ETA vows to fight for Basque self-determination.

1968: ETA carries out first planned killing: victim is Meliton Manzanas, police chief in Basque city San Sebastian.

1973: Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco, Franco's designated successor, killed by car bomb in Madrid.

1980: ETA's bloodiest year -- 118 killed in numerous attacks

1987 June: ETA's bloodiest attack -- 21 shoppers killed when bomb hits Barcelona supermarket. ETA apologizes for "mistake."

1995 April: Popular Party opposition leader Jose Maria Aznar, later to become prime minister, is target of ETA car bomb. Saved by vehicle's armor plating.

1995 August: Police foil ETA plot to kill King Juan Carlos in Majorca.

1997 July: Basque town councillor Miguel Angel Blanco kidnapped then killed two days later. Six million people demonstrate against ETA.

1998 September: ETA announces truce.

1999 June: Government says it held first direct talks with ETA since 1989.

1999 August: ETA says talks with government suspended.

1999 November 28: ETA announces ceasefire to end on December 3.

2000 Jan 21: Army officer killed in Madrid car bombing.

2000 Feb 22: Car bomb explodes in Basque capital Vitoria, killing a Socialist Party politician and his bodyguard.

2000 May 7: Newspaper columnist Jose Luis de la Calle shot dead outside his home in the Basque region.

2000 June 4: Local politician Jesus Maria Pedrosa of Popular Party shot dead in Basque city Durango.

2000 July 12: Car bomb rocks central Madrid before dawn, injuring nine people.

2000 July 15: Malaga city councillor Jose Maria Martin Carpena of Popular Party shot dead in southern Spain.

2000 July 29: Basque Socialist politician Juan Maria Jauregui shot inside cafe in Tolosa, dies at local hospital.

2000 August 7: Car loaded with arms and explosives blows up in Bilbao, killing four suspected ETA members.

2000 August 8: Hours after the August 7 blast, a bomb explodes in Zumaia, killing prominent businessman.”