SPAIN:Spain braced itself for a fresh terrorist attack by Basque separatist group Eta yesterday, as hopes of a lasting peace were shattered by the ending of a 14-month ceasefire.
Police have warned prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero that the group has several active service units in position and that it rearmed and refined its bomb-making techniques during the ceasefire. The group had also established a stable infrastructure in Madrid, they say.
Mr Zapatero's socialist government immediately stepped up measures against the group, starting with former Eta hunger-striker Inaki de Juana Chaos.
De Juana Chaos was removed by police yesterday from a hospital in the Basque city of San Sebastian, near his home, where he had been recovering from his hunger strike, and reportedly returned to a jail near Madrid. He had started the 115-day strike in response to a prison sentence for making terrorist threats.
Mr Zapatero reacted angrily to demands by the leader of the conservative opposition People's party, Mariano Rajoy, that he publicly admit he had been wrong. He also dismissed calls for the general election to be brought forward from next spring.
There were fears yesterday Eta would dominate campaigning for what is now expected to be a closely fought election. Police were unsure as to whether the group would return to assassinations or concentrate on bombing buildings or tourism targets.
Eta has killed more than 800 people in four decades.