Heavy damage in Basque riots

Madrid - Following the escalation of ETA's campaign earlier last week, 16 buses, three railway stations and 14 cash dispensing machines were burned by youthful ETA supporters in widespread disturbances in the Basque Country. A rightwing Spanish newspaper, La Razon, described the situation as "pre-revolutionary". However, the streets appeared to be returning to relative calm yesterday.

In Bilbao on Saturday, 5,000 ETA supporters attended a commemoration for the four terrorists who were killed by their own bomb a week ago. Mr Arnaldo Otegi, leader of ETA's political front, Euskal Herritarok, declared that the bombers' "contribution to democracy was through violence . . .They [the democratic parties] ask us to finish with ETA, but we are not prepared to do so."

Meanwhile, the Madrid government continues to refuse to even meet the moderate Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) until it formally breaks the Lizarra pact it signed with ETA supporters, despite a PNV spokesman's comment that Mr after last week's terrorist attacks the pact was "dead".


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