There were emotional scenes yesterday as the remains of two young civil guards killed by ETA on Sunday were brought to Huesca Cathedral for a funeral Mass.
The service was attended by the Spanish Prime Minister, Mr Jose Maria Aznar, who interrupted his holiday to fly to the Pyrennean city. The recently elected socialist leader, Mr Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, as well as other regional and national politicians, attended.
Mr Aznar pinned the guards' highest award on the coffins of Irene Fernandez (32), and Jose Angel de Jesus (22), before offering his condolences to their families and enfolding the mother of one of them in an embrace lasting several seconds, an unusually emotional gesture for such a reserved man. Several thousand mourners, who were unable to get into the cathedral, packed the square outside and, in the Spanish custom, applauded as the coffins were carried out on the shoulders of civil guards.
As the service was taking place in Huesca, silent protests were being held in towns and villages across Spain. Many thousands demonstrated in the Aragonese capital, Zaragoza.
Politicians are desperately seeking a way of bringing an end to what is fast becoming one of the bloodiest years for almost a decade. Eight people have died, four of them terrorists killed when the bomb they were carrying blew up, since the beginning of August.
The anti-ETA operation carried out by the Ertzaintza, the police force of the Basque autonomous government, which began on Saturday, continues to yield results. In addition to the three people arrested in Vitoria on Sunday, five more ETA suspects were detained in a series of dawn raids on apartments in Vizcaya and Guipuzcoa yesterday.
Ertzaintza officials say that the operation is still continuing and have maintained strict security on their actions. But they have confirmed that a large quantity of arms, grenades and ammunition, including five limpet bombs similar to the one which killed the two civil guards on Sunday, have been seized.
Meanwhile, the Basque Supreme Court yesterday upheld an injunction to prevent the towns of Markina and Hernani holding homages to two dead ETA members, Patxi Rementeria and Ekain Ruiz.
Their decision overturned the majority vote of the town councils of Markina and Hernani, both of which have strong pro-ETA support.